What is IBCS? 

The International Business Communication Standards (IBCS) gives conceptual design rules for communicating business information in the shortest way to help comprehension, reasoning, and presentation. 

IBCS is based on a concept called SUCCESS which defines seven key principles when it comes to effective business communication: 

Say — conveys a message Unify — applies semantic notation Condense — increases information density Check — ensures visual integrity Express — chooses proper visualization Simplify — avoids clutter Structure — organizes content 

Why is IBCS Important for SAP Analytics Cloud? 

With most products there is always a heavy focus on meeting the highest standard of quality, security, and performance. It is one of the reasons why the SAP Analytics Cloud Team invested in the unification of Stories, Analytic Applications, and Classic Digital Boardroom into a single asset called the Optimized Experience. 

However, for the SAP Analytics Cloud Team, there is also a focus on providing a single Planning and Analytics solution that focuses on effective and engaging communication. With IBCS certification, SAP Analytics Cloud customers benefit from having a set of tools that allow for:  

Simplified Communication: IBCS helps to avoid clutter, confusion, and ambiguity in data visualization and reporting. It is because IBCS uses a common language and notation that is easy to understand and interpret across different audiences and contexts.Structured Content: IBCS helps to organize data and information in a logical and coherent way. IBCS uses a consistent layout, structure, and hierarchy that makes it easier to compare different scenarios and outcomes. Enhanced Decision-Making: IBCS helps to support informed and effective decisions based on data and insights. IBCS highlights the most relevant and actionable information and provides clear recommendations and calls to action. 

What are the Improvements from the Previous Certification?  

With the 2024 Q2 QRC release of SAP Analytics Cloud, there are a few improvements that customers now have access to. These improvements allowed SAP Analytics Cloud to receive the seal “IBCS® Certified Charts and Tables” for another 2 years (until February 2026). These improvements include: 

IBCS User Generated Themes Rank and Sort on Absolute and Relative Variance Support Pattern in Area Charts and Stacked Charts (includes Improved Auto Contrast for Data Labels)  Color by Accounts / Measure and Pattern by Version Variance Displayed as Waterfall (for Charts) Rank with Others and Show Totals in Charts Enable Sort for Version Dimension in a Table   

Let’s dive a bit deeper into each out of these improvements. You can also look at this video created by IBCS®️ Certified Trainer Esin Özkan, which dives into the details on how you can use SAP Analytics Cloud to implement IBCS rules. 

IBCS User Generate Themes 

With Themes in the Optimized Experience, we provide a balance between configuration options available via the Theme Preferences and flexibility with CSS. For the recent certification, we introduce several configuration options within our Theme Preferences such as:  

Display of Number Scale (k vs Thousands) Display of Currency (ISO3 vs Symbol) Default Number of Decimals for Absolute vs % Measures Position of Legend for Charts (In-Line, Beside Chart, and so on) Configuration of Default Threshold Colours Configuration of Default Variance Colours 

Rank and Sort on Absolute and Relative Variance 

Designers and Viewers now have an option to Rank or Sort by Variance (High to Low or Low to High). It is supported for all display types: Waterfall, Bar, Data Label, and Integrated.  

Support Pattern in Area Charts and Stacked Charts (includes Improved Auto Contrast for Data Labels)  

Designers now have more flexibility with a Dimension and Version on Color in a Stacked Bar / Column and Area Chart:  

Pattern will be based on the version members. The pattern remains automatically determined based on the version as per IBCS standards. There is an option to manually override this.  Color will be based on the colour palette and is distributed among the respective dimension members  

With this enhancement, we have also improved the auto contrast for data labels to improve visibility. 

Color by Accounts / Measure and Pattern by Version 

Designers now have more flexibility when version is bound to colour. They now have an option to use the measures/account to set the colour and pattern. 

Color by Accounts ON allows the colour to be based on the Account and pattern to be based on Version Color by Accounts OFF allows the pattern and colour to be based on Version 

It is supported for Bar / Column, Combined Bar / Column & Line, Stacked Column & Line, Line, Histogram, and Area. 

