The ideal situation for any software is that it processes instantly, as close to instantaneously as feasible. In-Memory database concept was a revolution in the field of software dealing with large databases as it has always been the biggest point on the checklist. For SAP, HANA was the solution.

HANA brings in a number of features that help build a quicker system capable of handling a big transactional database and plethora of enterprise-friendly features. The highlights can be listed as below –

  1. Data Capabilities: HANA can handle a large volume of data and is quicker than older models. The manifold gain can be achieved in both structured and unstructured data and can be integrated with other databases.
  2. Analytical Capabilities: HANA can provide real analysis courtesy of its speed and data capabilities. It also supports advanced featured like predictive analysis. The predictive analysis finds immense value in almost all major industries.
  3. Speed Advantage: Data heavy month-end reports are executed during quiet time in older landscapes. HANA eliminates the trouble allowing processing at the real time. Hours of processing can be replaced by processes that run for seconds, minutes on a bad day. No need to schedule a job in midnight when there is a data-fix in play.
  4. Cloud Enabled: HANA is cloud compliant which makes the trade less reliant on infrastructure. The landscape is accessible at a higher speed and is scalable quicker than ever without compromising on the securing. It reduces the price by allowing smaller players to use services like AWS. To some extent, HANA democratized SAP.

While all industries can benefit from the technological advancement, for many companies the cost of implementing HANA might not be more than the expense incurred in sustaining the existing model. It is the same reason why some old and smaller companies are still reliant on Mainframe systems and have no immediate plans to upgrade.

Certain areas, however, are compelling use cases to implement HANA. For example: a retail-based company dealing with large volume of transactional data will have some obvious areas of concern – security and fraud detection (vendor billing, credit cards, expense sheets, user data security), reporting and forecasting (weekly, monthly, annual reports), business decisions based on predictive analysis (merchandising, sales pattern, optimizations). These areas can be aided significantly by HANA.

~S