Creating a Model in SAP Analytics Cloud and Checking the Fact Table in SAP Datasphere

Seamless planning is the integration of SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Datasphere. It is not a product but a solution that aims to improve data and application interoperability between SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Datasphere.

Connecting SAP Analytics Cloud for planning and SAP Datasphere as a data platform creates a seamless planning solution. This simplifies the planning process and enables a uniform interface. The goal is to reduce the time to action and foster collaboration across different lines of business by enabling planning and analytics on a simplified, centralized, and governed data platform.

With seamless planning, data in planning models can be easily combined with other data to create new views supporting a wide selection of applications.

You can opt for SAP Datasphere as a data storage location when creating new models and dimensions, or when importing content from the Content Network in SAP Analytics Cloud.

While SAP Datasphere acts as the processing layer, SAP Analytics Cloud continues to define the model structure, own the model’s metadata, define calculations, planning processes, and so on. Direct write access to the planning fact table in SAP Datasphere is not possible as SAP Analytics Cloud objects are read-only in SAP Datasphere.

To model your data and create stories, you must start off with an SAP Datasphere space. Spaces are created by administrators and are virtual work environments with their own databases, enabling you to collaborate without being concerned about sharing your data.

All SAP Analytics Cloud for planning features are available for seamless planning models, including SAP Analytics Cloud predictive scenarios, however, there are some requirements. To use seamless planning:

• SAP Analytics Cloud has to run on HANA Cloud.
• SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Datasphere tenants have to be linked for seamless planning in a 1:1 relationship by the system owner. Linking will enable the selection of SAP Datasphere spaces as the data storage location for the supported object types.
• One SAP Analytics Cloud tenant can be linked with only one SAP Datasphere tenant.
• You need to own licenses for both SAP Analytics Cloud and SAP Datasphere. In the seamless planning scenario, you would license the planning functionality via SAP Analytics Cloud users and license the hardware (storage, memory, compute) required for planning via SAP Datasphere capacity units.

More information and commonly asked questions can be found in the Technology Blogs by SAP post on seamless planning FAQ.

You still build your model in SAP Analytics Cloud even if you choose to store your data in SAP Datasphere. To create a model from a file that uses SAP Datasphere as the data storage location:

1. In the Modeler in SAP Analytics Cloud, create a new model.
2. In the Data Storage Location dialog, select SAP Datasphere. From the dropdown menu, select your SAP Datasphere space. Select Next. If you select SAP Analytics Cloud, then you cannot use seamless planning.
3. In the Select a data source dialog, select File (Local File or File Server).
4. In the Create Model from File dialog, use the Select Source File button, navigate to the file and select it. Once you select it, select Create.

If you want to enable SAP Datasphere users to consume the model in SAP Datasphere, then model needs to be exposed. To do this:

1. Enable Planning Capabilities by selecting the checkbox.
2. In Data Storage (SAP Datasphere), select Edit.
3. In the SAP Datasphere Fact Table dialog, name the fact table. Select OK.
4. Save the model.

SAP Analytics Cloud models expose the underlying data foundation as a Local Table (Fact), while the public dimension tables expose the master data as a Local Table (Dimension).

Once a model is exposed, SAP Datasphere can use SAP Analytics Cloud-exposed objects in graphical views, SQL views, analytic models, transformation flows, for example. However, remember that SAP Analytics Cloud objects appear in read-only mode in SAP Datasphere, meaning that SAP Datasphere modelers cannot make structural changes to these objects.

To access the fact table that was created when you exposed the model, open the SAP Datasphere space in the Data Builder.

In the Data Builder of SAP Datasphere, you can see that the SAP Analytics Cloud model was successfully deployed and the SAP Analytics Cloud model was exposed with the semantic type Fact.

When you open the fact table and select Data Viewer, you can view the model data. Since the model was exposed in read-only mode, you cannot change the structure from the Data Builder. Nevertheless, you can consume the model as the source in other workflows such as analytic models.