How to Optimize Your SAP S/4HANA System Performance with SAP Focused Insights

A Tutorial on How to Configure and Use Dashboards and Alerts for System Health and Quality

SAP S/4HANA is a powerful enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that integrates business processes, data, and analytics across various domains and industries. However, to fully leverage the benefits of SAP S/4HANA, you need to ensure that your system performance is optimal and consistent. Poor system performance can lead to issues such as slow response times, high resource consumption, errors, downtime, and user dissatisfaction.

That’s why SAP provides a solution called SAP Focused Insights, which is a set of pre-packaged dashboards and alerts that help you monitor and improve your SAP S/4HANA system performance. SAP Focused Insights is based on the SAP Solution Manager platform, which is a central tool for managing your SAP landscape. With SAP Focused Insights, you can:

• Gain real-time visibility into your system health and quality indicators, such as availability, reliability, throughput, capacity, security, and user experience.
• Compare your system performance against predefined or customized benchmarks and best practices.
• Identify and troubleshoot performance bottlenecks, root causes, and impacts.
• Receive proactive notifications and recommendations for performance optimization.
• Communicate and share your system performance insights with relevant stakeholders.

In this article, I will show you how to configure and use SAP Focused Insights to optimize your SAP S/4HANA system performance. I will cover the following topics:

• How to install and activate SAP Focused Insights
• How to access and navigate the SAP Focused Insights dashboards
• How to customize and create your own dashboards
• How to configure and use the SAP Focused Insights alerts
• How to analyze and optimize your system performance using SAP Focused Insights

How to install and activate SAP Focused Insights

SAP Focused Insights is included in the usage rights of SAP Solution Manager 7.2 SP07 or higher. If you have an older version of SAP Solution Manager, you need to upgrade it first. You also need to have the following prerequisites:

• A managed system with SAP S/4HANA 1709 or higher
• A user with sufficient authorizations for SAP Solution Manager and SAP Focused Insights
• A valid maintenance certificate for your SAP Solution Manager

To install and activate SAP Focused Insights, follow these steps:

1. Log on to your SAP Solution Manager system as an administrator.
2. Launch the transaction SOLMAN_SETUP.
3. Navigate to System Preparation > Step 3.5 Install Additional Components.
4. Select the component ST-OST 200 (Focused Insights 2.0) and click Install.
5. Wait for the installation to complete and click Next.
6. Navigate to Basic Configuration > Step 5.1 Configure Automatically.
7. Select the scenario FOCUSED_INSIGHTS_20 (Focused Insights 2.0) and click Configure.
8. Wait for the configuration to complete and click Next.
9. Navigate to Managed Systems Configuration > Step 3 Configure System.
10. Select your SAP S/4HANA system and click Configure System.
11. Follow the guided procedure to complete the system configuration.

After completing these steps, you have successfully installed and activated SAP Focused Insights for your SAP S/4HANA system.

How to access and navigate the SAP Focused Insights dashboards

SAP Focused Insights provides four types of dashboards that correspond to different levels of system performance monitoring:

• Strategic dashboards: These dashboards provide a high-level overview of your system performance across multiple dimensions, such as business processes, applications, infrastructure, security, and user satisfaction. They are designed for executives and managers who need to align their IT strategy with their business goals and priorities.
• Tactical dashboards: These dashboards provide a detailed analysis of your system performance for specific domains, such as availability, reliability, throughput, capacity, exceptions, incidents, changes, backups, jobs, interfaces, etc. They are designed for IT experts who need to optimize their IT operations and ensure service level agreements (SLAs).
• Operational dashboards: These dashboards provide a real-time monitoring of your system performance for critical metrics, such as response time, CPU utilization, memory consumption, disk usage, network traffic, etc. They are designed for IT operators who need to detect and resolve performance issues quickly and efficiently.
• Analytics dashboards: These dashboards provide a historical trend analysis of your system performance over time. They allow you to compare your current performance with past performance or with predefined targets or thresholds. They also enable you to perform root cause analysis and identify patterns or anomalies in your system performance.

To access and navigate the SAP Focused Insights dashboards, follow these steps:

1. Log on to your SAP Solution Manager system as a user with SAP Focused Insights authorizations.
2. Launch the transaction SM_WORKCENTER.
3. Navigate to Focused Insights > Dashboards.
4. Select the type of dashboard you want to view from the drop-down menu.
5. Select the dashboard you want to view from the list of available dashboards.
6. Explore the dashboard by using the following features:

• Filters: You can use filters to refine your dashboard data by selecting specific values for dimensions, such as system, date, time, period, etc.
• Drill-down: You can drill down into your dashboard data by clicking on a chart or a table cell to see more details or related information.
• Export: You can export your dashboard data to various formats, such as PDF, Excel, CSV, etc., by clicking on the Export button.
• Refresh: You can refresh your dashboard data to see the latest updates by clicking on the Refresh button.

