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Boosting data-driven innovation with SAP S/4HANA Embedded Analytics: Select ‘An overview of the concept’

From zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds. For lovers of fast cars, this is one of the most important factors in deciding whether or not to choose a particular model. For such masterful acceleration to be possible, many individual components must work together perfectly. And, of course, drivers also need the right fuel. The situation is similar with modern business processes: these days, business owners want – and need – to move ever more quickly and purposefully from information and initial considerations to concrete actions. This is the only way they can remain competitive. Their fuel? Data! Because business processes are increasingly data-driven.

However, to use the data profitably, analyse it and draw conclusions, a robust tool is required. And this is precisely what the new SAP S/4HANA release offers: we’re talking about Embedded Analytics, a powerful concept for live reporting. We’ll explain why it makes sense to use it, what the benefits are and where the system reaches its limits.

A modern concept for analytical purposes

Anyone interested in this first needs the foundation: the new S/4HANA. This Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system from SAP maps the entire business process. This is where operational activities are carried out, such as creating and dispatching purchase orders, or receiving and settling invoices. In short, everything that is important for running a business.

To be able to make important decisions affecting day-to-day operations – such as which supplier to order a component from – a combination of transactional, operational and strategic actions, as well as reporting activities, is now required. After all, companies want to be as well-informed as possible before making decisions, for example, regarding which suppliers are suitable and how they have performed in the past.

And it is precisely these analytical tasks that the concept of Embedded Analytics addresses. The days when transactional/operational and analytical activities were treated separately are now a thing of the past. And that’s a good thing, because the two are now increasingly intertwined.

The benefits of SAP Embedded Analytics

We have already mentioned one of the most important benefits. But there are several others:

No additional licence costs:

SAP Embedded Analytics is integrated into S/4HANA. It is therefore not an add-on product that requires a separate licence fee.

Everything in real time:

SAP Embedded Analytics operates in real time. This means that everything present in the SAP system at any given moment can be analysed.

Powerful database:

Robust databases are essential for effective reporting – and that’s exactly what S/4HANA delivers. This also means that companies never start from scratch when it comes to data – rather, all business areas are supported, from procurement through sales to marketing; simply everything contained within the ERP system. An additional data layer or a separate data warehouse is therefore not required. In addition to operational analyses and reports, machine learning also enables forecasts.

Access to detailed Data:

Thanks to this fast in-memory database, companies always operate at the most detailed data level – that is, the document level. This means they can access the most granular information available. This is another major advantage over earlier, relational systems, which, for example, only functioned up to a defined aggregation layer.

Pre-built content:

SAP already provides many pre-built real-time data pools, dashboards, analyses and the like. Users can work with these straight away if they wish. SAP Fiori is a key technology here, and the SAP Fiori Launchpad serves as the central entry point for users for all business activities – both operational and analytical in nature.
As already mentioned, all of this can be broken down to document level. Anyone who finds the visualisation capabilities of SAP Fiori insufficient also has the option of integrating modern reporting front-ends such as SAP Analytics Cloud or Microsoft’s Power BI. It is also still possible to export data to Excel, for example for further analysis.

Low-threshold access – ‘Self-service BI’:

The drawback of many systems was, and often still is, that for specific reporting requirements or more complex reporting scenarios, data analysts or the IT department had to – and still have to – be called upon to prepare the data accordingly. SAP Embedded Analytics now provides low-threshold access for a wide range of users. This means that even end users without specific programming skills can utilise the system. Nevertheless, if desired, a distinction can also be made between ‘normal’ users and key users.

If staff have to switch between applications to produce an analysis, or if they lack the authorisation to access specific data, the workflow is disrupted. This leads to frustration, or people simply give up on the task or pass it on to the IT department. This is an unsatisfactory scenario. SAP aims to remedy this with Embedded Analytics – offering low-threshold access and a wide range of options for business units to create their own reports and analyses.

Clemens Stadler

LoB Manager Analytics & Planning

Reversing the time-spend pyramid

All in all, this allows the time-spend pyramid to be reversed: Previously, data collection was usually the most time-consuming step. This was followed by data preparation. And the little time that business owners then had left could finally be used for interpretation and taking action. With SAP Embedded Analytics, data collection is now the smallest part at the top of the pyramid, followed by data preparation, and most of the time can now be used for interpretation and taking action.

The limitations of SAP Embedded Analytics

Why it sounds good? Because it doesn’t even incur any additional costs for companies, SAP Embedded Analytics should definitely be utilised. However, there are also limitations: the limitations of SAP Embedded Analytics are primarily technical in nature, because, as already mentioned, companies can only access data stored in S/4HANA – external sources are not taken into account or are not the focus of the ‘Embedded Analytics’ concept. Anyone wishing to integrate external sources therefore needs a data warehouse, in other words, a strategic data platform.

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