SAP TechEd in Barcelona ended a week ago (October 10). The conference is traditionally one of the most important events for developers and users of SAP solutions. Three days were spent in the Catalan capital, where everything revolved around the potential of the latest software solutions, optimal use of SAP applications, and the technologies required to become an intelligent enterprise.
SAP used the TechEd stage to announce several innovations that will be available to customers during the fourth quarter of 2019. For example, SAP HANA Cloud combines the power and processing speed of the in-memory database with the scalability and flexibility of cloud solutions. SAP HANA Cloud can be used either as a stand-alone solution or as an extension for existing on-premise environments. This gives users unified access to multiple data sources and the ability to analyze current transaction data in real time. A virtual interactive access layer decouples data usage and management.
The SAP Data Warehouse Cloud will also be generally available this year. The self-service solution links data with each other and centralizes the data landscape. This enables users to derive exactly the business benefit they need from the data in their respective departments. A flexible pricing model enables customers to expand their data warehouse cost-effectively. Unlike building a traditional data warehouse, you don't have to make a large initial investment.
SAP announced at TechEd in Las Vegas (September 24-27) that SAP Analytics Cloud will be embedded in S/4HANA Cloud. Now the strategy of providing basic analytics functions for HANA-based solutions continues: With the Q4 release of SuccessFactors, SAP Analytics Cloud will also be embedded into the HCM cloud software. This provides companies with better insights into their HR data and enables them to make well-founded decisions about employees and the organization.
The next release of SAP Analytics Cloud will include enhancements for complex analytics and business planning, as well as the analytics designer that accelerates insights and application development. New wizards make it easier for users to create formulas and data actions and use them in different planning models. This not only improves SAC performance, but also makes it easier to use.
Most companies are not fully cloud-based, but still have many on-premise applications in use. Accordingly, SAP continues to drive innovation in this area. Release 4.3 of SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence is a good example. The upcoming release of the leading on-premise BI suite supports customers with meaningful enhancements, creates a closer integration with SAP Analytics Cloud and convinces with high ease of use, simple implementation and support of current industry standards. There is also a clear timeframe for it: SAP will provide a beta version in the fourth quarter of 2019.