SAP Analytics Cloud continues to evolve as a leading platform for analytics, planning and intelligent insights. Yet many users are unaware of the rich set of „hidden“ capabilities that sit beyond the standard functionality. These lesser known features offer meaningful advantages: from improving user experience to simplifying complex workflows. This blog highlights some of SAP Analytics Cloud’s most valuable but often overlooked tools that can significantly enhance how organizations interact with their data.
FEATURE 1 – BOOKMARKS
What are Bookmarks in SAP Analytics Cloud?
A Bookmark is a saved state of a story or page. It captures how the page looks at that moment, including – filters you selected, input controls, variable selections, drill levels etc. it’s like taking a snapshot of your story/page settings and not the data itself.
Why are Bookmarks useful?
Quickly return to your preferred view – if the story is complex, with many filters and drilldowns, you can setup a view once and refer back to it as needed.Shre personalized views with others – you can create a bookmark and share it with specific users. Each user still has the latest live data not a static snapshot of the data.Reduce user errors – instead of another user trying to recreate the view you have created, you can simply send them a bookmark and they view exactly what you see.
Steps to create a Bookmark:
In View mode: you can Bookmark the current state of a story to quickly return to it. Simply go to
The following screen will open:
You can enter a name and click on Save. Once saved you can check under Open Saved Bookmarks:
This will open the version you’ve bookmarked in View mode, you can still go into Edit mode and edit the bookmarked screen.
FEATURE 2 – SMART INSIGHTS
What are Smart Insights?
Smart Insights is an AI powered feature in SAP Analytics Cloud that can save time instead of manually creating reports to quickly view specific data. It helps non-technical users understand data – people who aren’t analysts can instantly get a view of the data that they need without having to build a report.
Why are Smart Insights useful?
Supports faster decision making – Smart Insights turns raw data into actionable insights.Easy access of information – can quickly check sales for a specific location within your data.
Steps to use Smart Insights:
From Home you can access Smart Insights (Just Ask)
You can also access Smart Insights from
This can be accessed from anywhere in SAP Analytics Cloud as it is pinned to the Toolbar area of SAP Analytics Cloud.
After clicking on the Smart Insights icon you will be taken to this screen:
Click on the “Indexed Acquired Models” dropdown and select your model:
Once you have selected your model, you can start selecting fields from the model you want to see. In this example I will look at Quantity Sold and Location:
Hit enter or click the blue lightbulb and SAP Analytics Cloud will start creating the visualizations for you:
P.S: This can also be viewed as a table and Data Analyzer can be accessed as well.
FEATURE 3: COMMENTS AND COLLABORATION
What are Comments in SAP Analytics Cloud?
Comments let you add notes, explanations, discussions or action items directly inside a story or dashboard. It’s basically in-story communication, so people don’t need to leave SAP Analytics Cloud to discuss the data.
Why are Comments useful?
Keeps conversations in one place – with Comments, the discussion stays right next to the actual data, no context gets lost and no emails need to be sent.Improves collaboration – teams can: ask questions, tag people, provide explanations etc, all directly in the dashboard. It turns dashboards into collaborative tools.Useful for audit trails – Comments create a record of: decisions, discussions, explanations etc. if there is a question on the data months after a decision has been made; there us a clear trail to follow.
Steps to create Comments:
Click on the in the Toolbar, go to Others and Click on Comment:
Below the Table you will see a Comment Widget loading and appear:
Click on “Click to add Comment”:
To add in another comment after this click on the comment icon and another comment section will open:
As organizations aim to make more informed, timely decisions, understanding the full breadth of SAP Analytics Cloud’s capabilities becomes increasingly important. The “hidden” features discussed in this blog demonstrate how much more the platform can offer beyond the basics. By integrating these functionalities into your everyday processes, you can create more efficient workflows, more interactive stories and ultimately more impactful analytics. Leveraging these tools ensures you are getting the most out of your SAP Analytics Cloud investment.
