With the 2024 Q3 release, SAP released the SAP Analytics Cloud, Add-In for Microsoft PowerPoint. With the introduction, you can now embed story widgets from SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) as an image in PowerPoint and dynamically update them with the latest data. This enables customers to make more confident decisions faster, as the widgets no longer have to be copied and pasted manually, but presentations can be created once and simply updated. In our article, we show you how the new add-in can be used in the SAC and PowerPoint.
Download the PowerPoint add-in
Like the Excel Add-In, the PowerPoint Add-In can also be easily downloaded from the Microsoft Office Store. This requires an SAP Analytics Cloud license.
Note: The first version of SAP Analytics Cloud, Add-In for Microsoft PowerPoint, only supports the web version of Microsoft Office 365. Support for the desktop app is planned for future releases.
To set up the add-in in your web version of PowerPoint, navigate to the "Add-Ins" menu item on the Start tab. The add-in can be found and added using the search bar. After installation, a new "SAP Analytics Cloud" tab appears.
Login with SAC login details
The login area now appears on the right-hand side. When you restart PowerPoint, you can also access it using the "Login" button. Enter the SAP Analytics Cloud URL and click "Start". If single sign-on is enabled, you do not need to enter your login information. Otherwise, a new window will open in which you can log in. After successful login, the add-in home page with the "Explore" and "Favorites" tabs will be displayed.
Using the PowerPoint Add-In
Stories marked as favorites in SAP Analytics Cloud can be selected under the "Favorites" tab. Alternatively, you can search for a specific story in the system using the search field. In this example, the recently accessed story "PP Add In" is selected via the "Explore" tab.
Note: Only stories created in the Optimized Design Experience that do not contain scripting are supported. Otherwise, they will be grayed out.
In the next step, all pages of the selected SAC story are listed. In our example, only the “Revenue & Cost” page. By expanding the page, all available widgets are listed.
Click on the widget name to select it. It will then be displayed and can then be inserted into the slide as an image.
You can now update the widget's data as needed, ensuring that your presentations always contain the most accurate and trustworthy data without having to copy and paste the information from your SAP Analytics Cloud system again. In our example, we do this by changing the filter settings in the relevant story.
These are changed with regard to the dimension “Country” from USA, Brazil and Russia to South Korea, Mexico and Italy. The story is then saved.
The image on the PowerPoint slide can now be adjusted to the latest data in the story by simply clicking on the "Refresh" button. Individual widgets or all of them can be selected.
The image on the PowerPoint slide can now be adjusted to the latest data in the story by simply clicking on the "Refresh" button. Individual widgets or all of them can be selected.
Conclusion: The SAP Analytics Cloud PowerPoint Add-In offers companies an efficient and time-saving way to create reports that are always based on the latest data. It not only streamlines the reporting process but also ensures that the information presented is accurate and up-to-date.
For companies that regularly create presentations for executives, investors or internal teams, this add-in offers clear added value. With the seamless integration of SAC data into PowerPoint, reporting becomes not only easier, but also more reliable and dynamic.
They find out here more about the SAP Analytics Cloud.
