In today’s data-driven business landscape, the ability to consolidate, visualize, and analyze critical, up-to-date information is a game-changer. SAP Dashboards have revolutionized how organizations harness their data to drive better decision-making and improve operational efficiency.
From the most current data visibility to customization and mobile accessibility, SAP’s robust dashboard solutions provide a dynamic and user-friendly platform that empowers organizations to gain insights, monitor key performance indicators, and adapt swiftly to changing conditions.
This article will discuss the key capabilities of the SAP Dashboards designer, how interactive dashboards enable customers to improve visibility and analysis for critical business data, and where our team of SAP consultants can help.
What is a Dashboard in SAP?
SAP dashboards provides a visual representation of key performance indicators (KPIs), metrics, and data from SAP systems or other integrated data sources or systems. These dashboards provide a concise, at-a-glance view of critical business information, enabling users to make informed decisions based on or near-real-time data and execute more effective data and report management.
SAP also offers various tools for creating interactive dashboards, like SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards and SAP Analytics Cloud, to enable organizations to design and deploy dashboards that provide valuable insights and support data-driven decision-making across the enterprise.
Key Characteristics of SAP Dashboards
Here’s a closer look at a few of the main characteristics of SAP dashboards software:
Data Integration:
SAP dashboards typically integrate data from various SAP applications and other data sources, such as databases, spreadsheets, and external systems, to provide a comprehensive view of the organization’s performance.
Visualization:
They use charts, graphs, tables, and other visual elements to present data in a clear and visually appealing manner. This makes it easier for users to interpret complex data and identify trends and patterns.
Real-time Data:
Many SAP dashboards are updated in or near-real-time, ensuring users can access the most current information for decision-making.
Customization:
Users can often customize SAP dashboards to display the specific KPIs and metrics that are most relevant to their roles and responsibilities. This helps tailor the dashboard to meet the particular needs of different departments or individuals within an organization.
Interactivity:
Some SAP dashboards are interactive, allowing users to drill down into the data for more detailed analysis. They can click on elements within the dashboard to access underlying data or explore specific areas of interest.
Mobile-Friendly:
Many SAP dashboards are designed to be mobile-responsive, enabling users to access critical business information on smartphones and tablets, which is particularly useful for on-the-go decision-makers.
List of Standard SAP Dashboards
SAP Web Analytics provides customers with various standard dashboards to help them understand critical visitor activities on their website.
Here’s a list of the standard dashboards provided in the SAP Dashboards builder landscape:
Home
The Home dashboard provides an overview of reports and key performance indicators from all other dashboards across the SAP landscape to gain better insight into overall site usage.
Technology
The Technology dashboard provides reports that enable a better view of digital visitor data, including browser, operating system, and type of device used to access the site.
Visitors
The Visitors dashboard offers comprehensive insights into critical user viewership details.
Pages
The Pages dashboard includes reports that allow users to track visitor activities across different pages on the website.
Goals
The Goals dashboard requires users to define a sequence of steps to perform an action in SAP. This report provides insight into the number of visitors who have accessed a predefined sequence of applications or pages across the SAP landscape.
Navigation
The Navigation dashboard visualizes the path taken by each visitor when navigating from a parent page to different subpages at any given time.
Referrer
The Referrer dashboard helps organizations understand the origin of their viewers and where they go after initially accessing the reports.
Heat Map
The Heat Map dashboard provides a visualization for the position of clicks on the website.
How to Create a Personal Dashboard
Users can define their own personal overview page and arrange critical key performance indicators (KPIs) and report cards to meet their personal needs. The only prerequisite for users is that they have the Insights work center assigned to their SAP account.
Here are the main steps in creating a personal dashboard in SAP:
1) Select the Manage Dashboards view in SAP.
2) Click Create to create dashboards from scratch and add a name and description.
3) Navigate to Edit Layout to access the dashboard personalization screen.
4) Click the + symbol to add and organize the components you want to monitor.
5) Save your personalization in the Personalization sidecar.
6) Stop Personalization mode and pin the personal dashboard to the menu or shortcuts toolbar.
How to Create a Corporate Dashboard
Authorized users and key stakeholders can create corporate dashboards that centralize corporate dashboard pages and leverage specific business roles to share dashboards with other users.
There are a few prerequisites for users creating corporate dashboards: the Insights work center is assigned, and the user is a key user, meaning they can enter adaptation mode, access both the Flexibility Change Log and Application and User Management work centers, and have the ability to view the Business Analytics work center.
Here are the main steps in creating a corporate dashboard in SAP:
1) Enter the adaptation mode and click Manage Dashboards.
