Which approaches enable effective comparison of current sales data with historical data in SAP Analytics Cloud?

The approach that enables effective comparison of current sales data with historical data is time series analysis. This method involves analyzing data points collected or recorded at specific time intervals, allowing users to observe trends, patterns, and seasonal variations over time. By utilizing time series analysis in SAP Analytics Cloud, businesses can create visualizations such as line charts that clearly illustrate how sales figures change month over month, year over year, or at any defined period. This granularity and attention to temporal changes enable deeper insights in decision-making and strategic planning.

Time series analysis is particularly valuable because it helps organizations understand the trajectory of sales performance within context, helping identify whether current sales are improving, declining, or staying consistent compared to prior periods.

In contrast, while variance analysis might provide insights into the discrepancies between planned and actual figures, it does not focus on temporal changes but rather on differences between sets of data. Predictive forecasting aims to project future outcomes based on historical trends but does not directly compare current data with past records. Benchmarking serves to measure performance against industry standards or competitors, rather than focusing solely on historical performance comparison within the organization.