During the annual SAP Innovation Day for Partners, SAP presented its latest innovations, product positioning, and strategic roadmaps. During one of these sessions, SAP introduced a relatively new proposition: hybrid planning with SAP BPC and SAP Analytics Cloud..
At Cpmview, we have been closely following the convergence of these product capabilities and the opportunities they create. In this blog, we take a closer look at the power of SAP Analytics Cloud as an innovative extension for planning and reporting within SAP BPC.
What Is Hybrid Planning?
Hybrid planning shares many similarities with Integrated Business Planning (IBP). Both approaches take a holistic view of planning, addressing a common challenge within organisations: financial planning and operational planning are often not aligned.
Financial planning typically includes:
- Balance sheet planning
- Profit and loss forecasting
- Cash flow planning
Operational planning usually covers:
- Production planning
- HR planning
- Sales planning
These processes are often managed separately by different departments, which can result in planning cycles that are not synchronised.
So, is hybrid planning simply another name for IBP? Only partly.
With the term hybrid, SAP introduces a concept that highlights several new characteristics. While IBP solutions often focus on addressing planning challenges within a single platform or solution, hybrid planning emphasises flexibility and freedom of choice.
Users can select the most suitable tool for each part of the planning process. From a technical perspective, the hybrid approach also refers to where planning takes place:
- On-premise, where software is installed within the organisation’s own IT environment
- In the cloud
Why Hybrid Planning?
Why has SAP introduced this new approach, and what developments have driven it?
Many organisations have been using SAP BPC (Business Planning and Consolidation) for years. It is a proven and mature solution known for its robust architecture and strong core functionality, which continues to differentiate it from competing planning software.
At the same time, organisations are experiencing rapid innovation in data processing and analytics. Companies that can effectively transform data into actionable insights gain a significant competitive advantage.
The increasing availability of real-time data streams requires a more dynamic planning and forecasting process. Rather than updating plans and forecasts periodically—such as monthly or quarterly—organisations increasingly require planning models that can be adjusted quickly and dynamically based on real-time data.
To respond to this shift, SAP developed SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC).
SAP Analytics Cloud is unique in the market because it combines multiple capabilities in a single platform:
- Analytics
- Data visualisation
- Planning
- Predictive analytics
One of the key strengths of SAP Analytics Cloud is its focus on simplicity and accessibility. Business users can work with the tool directly without relying heavily on IT or requiring advanced BI or predictive analytics expertise.
Combining the Power of SAP BPC and SAP Analytics Cloud
Hybrid planning is not a standalone product. Instead, it is a strategic approach that combines the strengths of SAP BPC and SAP Analytics Cloud.
It represents SAP’s response to organisations that require real-time analytics and planning capabilities alongside traditional, robust financial planning.
Thanks to the near real-time integration between the two platforms, data can be easily exchanged without IT intervention.
For business users, it makes little difference whether planning takes place in SAP BPC or SAP Analytics Cloud. By extending SAP BPC with SAP Analytics Cloud, organisations gain access to a wide range of innovative planning and analytics capabilities.
Key Benefits of Integrating SAP BPC with SAP Analytics Cloud
Integrating SAP Analytics Cloud with SAP BPC enhances and simplifies existing planning processes by adding powerful BI, planning, and predictive capabilities.
Together, SAP BPC and SAP Analytics Cloud deliver a comprehensive real-time planning solution that supports all aspects of planning, from complex financial modelling to operational planning at business unit level.
Key features include:
- Web-based reporting and dashboards
- Web-based data input
- Predictive analytics capabilities
- Simple data modelling, including what-if scenarios and allocations
- Collaboration features, such as workflow management, online chats, and comments
How Does the Integration Work?
After installation, a one-time configuration of the SAP Analytics Cloud platform is required to establish a connection with SAP BPC.
SAP has optimised the integration between the two platforms to enable near real-time data connectivity.
Key features of this integration include:
Direct Access to SAP BPC Models
Users can access SAP BPC models directly from SAP Analytics Cloud and easily import them.
Flexible Data Import
When importing a model from SAP BPC, users can include:
- The data model
- Master data (dimensions and attributes)
- Transactional data
The simplicity of the interface means that business users can perform these tasks themselves without IT involvement. In practice, connecting the two systems is highly intuitive and efficient.
Data Enrichment and Advanced Planning
Business users can then plan based on the imported data and enrich it with additional sources, such as open data or external datasets, while leveraging all available SAP Analytics Cloud functionality.
Real-Time Data Refresh
With a simple data refresh button, users can retrieve the latest data from SAP BPC.
Once planning data is saved in SAP Analytics Cloud, updates are reflected almost immediately in SAP BPC.
Organisations can also choose to automatically apply SAP BPC logic when saving data, ensuring consistent calculations and business logic regardless of whether planning takes place in SAP BPC or SAP Analytics Cloud.
Seeing Is Believing
Ultimately, the value of hybrid planning becomes clear when you see it in action.
If you would like to experience hybrid planning with SAP BPC and SAP Analytics Cloud in practice, feel free to contact us to schedule a demo for your organisation.