How to customize and create your own dashboards

SAP Focused Insights provides a set of predefined dashboards that cover the most common system performance scenarios. However, you can also customize and create your own dashboards to suit your specific needs and preferences. To customize and create your own dashboards, follow these steps:

1. Log on to your SAP Solution Manager system as a user with SAP Focused Insights authorizations.
2. Launch the transaction SM_WORKCENTER.
3. Navigate to Focused Insights > Dashboards.
4. Select the type of dashboard you want to customize or create from the drop-down menu.
5. To customize an existing dashboard, select the dashboard you want to modify from the list of available dashboards and click on the Edit button. To create a new dashboard, click on the Create button.
6. Use the Dashboard Builder tool to customize or create your dashboard by using the following features:

• Layout: You can use the layout tab to define the structure and appearance of your dashboard. You can add, remove, resize, or rearrange tiles that contain charts or tables. You can also change the title, description, theme, or background of your dashboard.
• Data: You can use the data tab to define the data sources and metrics for your dashboard. You can add, remove, or edit data providers that connect to various data sources, such as SAP Solution Manager monitoring data, SAP HANA database data, external data sources, etc. You can also add, remove, or edit metrics that display key performance indicators (KPIs) or key quality indicators (KQIs) for your system performance.
• Filters: You can use the filters tab to define the filters for your dashboard. You can add, remove, or edit filters that allow you to select specific values for dimensions, such as system, date, time, period, etc.
• Settings: You can use the settings tab to define the settings for your dashboard. You can configure various options, such as refresh rate, auto-start, auto-stop, auto-export, etc.

1. Save and activate your dashboard by clicking on the Save and Activate buttons.

How to configure and use the SAP Focused Insights alerts

SAP Focused Insights alerts are notifications that inform you about important events or situations related to your system performance. For example, you can receive alerts when your system performance exceeds or falls below certain thresholds or when an incident or a change occurs in your system. SAP Focused Insights alerts help you to:

• Stay informed and aware of your system performance status and trends
• React quickly and appropriately to performance issues or incidents
• Prevent or mitigate performance degradation or downtime
• Improve your system performance quality and reliability

To configure and use the SAP Focused Insights alerts, follow these steps:

1. Log on to your SAP Solution Manager system as a user with SAP Focused Insights authorizations.
2. Launch the transaction SM_WORKCENTER.
3. Navigate to Focused Insights > Alerts.
4. Select the type of alert you want to configure or use from the drop-down menu:

• Threshold alerts: These alerts are triggered when a metric value exceeds or falls below a predefined threshold. For example, you can receive an alert when your system response time is too high or too low.
• Event alerts: These alerts are triggered when an event occurs in your system. For example, you can receive an alert when an incident is created or resolved in your system.
• Change alerts: These alerts are triggered when a change is made in your system. For example, you can receive an alert when a transport request is imported or exported in your system.

1. To configure an existing alert, select the alert you want to modify from the list of available alerts and click on the Edit button. To create a new alert, click on the Create button.
2. Use the Alert Builder tool to configure or create your alert by using the following features:

General: You can use the general tab to define the basic information of your alert, such as name, description, category, priority, and status. You can also assign an owner and a processor for your alert.

• Data: You can use the data tab to define the data source and metric for your alert. You can select a data provider that connects to various data sources, such as SAP Solution Manager monitoring data, SAP HANA database data, external data sources, etc. You can also select a metric that displays a key performance indicator (KPI) or a key quality indicator (KQI) for your system performance.
• Condition: You can use the condition tab to define the condition that triggers your alert. You can specify a threshold value and an operator for your metric, such as greater than, less than, equal to, etc. You can also specify a time frame and a frequency for your alert, such as daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
• Action: You can use the action tab to define the action that is executed when your alert is triggered. You can select an action type, such as email, SMS, notification, incident, change request, etc. You can also configure the action parameters, such as recipients, subject, message, priority, category, etc.

1. Save and activate your alert by clicking on the Save and Activate buttons.

How to analyze and optimize your system performance using SAP Focused Insights

SAP Focused Insights dashboards and alerts provide you with valuable insights into your system performance. However, to optimize your system performance, you need to analyze the data and take appropriate actions based on the insights. Here are some tips on how to analyze and optimize your system performance using SAP Focused Insights:

• Use the strategic dashboards to align your IT strategy with your business goals and priorities. Identify the key performance indicators (KPIs) and key quality indicators (KQIs) that are relevant for your business processes and applications. Compare your system performance with predefined or customized benchmarks and best practices. Communicate and share your system performance insights with relevant stakeholders.
• Use the tactical dashboards to optimize your IT operations and ensure service level agreements (SLAs). Analyze the detailed performance data for specific domains, such as availability, reliability, throughput, capacity, exceptions, incidents, changes, backups, jobs, interfaces, etc. Identify and troubleshoot performance bottlenecks, root causes, and impacts. Receive proactive recommendations for performance optimization.
• Use the operational dashboards to detect and resolve performance issues quickly and efficiently. Monitor the real-time performance data for critical metrics, such as response time, CPU utilization, memory consumption, disk usage, network traffic, etc. Receive alerts when your system performance exceeds or falls below certain thresholds or when an incident or a change occurs in your system. React quickly and appropriately to performance issues or incidents.
• Use the analytics dashboards to perform historical trend analysis of your system performance over time. Compare your current performance with past performance or with predefined targets or thresholds. Perform root cause analysis and identify patterns or anomalies in your system performance.

By following these tips, you can use SAP Focused Insights to optimize your SAP S/4HANA system performance with dashboards and alerts for system health and quality.

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and learned something new. If you have any questions or feedback about SAP Focused Insights or SAP S/4HANA system performance optimization, please feel free to leave a comment below or contact me on LinkedIn.

Text: Microsoft Bing Chat with ChatGPT

References

• B?hm, A., Fiedler, S., & Aydin, U. (2019). SAP Focused Insights: A Comprehensive Guide to Dashboarding and Alerting with SAP Solution Manager. SAP PRESS.?1
• Focused Insights for SAP Solution Manager. (n.d.). SAP Help Portal. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from?2
• Martin, C. (2021, December 6). SAP S/4HANA 2021 – The Link Collection. SAP Blogs.?3
• SAP S/4HANA. (n.d.). SAP Help Portal. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from [4]
• SAP Solution Manager. (n.d.). SAP Help Portal. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from [5]

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