By Benjamin Kwong — Jul 4, 2023

SAP Data & Analytics: SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office, SAP Analytics Cloud, Excel Add In for Microsoft Office: What's the difference between these Excel Add Ins?

Introduction

Microsoft Excel is the heartbeat of many corporate divisions providing familiarity and flexibility to analyze data so I recommend that you make it a key part of your analytics tool set to encourage adoption and use of your SAP analytics platforms.

What doesn't help is that SAP has quite the array of Excel Add Ins that can play a role in your analytics architecture and landscape. On the surface they sound very similar but there are details that will help you decide between one Excel add in over the other.

In this blog post I break down each product and understand its best applied use cases for your organization.

Before diving in, please make sure to check the latest SAP sources for up to date information. At the time of writing, all information is up to date, but over time SAP do make changes and some of my points below may be invalidated.

Three Excel Add-Ins to Choose From

SAP's Excel Add Ins can be broken down into two products but with three choices:

SAC Analytics Cloud, Excel Add In for Microsoft Office
SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office available in two versions: Standard versus Edition for SAP Analytics Cloud

Sounds confusing doesn't it? Let me help clarify that a bit.

What is SAP Analytics Cloud, Excel Add In for Microsoft Office?

SAP Analytics Cloud, add-in for Microsoft Office enables you to integrate with Microsoft Excel.

The add-in allows SAP Analytics Cloud power users to leverage the familiar functionalities of Microsoft Excel and get even more out of SAP Analytics Cloud’s planning and analytical capabilities. The add-in also supports Datasphere Datasets and S/4HANA Cloud queries.

This add-in can be installed via the Microsoft store and supports Windows, MacOS and browser versions of Office.

What is SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office?

SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office is designed to provide analytical capabilities in Microsoft Excel on SAP S/4HANA, SAP BW, SAP Business Planning, SAP HANA, SAP Datasphere and SAP Analytics Cloud.

There are two editions available for SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office:

The standard edition is part of the SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise and SAP BusinessObjects Planning & Consolidation license
The edition for SAP Analytics Cloud is included with the subscription to SAP Analytics Cloud Business Intelligence or Planning

This add-in is a local desktop installation.

Data Source Comparisons

As the time of writing this blog post, in the near term, choice of data source is quite wide but please read product documentation for more in depth detail as SAP can change at any time.

	SAP Analytics Cloud, Add-in for Microsoft Office	SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office	SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office, edition for SAP Analytics (2)
S/4HANA On Premise	❌	✅ Direct or BI Platform Connectivity	✅ Direct or BI Platform Connectivity
S/4HANA Cloud	✅ Cloud Query	✅	✅
SAP Analytics Cloud	✅ Cloud Model	✅ Classic Models	✅ Classic Models
SAP BW	❌ (1)	✅ Direct or BI Platform Connectivity	✅ Direct or BI Platform Connectivity
SAP BPC	❌	✅ Direct or BI Platform Connectivity	✅ Direct or BI Platform Connectivity
SAP HANA	❌	✅ Direct or BI Platform Connectivity	✅ Direct or BI Platform Connectivity
SAP Datasphere	✅ Datasets	✅ Datasets	✅ Datasets

SAP BW support is planned for Q3 2023 - please check SAP Roadmaps for the latest
Requires a SAC authorization before accessing any connections

Feature Comparisons

Licensing, data sources and capabilities should help you formulate which tool is best for you. Take note of the nuances between each add-in version.

	SAP Analytics Cloud, Add-in for Microsoft Office	SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office	SAP Analysis for Microsoft Office, edition for SAP Analytics (1)
License	SAC	Business Objects	SAC
Installation	Microsoft Store	Desktop Installation	Desktop Installation
Platform	Windows, MacOS, Browser	Windows	Windows
Office	Office 2021 & 365	Office 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365	Office 2016, 2019, 2021 and 365
Releases	Monthly with frequent patches	Quaterly	Quaterly
Add On for BI Platform - Scheduling & Pre-Calculation	❌	✅	❌
EPM Add In	❌	✅	❌
BPC Plug In	❌	✅	❌
Powerpoint Integration	❌	✅	❌
Save Workbooks	✅ Locally or Server	✅ Local or on BI Platform/SAC	✅ Local or on BI Platform/SAC

Requires a SAC authentication before accessing any connection.

Which One Should I Choose?

At the end of the day, choosing one of these tools will provide Excel capability but you have to take into consideration your toolset.

If your platform is starting to shift torwards SAP strategic toolsets like SAC and Datasphere, you really should consider the SAC Add Ins and compare them depending on your use case.

If your organization intent is to continue to use S/4HANA, BW, Enterprise HANA, SAP Business Planning & Consolidation or you intend on using Datasphere without SAC, then the regular version of Analysis for Office might be a better fit for you.

Either way, carefully review the different features above to decide which add-in is best for your organization.

Additional Reading and References

SAP Analytics Cloud, Add-in for Microsoft Office

This page is the central resoure for everything regarding SAP Analytics Cloud, Add-in for Microsoft Office. This is a great resource that has many additional links: