Lesson: Advanced Analytics with SAP HANA

Many organizations already rely on spatial data processing and use specialist applications
alongside, but separate from, their business process applications. For example, a gas storage
tank is leaking and an emergency repair order is raised in the SAP ERP system by a
coordinator. Next, the coordinator uses a separate geo-based application and manually
enters the asset number of the tank. The tank shows up on a map, and the coordinator then
uses another application to identify the nearest engineer, who is then dispatched.

Missed Opportunities with Information Silos

It would be more efficient if, at the time of generating the repair order, the ERP application
was able to locate the tank. It could then identify and dispatch the nearest qualified engineer
who has enough working hours left to complete the repair, and provide useful geographic
information to the engineer to describe how to best reach the tank quickly. The application
could then provide information about other equipment in the close vicinity that is due an
inspection soon. This prevents having to make separate visits. This scenario could be possible
if the core business processes were integrated with spatial data and analysis.
Beyond business applications, there are more exciting use cases for spatial analysis in the
sports environment. SAP has developed a series of applications that provide deep analysis of
player performance. For example, in golf, by adding a sensor to the ball and pin, we can create
a graphical history to illustrate the improvements in accuracy of the shot. These types of
applications are already in use by major sports organizations around the world.
There are many applications that could be dramatically enhanced with the integration of
spatial data.
SAP Spatial provides new data types for storing geometrical data such as points, lines, and
polygons. These can be used to represent precise locations, roads, and regions. SAP HANA
Spatial uses open standards and so can easily be integrated with well-known, leading
geospatial providers such as ESRI, OGC, OpenStreepMap, GoogleMap.
As well as storing spatial data, SAP HANA also provides spatial query functions that can easily
be included in SQL Script. Here are some examples of the functions:
● Within — which customers are in my region?
● Distance — what is the longest distance a high-value customer has to travel to reach my
sales outlet?
● Crosses — where does truck route A cross truck route B?

SAP HANA Spatial also provides algorithms that can determine clusters. This helps an
organization to locate precise locations that might be lucrative based on income data and
other interesting attributes associated with consumers.

Predictive Analysis
With SAP HANA, you can develop predictive models using a variety of approaches. These
approaches include using:
● Predictive Analysis Library (PAL)
● Automated Predictive Library (APL)
● Extended Machine Learning (EML)
● R (algorithm library)

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