We all know that SAP Analytics Cloud, as a Software-as-a-Service product, evolves all the time. With this comes enhancements, new features, and additions. But it also comes with the occasional removal of functionality that might be deemed unnecessary or out-of-date. One such change is coming soon.
Understanding the Change:
You may have seen this notice after a recent SAC update. We are going to explore what this means, what the possible impact might be for you and your organization, and what to do going forward.
Exporting Models to the SAC File Repository
Simply put, the functionality being phased out is the ability to export a model to the SAC File Repository. Models exports are not going away entirely. Models can still be exported. But it will no longer be possible to export a model directly to the SAC File Repository for downloading.
To be clear, the way this worked in the past was that you could initiate a model export and tell the system to put the export somewhere within your tenant’s File Repository – that is, the folder structure that you have established within your environment.
With a Model opened, you would navigate to the Data Management workspace. From here, you would click on Export Data > Export Model as File > Create New Schedule.
In the subsequent Export Model as File window, you would have the option to export the model to the File Repository, and you would be able to choose a folder within SAC’s folder structure to be the destination for the export.
The option to select File Repository is the only element going away with this update. The ability to export from a Model will remain, but your only option at this point will be to export to a File Server.
Impact and Considerations:
So what is the impact of this change to you? Well, that depends. Most organizations we work with were not using the File Repository for their model exports. In fact, I only ever used this ability to quickly test out the export functionality and to see what a resulting file would look like.
Best Practices Moving Forward:
Based on this, odds are this change will not have much of an impact on you at all. However, it would be a best practice idea to review your models’ existing schedule of exports to determine if you had any that were actively exporting to the File Repository.
Alternative Options:
It’s important to note that the SAP Analytics Cloud Agent must be installed and configured in order to allow the use of a File Server with SAC. SAP also recommends another option, and that is using a Data Export API to handle your model exports.
To review, SAP Analytics Cloud is phasing out a minor piece of functionality. Specifically, you will no longer be able to schedule exports of Model data directly to the SAC File Repository. If you need assistance, please comment or post a question in the forum!
