Joyee Sen - PeerSpot reviewer
SAP Service Delivery Manager at SoftwareONE
MSP
Top 5Leaderboard
Feature-rich with excellent performance and capable of integrating with most applications
Pros and Cons
  • "A very feature-rich solution with excellent performance."
  • "This is an expensive solution."

What is our primary use case?

This is an in-memory database. It's designed to leverage the use of new generation, multi-threaded CPU architecture. We are service providers.

What is most valuable?

This is a very feature-rich solution with excellent performance. It's capable of integrating with most applications on the market. The stand-out feature of SAP HANA is that all data resides in memory. Processing is significantly faster, and the need and size of databases drop because there is no need to create and maintain tables that hold historical data.

What needs improvement?

As with all electrical products, this is an expensive solution and we'd like to see licensing costs reduced. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using this solution for 10 years. 

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SAP HANA
March 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is very knowledgeable and provide good service. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup doesn't take more than a few hours. The on-premise version can be installed on public cloud and SAP now have their own version on private cloud. Installation is just a matter of preparing the operating system that has certain prerequisites, patches, and networking requirements that need to fill parameters.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The hardware to run a HANA database requires extremely big servers, makes this an expensive solution. 

What other advice do I have?

There aren't many options available and this is a good product. I rate SAP HANA eight out of 10. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Vice President at Abacus Consulting
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
A cost-effective and high-performance solution that can handle large amounts of data
Pros and Cons
  • "SAP HANA is one of the best databases known for its performance...The new version of the solution is stable."
  • "The solution's development platform should be more flexible and scalable to adapt to other solutions."

What is our primary use case?

SAP HANA is one of the best databases known for its performance. Since the solution offers a functionality known as in-memory computing, its performance cannot be measured with other databases. If a customer has a large amount of data, especially data in gigabytes or terabytes, because of which they face performance issues, then SAP HANA is the database for them.

What is most valuable?

SAP HANA should go for big data solutions as well. So, SAP HANA is good for large enterprises and large databases. Even for large databases, we have to rely on other tools, especially those that fall under big data solutions. Hence, SAP HANA needs to be a part of big data solutions.

What needs improvement?

SAP HANA has almost all the features, and with every new release, they are introducing some new features because of the development team working on the solution. The solution has started supporting its integration with other applications, which can ensure the solution's development. The solution's development platform should be more flexible and scalable to adapt to other solutions. In short, the development environment of the solution needs to improve. Such improvements will make the integration and adaptation of the solution more flexible.

For how long have I used the solution?

For almost four to five years, I have been working on SAP HANA. I am not only an end user of the solution but also a part of a company that provides the solution to its customers.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The new version of the solution is stable. SAP HANA Version 1.0 had some performance issues, but after SAP HANA Version 2.0 got introduced, the solution became more stable. So there is no need to put in more effort since most things have become automated in the solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable product. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten. Presently, we have around 15 customers.

How are customer service and support?

Since I haven't faced any issues with the solution, I haven't contacted technical support yet.

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial setup was straightforward.

Only one or two days were required for the deployment part, which the technical department took care of in our organization.

If SAP provides simple and standard documentation to its users explaining every solution process in detail, the steps to deploy the solution can be simplified. In short, the deployment process won't take long if one follows the documentation. Also, it will ensure that the users do not have to get involved in any troubleshooting steps or face any other problems while using the solution.

Only one system administrator is required to deploy and maintain the solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

SAP offers a license for both ERP and HANA, which means that if you purchase SAP ERP, you will be provided with a license that covers both products. In the case of on-premises deployment, the license is perpetual, which means that you only need to pay for annual maintenance. On the other hand, for cloud deployment, licensing payments are made on a yearly subscription basis.

While the cost of the license may seem high, it is important to note that the benefits of the solution far outweighs the cost. Therefore, it can be considered a normal cost.

What other advice do I have?

