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SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise vs SAP HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
20th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP HANA
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
89
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd), Embedded Database (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is 0.9%, down from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 10.5%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

Tejas Raj - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers cost-efficiency as it needs a very small amount of RAM to function
SAP is least bothered about Adaptive Server Enterprise nowadays since it wants to focus on promoting its new product, which is S/4HANA. If SAP gives out new releases and a patch upgrade to improve performance and provide additional options, then SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise can compete with other relational database systems in the market. The overall performance of the product is an area where the tool has certain shortcomings and needs to improve. I work in a very stable environment, and I prefer a very stable replication and database management system. Most of our company's customers do not want to opt out of SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise, but SAP has announced that it will be ending its support for it in 2027, and though I feel SAP might extend it, I feel SAP will want to promote its new product. Previously, I heard that SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise's end-of-support dates were announced for 2025, but now I think that they have extended it to 2027 or 2030.
Dhiraj Jankar - PeerSpot reviewer
Users appreciate the mix of in-memory architecture and ease of backend management
The most valuable SAP HANA features are that, compared to Oracle, there is less administrative work and less complex work to handle, making it very straightforward. The tool itself takes care of the backend work. The main benefits SAP HANA provides to users include its architecture, which combines both column store and row store capabilities. Some places find the row feature important, whereas others find column store important. It allows some tables to be stored in a column base, others in a row base, and the In-Memory functionalities are mostly the highlight of SAP HANA, especially compared to disk-based memory users. This was the main reason SAP HANA was introduced initially.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable part of the tool stems from the fact that it is a very cost-efficient product compared to the newer technologies because it needs a very small amount of RAM."
"The actual interface is good."
"They provide easy integration with other systems."
"I like that SAP ASE can match code and the database index to index data in the programming language. There are many other valuable features, such as the table buffer, tuning, and various control agents like dispatcher. SAP ASE can handle many different data types, including views, domains, data elements, structures, objects, and various table types that are most useful in the application. Its modularization technique is also handy."
"This is a wonderful database that is, in my opinion, underrated. Users are able to get the most out of my experience by taking advantage of its centralized environment."
"Provides very good integration."
"It's pretty good at handling a large number of transactions, which is critical for a banking client."
"SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is a good transactional database."
"This is a feature-rich product and I like all of them."
"We are using the solution for the DW system. The primary function of the solution is for the database in memory."
"SAP HANA's interface is pretty user-friendly."
"We can save data very easily."
"It's very convenient and very innovative."
"The most valuable feature of SAP HANA is the interaction it provides with external suppliers and clients."
"The solution is stable."
"The data storage requirement is reduced from the original database to the HANA database."
 

Cons

"In my opinion, product support is not that great from SAP because they have already declared the end-of-date for SAP ASE. They will be stopping product support."
"The solution should improve view partitioning. The documentation is very confined and available only for users. Distributors also would like access to it."
"Cost-wise, SAP is still expensive compared to other available products."
"User interface could be more user friendly."
"There could be some improvements in barcode scanning and RFID access."
"Because the solution is customized. we do occasionally face unique bugs. There are always some changes that need to be made here and there."
"The overall performance of the product is an area where the tool has certain shortcomings and needs to improve."
"SAP should refine its debugging method, and the process needs to be a little faster. It should use more Pragmas and fewer pseudocomments. I would like if SAP added more features based on advanced technologies, like artificial intelligence and voice control. The modularization and if-else techniques could also incorporate the latest technology to code and solve complex problems. The SAP Editor should be more elaborative, and it should allow many more types of statements for all uses."
"The inclusion of a well-performing Time Machine is vital."
"The main issue is the ecosystem, which lacks the widespread support that SQL enjoys."
"The SAP HANA interface has room for improvement because it takes more work to manage than the Microsoft SQL Server interface."
"A documents preview could be helpful."
"There's an issue in the partition. When you record more than two million records, partitioning does not work well. In Oracle it's easy. SAP must resolve this issue in order to be more competitive with Oracle."
"Per SAP, you can do both transactional and analytical processes in SAP HANA. Though that's true, the speed is slower when you combine the two functions, so this is what I'd like SAP to improve in SAP HANA. In the next release, I want to see better diagrams in SAP HANA and a more user-friendly interface."
"The only downside of the product is that it is an expensive solution that needs to consider lowering its prices to improve the product."
"Licensing costs with SAP HANA are very high. Due to high pricing, many clients are moving from BW on SAP HANA and S/4HANA to Azure SQL."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, the product is worth it since one needs very less infrastructure to use it."
"I rate SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise's pricing a six out of ten."
"The licensing cost for ASE is pretty low."
"The tool’s subscription is yearly."
"There is an annual license to use SAP HANA."
"There is a yearly subscription to use SAP HANA. There is a fee for maintenance."
"The price of this product is good."
"The licensing could improve."
"People who are technical will accept the cost, but financially they will assess whether this solution will bring them revenue or not. People often ask, how will I profit when the cost is so high?"
"The pricing is a bit on the high side."
"SAP HANA is an expensive product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise?
SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is a good transactional database.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise?
The licensing cost for ASE is pretty low when you compare it with Microsoft SQL Server. If you compare it with SQL Server, it is pretty low.
What needs improvement with SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise?
The main thing is it's not getting upgraded to meet today's needs. It's not upgrading at the level of transaction needs. For example, PostgreSQL or Oracle, these are pretty good databases. They can...
What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?
Based on my work with SAP HANA, the biggest benefit that it can bring to your business is total data management. This product is by SAP - a company that serves almost all needs a client may have co...
Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?
We have been using SAP HANA for a fairly short period of time and have only taken advantage of their customer support. So far, we have not had issues that required specialized help from technical s...
Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?
SAP HANA is fairly easy to set up, however, I do not think a complete beginner can do it. You certainly need some preparation - either you need to have experience with similar solutions, or with ot...
 

Also Known As

SAP ASE
SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International (ARI), Takisada-Osaka Co. Ltd., Coelba (Grupo Neoenergia), RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association - NBA, TALLY
Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise vs. SAP HANA and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,632 professionals have used our research since 2012.