SAP Analytics Cloud continues to evolve as a leading platform for analytics, planning and intelligent insights. Yet many users are unaware of the rich set of „hidden“ capabilities that sit beyond the standard functionality. These lesser known features offer meaningful advantages: from improving user experience to simplifying complex workflows. This blog highlights some of SAP Analytics Cloud’s most valuable but often overlooked tools that can significantly enhance how organizations interact with their data. FEATURE 1 – BOOKMARKSWhat are Bookmarks in SAP Analytics Cloud?A Bookmark is a saved state of a story or page. It captures how the page looks at that moment, including – filters you selected, input controls, variable selections, drill levels etc. it’s like taking a snapshot of your story/page settings and not the data itself.Why are Bookmarks useful?Quickly return to your preferred view – if the story is complex, with many filters and drilldowns, you can setup a view once and refer back to it as needed.Shre personalized views with others – you can create a bookmark and share it with specific users. Each user still has the latest live data not a static snapshot of the data.Reduce user errors – instead of another user trying to recreate the view you have created, you can simply send them a bookmark and they view exactly what you see.Steps to create a Bookmark:In View mode: you can Bookmark the current state of a story to quickly return to it. Simply go toThe following screen will open:You can enter a name and click on Save. Once saved you can check under Open Saved Bookmarks:This will open the version you’ve bookmarked in View mode, you can still go into Edit mode and edit the bookmarked screen. FEATURE 2 – SMART INSIGHTSWhat are Smart Insights?Smart Insights is an AI powered feature in SAP Analytics Cloud that can save time instead of manually creating reports to quickly view specific data. It helps non-technical users understand data – people who aren’t analysts can instantly get a view of the data that they need without having to build a report.Why are Smart Insights useful?Supports faster decision making – Smart Insights turns raw data into actionable insights.Easy access of information – can quickly check sales for a specific location within your data.Steps to use Smart Insights:From Home you can access Smart Insights (Just Ask)You can also access Smart Insights fromThis can be accessed from anywhere in SAP Analytics Cloud as it is pinned to the Toolbar area of SAP Analytics Cloud.After clicking on the Smart Insights icon you will be taken to this screen:Click on the “Indexed Acquired Models” dropdown and select your model:Once you have selected your model, you can start selecting fields from the model you want to see. In this example I will look at Quantity Sold and Location:Hit enter or click the blue lightbulb and SAP Analytics Cloud will start creating the visualizations for you:P.S: This can also be viewed as a table and Data Analyzer can be accessed as well. FEATURE 3: COMMENTS AND COLLABORATIONWhat are Comments in SAP Analytics Cloud?Comments let you add notes, explanations, discussions or action items directly inside a story or dashboard. It’s basically in-story communication, so people don’t need to leave SAP Analytics Cloud to discuss the data.Why are Comments useful?Keeps conversations in one place – with Comments, the discussion stays right next to the actual data, no context gets lost and no emails need to be sent.Improves collaboration – teams can: ask questions, tag people, provide explanations etc, all directly in the dashboard. It turns dashboards into collaborative tools.Useful for audit trails – Comments create a record of: decisions, discussions, explanations etc. if there is a question on the data months after a decision has been made; there us a clear trail to follow.Steps to create Comments:Click on the in the Toolbar, go to Others and Click on Comment:Below the Table you will see a Comment Widget loading and appear:Click on “Click to add Comment”: To add in another comment after this click on the comment icon and another comment section will open:As organizations aim to make more informed, timely decisions, understanding the full breadth of SAP Analytics Cloud’s capabilities becomes increasingly important. The “hidden” features discussed in this blog demonstrate how much more the platform can offer beyond the basics. By integrating these functionalities into your everyday processes, you can create more efficient workflows, more interactive stories and ultimately more impactful analytics. Leveraging these tools ensures you are getting the most out of your SAP Analytics Cloud investment. Read More Technology Blog Posts by SAP articles
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