Variance Displayed as Waterfall (for Charts) 

Designers now have an option to display the variance as a Waterfall as a show variance as option  

For Variance on Version we respect the pattern for the Bar (Compare) vs Axis (To) We respect he Scale with the Base Chart which can be overridden We respect automatically inverting Variance Color based on the Account Type 

It is limited to Bar/Column and Horizontal Waterfall Charts 

Rank with Others and Show Totals in Charts 

Designers and Viewers can now define a rank with a group remaining option.  It will be supported for: 

Charts with Flat Dimension(s) Charts with Measures with Base Aggregation Define a Rank with Others on Multiple Axes Others can be placed last (Top N) or first (Bottom N) and can be renamed. For the placement of the Others, it is set automatically with an option to override the position.  

Designers also have an option to show the Total for Dimensions: 

The position of totals can be arranged to first or last Totals can be enabled on multiple dimensions Supported chart type: Bar Column, Stacked Bar, Marimekko, Heatmap, and Tree Map 

Enable Sort for Version Dimension in a Table   

Designers and Viewers now have an option to sort on the Version Dimension. It is supported for A – Z, Z – A and Custom Order. Default Order remains based on IBCS standards. 

IBCS in SAP Analytics Cloud 

With SAP Analytics Cloud initially certified in December 2017, we are proud to receive the seal “IBCS® Certified Charts and Tables” for another 2 years (until February 2026). There are a few more improvements that we made in the past certifications that are not covered in this Blog Post. These include: 

Dynamic Title Generation in Charts Automatic Chart Orientation with Time and Structure Dimensions Automatic Version Pattern and Color (includes with Variance)  Chart Scaling and Bar Width Highlight Differences in Charts More… 

Our commitment to IBCS remains, and we are honoured to be a close collaborator with IBCS to better understand the additional improvements we need to make before the next certification.  

In case you haven’t done so already, please look at this video created by IBCS®️ Certified Trainer Esin Özkan, which dives into the details on how you can use SAP Analytics Cloud to implement IBCS rules. 