I would tell those planning to use the solution that it works fine but needs to become more portable. The solution should also be made capable of supporting non-SAP application environments. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
SAP HANA
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about SAP HANA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
767,667 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Sr Advisory Technical Specialist at IBM
Consultant
Top 5
Has a good modeling feature and integrates well with third-party systems
Pros and Cons
  • "The feature I found most valuable in SAP HANA is modeling. I also like that the solution has good integration and you can integrate it with any system, even third-party systems."
  • "Ease of use could be improved in SAP HANA. I like SAP because SAP solutions can be used by anyone, which means even laymen can start working on SAP tools, but in SAP HANA modeling, you'll need to know some other technologies and sequel scripting, and you need a separate skillset, so if you don't have the skillset, you won't be able to work on SAP HANA. Making SAP HANA low-code would make it even better."

What is our primary use case?

We use SAP HANA as the source of SAP or SAP S/4HANA. We don't have a BW system in between, so we assess data from SAP HANA DB, and we use HANA data models in the HANA database and consume those into SAP.

What is most valuable?

The feature I found most valuable in SAP HANA is modeling. I also like that the solution has good integration and you can integrate it with any system, even third-party systems.

What needs improvement?

Ease of use could be improved in SAP HANA. I like SAP because SAP solutions can be used by anyone, which means even laymen can start working on SAP tools, but in SAP HANA modeling, you'll need to know some other technologies and sequel scripting, and you need a separate skillset, so if you don't have the skillset, you won't be able to work on SAP HANA. Making SAP HANA low-code would make it even better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using SAP HANA for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

SAP HANA is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

SAP HANA is a scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

I find the technical support for SAP HANA pretty good because if you have any issues, the team responds to you very quickly.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup for SAP HANA was straightforward. I don't have information on how long it took to deploy the solution because I wasn't in charge of the deployment.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I have no information on SAP HANA licensing costs.

What other advice do I have?

More than three hundred people use SAP HANA within my organization.

At the moment, there's no plan to increase usage for SAP HANA.

My company does system patching every quarter, so there's no issue with maintaining the solution.

I would recommend SAP HANA to others who want to start using it.

My rating for the solution is eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Pierre CAHAY - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
Multi-layered solution with good scalability, but lacking in feedback availability
Pros and Cons
  • "We have found that the Fiori Apps are particularly good."
  • "I would like to see improvement on the feedback from the road-map; it is currently extremely hard to get insight in this area."

What is our primary use case?

We are currently using the solution for planning, sourcing, and ordering from a contract perspective.

What is most valuable?

We have found that the Fiori Apps are particularly good.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see improvement on the feedback from the road-map; it is currently extremely hard to get insight in this area.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of this solution is extremely good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have found it to be extremely scalable.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex, but this was due to the nature of the current project which is large and complex. However, for smaller projects, it has been more straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was carried out in-house, and we also implement the solution for our customers.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of licensing is dependent on the size of the project, however, we have found that there is scope to negotiate the cost.

If the solution is implemented on-premises there may be some extra costs for hosting etc.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution as a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Wael Elsagh - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at EJADA
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Simple to maintain, useful modules, and reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of SAP HANA is the modeling of the databases."
  • "The solution could improve in the handling of backup data and the administration tools."

What is our primary use case?

My clients are using a specific technique called an in-memory database that is used with SAP HANA.

The solution can be deployed on the cloud and on-premises.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of SAP HANA is the modeling of the databases.

What needs improvement?

The solution could improve in the handling of backup data and the administration tools.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SAP HANA for approximately seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

SAP HANA is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

I have received a good response from the support from SAP HANA. However, the speed of the response could be better.

How was the initial setup?

The standard way to implement the solution does not take a lot of time. However, if you need to use specific deployment options, called distributions, in the replication. It takes a lot of time for the configuration. The maximum time of deployment will be three days.

