Looking Back at SAP TechEd 2025 Berlin

Back home from Berlin and back behind the keyboard. Time to reflect on SAP TechEd 2025. And yes, it was genuinely refreshing to finally have a physical TechEd in Europe again. The last one I attended was Las Vegas 2019, which feels like another era: SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) was just starting to become mainstream, SAP Datasphere (DSP) was still called Data Warehouse Cloud, and AI was mostly something shown during keynotes rather than applied in real scenarios. The virtual editions we had in the meantime were a decent attempt, but never a real substitute for the actual experience: talking to product managers, reconnecting with familiar faces, meeting new ones, and getting hands-on with the tools.

Keynote

As usual, the keynote was an avalanche of announcements, slogans, demos, and even robots on stage. But: 1 hour and 45 minutes is simply too long, especially when the keynote is scheduled at the end of a full first day (presumably to accommodate the U.S. online audience). In this keynote, SAP clearly wanted to emphasize that they are going all-in on AI. I saw a new proprietary model (SAP-RPT-1) and even a large language model for ABAP (!).

Within the analytics domain, the biggest announcement was the upcoming partnership with Snowflake, enabling integration with SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC) in 2026H1. One issue with scheduling keynotes at the end of the day: half the analytics community had already heard most of this news earlier on the show floor, but okay…

BDC is everything

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SAP Analytics Cloud 2025 QRC 3 Preview

It’s mid-summer 2025, and that can only mean one thing: the new SAP Analytics Cloud quarterly release is coming! To get in the mood, I’ve gone through the recent release notes from the bi-weekly tenant updates and picked out some interesting new features.

AI

AI has finally truly landed in SAP Analytics Cloud. We’ve had the clunky Just Ask (formerly “Search to Insight”) for some time, but with the QRC3 release, we’re making some serious progress.

You can now have SAC generate a formula in a Data Action based on a prompt, and it can also explain a formula to you in script comments. The Data Analyzer has a similar new feature called the AI Formula Assistant that can generate formulas based on some text. In the PowerPoint add-in (yes, it’s little-known but you can link SAC objects to PPT!), SAC can write a summary of a chart. Lastly, SAC can now summarize and translate (data point) comments.

All very interesting developments, and I was eager to see how such LLM integrations would work in SAC, especially in Data Actions and the Data Analyzer. Unfortunately, apparently you need to purchase an AI units license before you can use any of this. Sigh. So I haven’t been able to try any of it yet and am still stuck copy-pasting between SAC and ChatGPT for now. It’s a shame SAP doesn’t offer a model where you can run a small number of prompts for free and only pay for heavier use, like most major LLM providers do. I fear very few customers will be willing to pay for such a limited set of features.

For more information on how to enable the AI-Assisted Features in SAC, check this link.

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De Nederlandse BI Podcast: Business Data Cloud is here! Is het echt zo revolutionair?

English summary (AI generated):

In the latest episode of the DNBIP podcast, several key updates and developments within the SAP world were discussed. From technological improvements in SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) to the announcement of the Business Data Cloud (BDC), there is plenty to explore. Here’s a summary of the highlights.

Introduction and Updates

The episode kicked off with a personal update: Joost’s car has been repaired and is running smoothly again. This was followed by an interesting discussion on the Firefly notetaker within Microsoft Teams, an AI tool that generates meeting notes automatically.

Next, the Q1 release of SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) was discussed. One of the most notable additions is the video story functionality, allowing users to present data in a visual and interactive way.

2025-Q1 release of SAP Analytics Cloud

The Q1 release of SAP Analytics Cloud introduced several innovations:

• Video story functionality: Enables users to create advanced and visually engaging data analysis stories.
• Compass functionality: A new tool for simulations, allowing users to analyze the impact of different scenarios.
• Automatic currency conversion: A feature that simplifies currency calculations within dashboards.
• Expansion of Just Ask and Answers: Enhancements in AI-driven natural language question-and-answer functionalities within the SAC environment.

Business Data Cloud: The Next Evolution in Data Integration

One of the biggest announcements in this episode was the introduction of the SAP Business Data Cloud (BDC). This new platform integrates DataSphere, SAP Analytics Cloud, and BW Bridge into one unified environment. This makes it easier to bring together and analyze data from different sources.

Additionally, a strategic partnership with Databricks was announced, bringing new possibilities for AI and machine learning within SAP environments. This partnership enables businesses to process data more efficiently and apply advanced AI solutions.

Another significant aspect of the Business Data Cloud is the introduction of data products as ready-to-use solutions. This makes it easier for companies to quickly gain value from their data without requiring extensive technical expertise.

Questions About Licensing Models and Data Integration

Finally, the podcast addressed questions surrounding licensing models and data integration within SAP products. How does SAP handle licenses for the Business Data Cloud? And how does integration work with existing SAP and non-SAP systems? These are important considerations for companies looking to implement new technologies.

Further Reading

Want to learn more about the topics discussed? Here are some interesting articles and blogs that provide deeper insights:

• SAP Business Data Cloud: The Next Evolution of SAP DataSphere
• The SAP-Databricks Partnership: Combining Expert Knowledge of Business Critical Processes with World-Class Data Engineering Capabilities
• Does SAP Business Data Cloud Justify the Fanfare?
• SAP & Databricks: A Full Circle Moment
• SAP BW 7.5 PCE in Business Data Cloud: The Legacy Objects Dilemma

Stay tuned to the podcast for more updates and insights into SAP technologies and developments!

Video: SAP Analytics Cloud Video Data Story [2024.25]

SAP Analytics Cloud release 2025.Q1 is almost here so let’s check out some of the new features! In this video I’m trying out the new “Video Data Story” option, which lets you create simple videos from your story widgets.

De Nederlandse BI Podcast: 2025 is in zicht, wat gaat er gebeuren met Datasphere, SAP Analytics Cloud & de AI-markt?

In deze aflevering kijken we in onze glazen bol en gaan we onze voorspellingen doen voor 2025! Wat gaat er gebeuren met Datasphere en SAP Analytics Cloud en met welke verrassingen gaat SAP nu weer komen?