​ What is IBCS? The International Business Communication Standards (IBCS) gives conceptual design rules for communicating business information in the shortest way to help comprehension, reasoning, and presentation. IBCS is based on a concept called SUCCESS which defines seven key principles when it comes to effective business communication: Say — conveys a message Unify — applies semantic notation Condense — increases information density Check — ensures visual integrity Express — chooses proper visualization Simplify — avoids clutter Structure — organizes content Why is IBCS Important for SAP Analytics Cloud? With most products there is always a heavy focus on meeting the highest standard of quality, security, and performance. It is one of the reasons why the SAP Analytics Cloud Team invested in the unification of Stories, Analytic Applications, and Classic Digital Boardroom into a single asset called the Optimized Experience. However, for the SAP Analytics Cloud Team, there is also a focus on providing a single Planning and Analytics solution that focuses on effective and engaging communication. With IBCS certification, SAP Analytics Cloud customers benefit from having a set of tools that allow for:  Simplified Communication: IBCS helps to avoid clutter, confusion, and ambiguity in data visualization and reporting. It is because IBCS uses a common language and notation that is easy to understand and interpret across different audiences and contexts.Structured Content: IBCS helps to organize data and information in a logical and coherent way. IBCS uses a consistent layout, structure, and hierarchy that makes it easier to compare different scenarios and outcomes. Enhanced Decision-Making: IBCS helps to support informed and effective decisions based on data and insights. IBCS highlights the most relevant and actionable information and provides clear recommendations and calls to action. What are the Improvements from the Previous Certification?  With the 2024 Q2 QRC release of SAP Analytics Cloud, there are a few improvements that customers now have access to. These improvements allowed SAP Analytics Cloud to receive the seal “IBCS® Certified Charts and Tables” for another 2 years (until February 2026). These improvements include: IBCS User Generated Themes Rank and Sort on Absolute and Relative Variance Support Pattern in Area Charts and Stacked Charts (includes Improved Auto Contrast for Data Labels)  Color by Accounts / Measure and Pattern by Version Variance Displayed as Waterfall (for Charts) Rank with Others and Show Totals in Charts Enable Sort for Version Dimension in a Table   Let’s dive a bit deeper into each out of these improvements. You can also look at this video created by IBCS®️ Certified Trainer Esin Özkan, which dives into the details on how you can use SAP Analytics Cloud to implement IBCS rules. IBCS User Generate Themes With Themes in the Optimized Experience, we provide a balance between configuration options available via the Theme Preferences and flexibility with CSS. For the recent certification, we introduce several configuration options within our Theme Preferences such as:  Display of Number Scale (k vs Thousands) Display of Currency (ISO3 vs Symbol) Default Number of Decimals for Absolute vs % Measures Position of Legend for Charts (In-Line, Beside Chart, and so on) Configuration of Default Threshold Colours Configuration of Default Variance Colours Rank and Sort on Absolute and Relative Variance Designers and Viewers now have an option to Rank or Sort by Variance (High to Low or Low to High). It is supported for all display types: Waterfall, Bar, Data Label, and Integrated.  Support Pattern in Area Charts and Stacked Charts (includes Improved Auto Contrast for Data Labels)  Designers now have more flexibility with a Dimension and Version on Color in a Stacked Bar / Column and Area Chart:  Pattern will be based on the version members. The pattern remains automatically determined based on the version as per IBCS standards. There is an option to manually override this.  Color will be based on the colour palette and is distributed among the respective dimension members  With this enhancement, we have also improved the auto contrast for data labels to improve visibility. Color by Accounts / Measure and Pattern by Version Designers now have more flexibility when version is bound to colour. They now have an option to use the measures/account to set the colour and pattern. Color by Accounts ON allows the colour to be based on the Account and pattern to be based on Version Color by Accounts OFF allows the pattern and colour to be based on Version It is supported for Bar / Column, Combined Bar / Column & Line, Stacked Column & Line, Line, Histogram, and Area. Variance Displayed as Waterfall (for Charts) Designers now have an option to display the variance as a Waterfall as a show variance as option  For Variance on Version we respect the pattern for the Bar (Compare) vs Axis (To) We respect he Scale with the Base Chart which can be overridden We respect automatically inverting Variance Color based on the Account Type It is limited to Bar/Column and Horizontal Waterfall Charts Rank with Others and Show Totals in Charts Designers and Viewers can now define a rank with a group remaining option.  It will be supported for: Charts with Flat Dimension(s) Charts with Measures with Base Aggregation Define a Rank with Others on Multiple Axes Others can be placed last (Top N) or first (Bottom N) and can be renamed. For the placement of the Others, it is set automatically with an option to override the position.  Designers also have an option to show the Total for Dimensions: The position of totals can be arranged to first or last Totals can be enabled on multiple dimensions Supported chart type: Bar Column, Stacked Bar, Marimekko, Heatmap, and Tree Map Enable Sort for Version Dimension in a Table   Designers and Viewers now have an option to sort on the Version Dimension. It is supported for A – Z, Z – A and Custom Order. Default Order remains based on IBCS standards. IBCS in SAP Analytics Cloud With SAP Analytics Cloud initially certified in December 2017, we are proud to receive the seal “IBCS® Certified Charts and Tables” for another 2 years (until February 2026). There are a few more improvements that we made in the past certifications that are not covered in this Blog Post. These include: Dynamic Title Generation in Charts Automatic Chart Orientation with Time and Structure Dimensions Automatic Version Pattern and Color (includes with Variance)  Chart Scaling and Bar Width Highlight Differences in Charts More… Our commitment to IBCS remains, and we are honoured to be a close collaborator with IBCS to better understand the additional improvements we need to make before the next certification.  In case you haven’t done so already, please look at this video created by IBCS®️ Certified Trainer Esin Özkan, which dives into the details on how you can use SAP Analytics Cloud to implement IBCS rules.    Read More Technology Blogs by SAP articles 

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