The steps taken for the implementation of the solution are sizing the resources, cloud or on-premise, and determining what modules will be required. The most important is figuring out the prerequisites and then starting the deployment. We have to check to see if all the licenses are in place, do application appraisals, and review the whole system.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There is a yearly subscription to use SAP HANA. There is a fee for maintenance.

What other advice do I have?

I have over 50 customers using this solution.

I rate SAP HANA an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Implementer
PeerSpot user
IT Application Manager at TBTD
Real User
Reliable, stable, scalable, and can be integrated with third parties and other enhancements needed by businesses
Pros and Cons
  • "What's most valuable in SAP HANA is that it covers the business process systems of my company. The solution also helps because it makes almost everything automated. Another valuable feature of SAP HANA is that it can be integrated with third parties and other enhancements needed by the company."
  • "What needs improvement in SAP HANA is its automation, in particular, it needs more enhancements in that area."

What is our primary use case?

We use SAP HANA for our BW system, which is the system we use for our BI tools and BI reports.

What is most valuable?

What's most valuable in SAP HANA is that it covers the business process systems of my company. The solution also helps because it makes almost everything automated. Another valuable feature of SAP HANA is that it can be integrated with third parties and other enhancements needed by the company.

What needs improvement?

What needs improvement in SAP HANA is its automation, in particular, it needs more enhancements in that area.

Right now, what I need is already covered by SAP HANA, so I have no additional features in mind for it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using SAP HANA for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

SAP HANA is a stable and reliable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

SAP HANA is a scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support for SAP HANA is good. On a scale of one to five, I'm rating SAP support five out of five.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup for SAP HANA isn't complex. It would depend on what you need, but it's easy because you just need to define the business process and blueprint, get approval from your business team and technical team, build the structures, get approval, then configure, assign, and get approval again so you can start working on SAP HANA.

The total time it takes to deploy SAP HANA would depend on the gathering of information, checking what prevails, arranging it correctly, getting the approval, then proceeding with the deployment. You should have a plan regarding the timing, the processes, the resource, the budget, etc., for the deployment of SAP HANA.

On a scale of one to five, I'm rating the implementation of SAP HANA as five out of five.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

SAP HANA is more expensive than other solutions.

What other advice do I have?

I'm working on data selection, upgrading database engines, and updating database versions. I'm the IT Application Manager, so I assist in those areas.

I'm working on the latest version of SAP HANA.

My company has an SLA contract with SAP for the maintenance of SAP HANA, which means that the SAP team will take care of the maintenance. You also have the option to cover the maintenance yourself if you have a team of SAP HANA consultants and seniors.

In my current organization, a total of five hundred people use SAP HANA.

I would recommend SAP HANA to others, particularly for business process needs. You need to make sure that the solution is already defined for your organization's business process. For example, if you're in the manufacturing industry, then SAP HANA should be defined for manufacturing. You shouldn't have to make many customizations to it. This is what you need to check first. SAP HANA should cover all and automate your business processes without needing a lot of customizations.

My rating for SAP HANA is nine out of ten.

My company is a customer of SAP.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Umair Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Database Administrator at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Useful user administration and server management, but lacking user-friendliness
Pros and Cons
  • "As I only worked part-time on SAP HANA, I did not have the opportunity to explore the advanced features of the solution. However, I did work with basic features, such as user administration and access controls for the accounting department. The feature that stood out to me the most was the Single Sign-On and user administration, backup, and server management. My experience with SAP HANA was mainly focused on basic server improvements."
  • "In my limited experience using SAP, the process of granting access to different modules is difficult. Specifically, the requirement to assign roles and key codes to users rather than being able to assign them individually made the process more complex. It would be beneficial if there was a way to assign key codes separately, rather than having to create multiple roles. This would make managing access easier."

What is our primary use case?

In our company, we utilized SAP HANA to manage various types of information, for example, inventory, employee information, and accounting-related tasks, such as billing and employee surveys. The majority of our employee information was stored in SAP HAHA.

What is most valuable?

