SAP shows off high-speed data results with Hana platform

SAP has signalled its intention to directly challenge its rivals in the data analytics space by announcing the results of tests carried out by its High-Performance Analytic Appliance (Hana) in-memory platform on a 1.3TB database.

The tests involved running a series of typical user requirements within enterprise resource planning (ERP) software on IBM 3850 servers to achieve results far beyond that of traditional analytic platforms, SAP claimed.

In one test a workload of 10 analytical streams and four operational reporting streams returned 10,000 results in one hour, while in another the ability to analyse trends in sales data returned results within seconds.

The vice president of data and analytic engines at SAP, Jake Klein, said the results underlined the benefits that in-memory analytics provides over other systems in use.

"By dramatically outperforming traditional disk-based systems on analytical queries, SAP Hana opens up new business opportunities and makes real-time business possible for the first time," he said.

The test was independently audited and verified by data management consulting firm WinterCorp. President Richard Winter said he thought the tests accurately reflected the realities of business interrogation of data.

"The test data values are closely patterned after real SAP data, and the test queries are similar to operational and analytical business intelligence queries that occur in practice," he said.

Gartner analyst Donald Feinberg told V3.co.uk that the results of the test were significant and underlined that the Hana appliance could offer a serious challenge to the firm's rivals.

"These tests really show how fast in-memory computing is and while it doesn't have a benchmark it can be compared to in the industry it is still a very fast query time and it's likely once it is fully available the firm will push it very aggressively," he said.

"Oracle had claimed that SAP's claims around Hana were just talk and that it didn't work but these results prove that it does."

Feinberg added that although the test had no direct comparison, he felt that the independent verification from respected data warehouse firm WinterCorp gave the results legitimacy.

SAP's bullish stance on Hana's capabilities comes after the firm announced a series of new in-memory business analytic tools designed to work with Hana that it said would offer faster results and simplify deployments for IT administrators.