I had been invited to an SAP Analytics influencer summit earlier in the year. Many of the sessions were under NDA, so I had not written about it. However, my notes showed:
- Ambitious, exciting vision, but fragmented execution across portfolio of tools. Presentations did not appear well connected.
- SAP should be drawing on the operational data and scenarios it has access to across so many industries and geographies. Many of its presentations focused on financials and hcm data.
- The Qualtrics acquisition is still new, but should give SAP a chance to blend X and O metrics - that could be a significant differentiator
- SAP has a partnership with Cloud Elements to access 150 cloud data sources
- 3 customers who presented got into operational metrics, integration with other SAP tools like IBP.
- Lots of Microsoft product mentions across the sessions - O365, Power BI, Surface Hub, HoloLens etc.
- Microsoft with all its tools, Workday with Prism Analytics and Adaptive Insights, and Salesforce with Tableau, MuleSoft and Einstein scenarios, appear to be doing a better job presenting their analytical credentials in the field
This week I heard an update webinar and the messaging was much tighter (with not as much focus on HANA, the database and related services in this webinar). BTW - click on each slide to enlarge.
The SAP Analytics Cloud continues to evolve as a "one-stop shop" for BI, broad enterprise planning and augmented analytics (use of machine learning for pattern recognition, insights etc)
SAC is being gradually embedded into various SAP cloud properties. Slow integration (not just with SAC) across SAP cloud applications is a sore subject with many customers so it is good to see this progress
BusinessObjects lives on and will continue to be supported till (at least) 2027, (see SAP statement of direction here) and as customers adopt SAC will call for various hybrid management strategies.
I would like to see SAP Analytics continue to evolve so it stands out in the competitive landscape - here's where I will be looking for progress
- Embedding SAC into each SAP cloud app is a good start, but ideally should allow for bi-directional navigation across the properties
- Plenty of sophisticated customer data is in SAP tools like Qualtrics, IBP, AIN, Leonardo ML. Be nice to see them show up in SAC demos.
- Be nice to see more real life customer scenarios in demos, especially those with operational data.
- As it tightens its relationship with Microsoft around Azure, clarify how will that impact the "frenemy" status when it comes to analytics
- We should hear more about automated migration and hybrid management tools SAP is developing to help customers move from the on-premise to the SAC world
- Similarly be nice to hear how license conversion credits will work for customers looking to adopt SAC.
Look forward to the continued evolution.