As I only worked part-time on SAP HANA, I did not have the opportunity to explore the advanced features of the solution. However, I did work with basic features, such as user administration and access controls for the accounting department. The feature that stood out to me the most was the Single Sign-On and user administration, backup, and server management. My experience with SAP HANA was mainly focused on basic server improvements.

What needs improvement?

In my limited experience using SAP, the process of granting access to different modules is difficult. Specifically, the requirement to assign roles and key codes to users rather than being able to assign them individually made the process more complex. It would be beneficial if there was a way to assign key codes separately, rather than having to create multiple roles. This would make managing access easier.

The grid could be made more user-friendly. While it is functional, it is not as user-friendly as other databases or accounts. In particular, I find that SAP HANA is a bit more complex for users to navigate. This could be improved to better serve the user.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using SAP HANA for approximately one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

SAP HANA is a stable tool. On and off, there were some issues, but overall the experience was good and we didn't have any sort of trouble using the setup or any other users complaining about anything.

I rate the scalability of SAP HANA a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have approximately 70 users using SAP HANA in my company. We had some shared applications which were another approximately 30 users using the solution.

The solution is scalable.

I rate the scalability of SAP HANA a nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

We provided support to our clients and we did not resolve ourselves we did not go to the vendor for an answer we looked online at the community support for our needs.

I rate the support of SAP HANA a seven out of ten.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

When comparing SAP HANA to other solutions in the same category, such as MySQL and Denodo, there are several differences. MySQL is more user-friendly than SAP HANA. Additionally, MySQL does not require a license to use, whereas SAP HANA does. However, SAP HANA does have its own advantages, such as being faster than MySQL and it is better suited for applications that require higher processing power. Ultimately, it depends on the specific needs of one's business and what they are trying to accomplish with their database which is the better solution. I find MySQL to be easier to work with than SAP HANA.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

There is an annual payment needed to use the solution.

What other advice do I have?

I rate SAP HANA a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Independent Consultant at Bosch&Cia
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Great documentation, a good interface, and simple to implement
Pros and Cons
  • "The UX experience is very good."
  • "The relationship with a partner that sells SAP could be better. We depend much more on our own development, and the partner is for selling us the solutions, so we need them to be able to supply help and answers. The partner isn't very helpful, and we have to rely on our own knowledge and research."

What is our primary use case?

SAP Business One works with SQL or HANA. My experience in HANA is configuring and administrating the database. We will also use it for the virtualization of all of our machines. 

We use SAP Business One and HANA as they have the same platform and databases.

How has it helped my organization?

It is in the internal control system and with the most important decisions for the management of the enterprise, the process of decision-making. We are much more able to analyze the information we get from the software and analyze why it works and whether it's good or bad. It also assisted us with internal control.

What is most valuable?

The solution has a pure interface. The UX is very good. That's the most significant feature.

Working with KPIs and ERP is easy.

There is too much documentation, and SAP has open SAP courses that are very useful. It depends a lot on what I, as a consultant, am interested in. 

When you understand the software, the setup is simple. 

It is stable.

The product scales well. 

What needs improvement?

Perhaps the access to learning could be improved, although it is also very good right now. 

The relationship with a partner that sells SAP could be better. We depend much more on our own development, and the partner is for selling us the solutions, so we need them to be able to supply help and answers. The partner isn't very helpful, and we have to rely on our own knowledge and research.

It could use more organizational functionality. for example, treating and analyzing stock items. I have to work a lot to organize the information, the articles, groups, subgroups, families, and so on. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is good, and a lot of useful documentation is available. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup isn't too hard if you know SAP software. 

In an enterprise with 150 end users, you might need two to three people to deploy the solution. 

What was our ROI?

I don't measure the ROI. With all the processes and changes in business it isn't easy, and we don't pay much attention to that.

What other advice do I have?

I am a client as well as a consultant. In both enterprises that I am responsible for, we bought SAP Business One for HANA.

We are in the process of installing HANA 2.0. 

It's a good investment. 

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SAP HANA Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SAP HANA Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.