SAP and IBM Test SAP® In-Memory Appliance Software and Demonstrate Incredible Results

WALLDORF, Germany, March 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP AG (NYSE: SAP) and IBM today announced the first official performance results of SAP® In-Memory Appliance (SAP HANA™), finding that the software easily handles 10,000 queries per hour against 1.3 terabytes of data, returning results within seconds. The test scenarios were directly based on the query workload requirements typical in SAP customers' enterprise resource planning (ERP) reporting requirements. They accessed the rich data found in the sales delivery database tables for the SAP® ERP application. The test was part of a joint project between the two companies to deliver real-time analytics by optimizing software and hardware, based on SAP® In-Memory Computing technology and IBM's industry-leading 3850 series servers.

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The test, which was independently audited and verified by WinterCorp, used testing scenarios designed to measure the performance of the in-memory database processing analytical queries on operational business data. The test database scenarios closely mirrored the complexity of enterprise data, in terms of data definition, data types and data distributions, without pre-aggregating the data or tuning the database. The ad-hoc, analytical queries were specifically designed to reflect the demands of today's business, allowing companies to understand trends in their sales history such as their top customers, best-selling products and customer returns in any detail or time frame. These results confirm the incredible performance that SAP has seen with the 50 customers participating in the co-innovation program for SAP HANA.

"In a review of the test specification, test runs and outputs, I find that SAP HANA performance test is a valid determination of data warehouse query performance on in-memory test databases up to and including four terabytes of realistically generated test data," Richard Winter, president and founder, WinterCorp. "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."

SAP and IBM used this approach in order to more accurately recreate the data that is stored in actual customer systems and the real-time requirements of today's business intelligence (BI) systems. Highlights of additional findings included:

• SAP HANA handles the massive and simultaneous demands for business analysis. A workload comprised of 10 analytical query streams and four operational reporting streams was tested against SAP® In-Memory Database. It produced the combined results of 10,000 queries per hour.
• SAP HANA analyzes large volumes of data in seconds. Complex queries, such as understanding trends in the sales organization or material sales, were performed against 1.3-terabyte databases and returned results within seconds.
• SAP HANA makes it possible to do analytics on the fly. SAP HANA can process ad-hoc analytical queries without pre-calculations, materialization of pre-aggregated data or extensive database tuning.
• SAP In-Memory Computing technology and IBM hardware offers excellent ROI. In the 1.3 terabyte test, SAP In-Memory Computing technology was packaged with an IBM X5 server containing 32 cores, 0.5 terabytes of memory and a RAID 5 disk system. Results demonstrated an excellent cost-to-performance ratio. IBM eX5 servers were the first to introduce MAX5 technology, which decouples memory from processors and allows for increased scalability without the need to buy additional hardware.

"By dramatically outperforming traditional disk-based systems on analytical queries, SAP HANA opens new business opportunities and makes real-time business possible for the first time," said Jake Klein, vice president, Data and Analytic Engines, SAP. "The results of this performance test are one more important step for SAP and our hardware partners, demonstrating the significance of our in-memory computing technology to both the industry and our customers. With the incredible performance offered by SAP HANA as the foundation, we can develop a whole new generation of applications that offer unparalleled speed and insight."

IBM and SAP have cooperated closely to implement the advanced replication scenario for DB2-based customers. DB2 is SAP HANA-ready and can efficiently replicate data into SAP HANA in near real time using the Sybase Replication Server. Customers with ERP systems on DB2 can therefore seamlessly support demanding business needs for real-time reporting based on the latest available data with unmatched administrative effort.

"IBM is very pleased to add another record to our already impressive array of benchmarking results," said  Alex Yost, vice president, System x and BladeCenter, IBM. "Our customers continue to benefit from the eX5 enhanced memory capabilities through SAP HANA."

Additional Resources

More technical details about the performance study and specific results, including the audit letter filed by Winter, are available in a blog post on the SAP® Developer Network site. Watch a video of Klein discussing the importance of the performance test and SAP In-Memory Computing technology for the industry and customers: "SAP and IBM Demonstrate the Power of SAP In-Memory Appliance Software."

For more information, visit the Technology and Platform Newsroom. To read more about upcoming in-memory applications from SAP, see "SAP Announces New Generation of In-Memory Applications." Participate in the conversation on Twitter by using the #inmemory hashtag and follow @SAPInMemory.

About SAP

As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 109,000 customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com.

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