To leverage version management capabilities within an SAP Analytics Cloud (SAC) story, it is a fundamental requirement that the story is built on a planning model. Version management is a core feature specifically designed for planning functionalities. It enables users to create, manage, and compare different scenarios or iterations of data, such as "Actual," "Budget," "Forecast," or various planning versions. This is critical for budgeting, forecasting, and what-if analysis, allowing planners to work on different data sets concurrently and track changes over time. While analytic models are used for general reporting and analysis, they do not inherently support the robust version management features that are integral to planning processes. Therefore, if you intend to utilize version management to compare different data scenarios or manage planning cycles, your SAC story must be connected to a planning model.