2) Click Create or Edit to build a new corporate dashboard or edit an existing one.
3) Enter the Gallery to add and organize cards and edit the layout.
4) Save and Publish the corporate dashboard.
5) Navigate to Application and User Management to create or edit a business role and add a corporate dashboard to existing business roles.
6) Review business roles to ensure users have access to relevant information and business work centers.
7) Access the Manage Dashboards view to pin the corporate dashboard to the menu or launchpad.
How to Create Custom SAP Dashboards
Users can create custom dashboards to consolidate reports and key performance indicators in one place, allowing users to easily access and visualize data as needed.
Here are the main steps in creating a custom dashboard in SAP:
1) Select Custom Views and navigate to the Dashboard view.
2) Click the Create Dashboard button.
3) Enter a dashboard name and select a template from the list of available templates.
4) Click Create to create dashboards from scratch.
5) If a Blank Template is chosen:
- In the placeholder for KPIs, click + to select up to five KPIs for each custom dashboard.
- In the placeholder for Reports, click + to select up to eight Reports for each custom dashboard.
6) If an existing template is chosen, the KPIs and Reports placeholders are already filled but allow users to add or delete them as needed.
7) Click Save to create and publish the dashboard. (Note: Users can also edit, delete, or set the dashboard as the home page if desired.)
Navigating the SAP Dashboard Builder Tool
The Dashboard Builder is an intelligent tool in SAP Solution Manager designed to help users create, manage, and display dashboards and access a quick overview of all data sources in the dashboards.
With the modern, template-based Dashboard Builder within SAP Solution Manager, users can support various dashboards as templates, comprising tiles that output critical business process information and organize the aspects of all data sources. Users can also create their own dashboards, tiles, and KPI groups to quickly and easily combine data sources and display data for further analysis.
The SAP Dashboards Builder within SAP Solution Manager comprises the following features:
Title
A title typically visualizes a specific KPI or aggregates information from a KPI in one centralized chart.
Dashboard
A dashboard consists of one or more titles and visualizes the values of multiple KPIs associated with a specific topic in one unified location.
Detail View
If a title is chosen, the detail view and other relevant information about the KPIs are displayed for each data source.
Top 6 Advantages of Interactive Dashboards in SAP
SAP dashboards are valuable tools for organizations looking to optimize operations, enhance data-driven decision-making, and improve overall efficiency. They provide a centralized, real-time view of critical metrics and data, helping organizations stay competitive and responsive in a fast-paced business environment.
Here’s a closer look at the main advantages of SAP’s interactive dashboards:
Real-time Visibility:
SAP dashboards provide real-time or near-real-time visibility into critical business data. This up-to-the-minute information allows decision-makers to respond quickly to changing conditions, monitor key performance indicators, and address issues promptly.
Data Consolidation:
SAP dashboards can consolidate data from various sources, including SAP systems and external databases, into a single view. This simplifies data access, reduces the need to gather and analyze data from multiple sources manually, and ensures data accuracy.
Improved Decision-Making:
SAP dashboards present data in a visually intuitive manner, making it easier for users to grasp complex information. This enhances decision-making by providing a clear, comprehensive, and easily understandable picture of the organization’s performance.
Customization and Personalization:
SAP dashboards are highly customizable, allowing users to tailor the dashboard to their needs and roles. Users can select the KPIs and metrics that are most relevant to them when they create custom dashboards, which increases the relevance and utility of the dashboard.
Mobile Accessibility:
Many SAP dashboards are mobile-friendly, enabling users to access critical business data on smartphones and tablets. This mobility empowers decision-makers to stay informed and make data-driven choices while on the go, whether they are in the office or in the field.
Enhanced Collaboration:
SAP dashboards can facilitate collaboration within an organization by providing a shared platform for monitoring and discussing key performance metrics. Teams can use the same dashboard to track progress and work together to achieve common goals.
How Can We Help?
Whether you need help configuring new dashboards in your existing SAP landscape, additional support navigating integrations between SAP BW content and BO capabilities, or just an extra hand getting started on your SAP journey, Surety Systems is here to help.
Our senior-level, US-based SAP consultant team has the knowledge, skills, and experience to help you handle all your most critical project needs and maximize your investment.
With our proven track record of success, we’ve got you covered — from first-time implementation to complex integration, system upgrade, product enhancement, and everything in between.
Getting Started with Us
Interested in learning how to use the dashboard in SAP to improve data management and visualization for critical data sources, reports, and other business information? Ready to get started on a project with our team of expert SAP consultants?
Contact us today for more information!
