Our primary use case is working with various clients in industries such as pharmaceuticals and other services. We support clients as implementers of SAP HANA, providing expertise in functionality, finance, logistics, and processes.
ERP Head at ID Fresh Food
Comprehensive system with real-time analytics for versatile industry applications
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of SAP HANA include its user-friendliness, flexibility, and extensive support for various functionalities like finance, logistics, and workforce processes."
- "While SAP HANA is good, it would be better if it comes at a more affordable price."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
The solution is very user-friendly and supports all kinds of functionalities across different industries. It enhances data processing with features like logistics and finance and provides real-time analytics with dashboards that are flexible and easy to work with.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of SAP HANA include its user-friendliness, flexibility, and extensive support for various functionalities like finance, logistics, and workforce processes. The real-time analytics feature with dashboards is also a highlight.
What needs improvement?
While SAP HANA is good, it would be better if it comes at a more affordable price. Furthermore, integration and understanding of business functionality can be challenging and require specialized skills.
Buyer's Guide
SAP HANA
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about SAP HANA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SAP HANA for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
For compliance, SAP HANA is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
SAP HANA offers excellent scalability. We have onsite support 24/7 across multiple countries, and I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Customer service and support are of very high quality. They provide 24/7 onsite support, and I would rate their support a ten out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
Setting up SAP HANA is not easy and requires specialized skills for integration and understanding business functionality. I would rate the setup difficulty at a seven out of ten.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licensing cost for SAP HANA is approximately $200 per user per month.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend SAP HANA to everyone because it is a comprehensive system that covers a wide range of functionalities and key features. However, it would be beneficial if the solution were more affordable.
I'd rate the solution ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Executive Director, IT & Business Operation at SQ
Powerful in-memory processing capabilities and advanced analytics, enhancing real-time decision-making, but with challenges in reaching SAP for support
Pros and Cons
- "Technically it resembles Oracle, but as a somewhat lighter version."
- "I don't have direct access to SAP, and instead, I need to go through the SAP office in India."
What is our primary use case?
The use case revolves around the ERP system, covering standard modules that begin with procurement, extend through sales, encompass the entire spectrum of business processes, including commercial aspects, inventory management, and production, and conclude with sales and financial tracking.
What is most valuable?
Technically it resembles Oracle, but as a somewhat lighter version.
What needs improvement?
Continuous improvement is essential for these systems to stay competitive and relevant in the market. Currently, for support, we rely on local implementers who act as intermediaries. This makes it challenging for me to reach out to SAP directly. If, for instance, I encounter any issues during the ongoing project, expanding it to other companies may pose a challenge without direct access to SAP support.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been familiar with it for the past two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has proven to be stable.
How are customer service and support?
In my previous business, which involved a large-scale SAP implementation, we had direct access to SAP support as our corporate office was based in Dubai. We could easily reach out to SAP Middle East for any assistance. However, in my current business in Bangladesh, the situation is different. I don't have direct access to SAP, and instead, I need to go through the SAP office in India.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up the system initially posed challenges, especially considering the geographical location I am in now, which is Bangladesh, my native country. However, it was not as difficult in Dubai, where I previously led the IT department for a group of companies with offices in thirty countries worldwide.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It comes with a significant cost. For a sizable enterprise, it may not be deemed expensive, considering the value it brings. However, for a mid-level organization, the cost may be viewed as very high.
What other advice do I have?
Reflecting on both my current and past experiences, I would rate SAP HANA a nine in the past, but currently, I would rate it a seven. The reason for this adjusted rating is my challenge in reaching out to SAP for problem resolution or improvements. In the past, SAP felt like a reliable partner, providing comfortable interactions. However, the current difficulty in obtaining support makes me feel somewhat constrained. Having a strong partnership with SAP is crucial, as it influences our satisfaction with the current integrator.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
SAP HANA
August 2025

Learn what your peers think about SAP HANA. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
867,445 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Director of Operations of Support / co CEO at Snag Free
An integrated and reliable solution that offers in-memory database
Pros and Cons
- "The tool is an in-memory database that stores and retrieves data very quickly. This speed makes it faster to use and maintain data, as no additional processes move data between memory and disk."
- "One notable issue is the difficulty in finding consultants with experience in the SuccessFactors product, a human resource management tool part of SAP's cloud-based solutions. For example, learning the Oracle database is straightforward. You can easily go to the Oracle website, download the database, install it on your laptop, and access technical resources and books."
What is our primary use case?
SAP HANA is an integrated solution to improve our organization's real-time data analytics. It's a cloud-based solution, and it's fantastic for us. We serve various businesses, especially in the Gulf area, such as Saudi Arabia, across different production, manufacturing, sales, and distribution sectors. Everything, including SAP analytics and business intelligence, is available within SAP HANA.
What is most valuable?
The tool is an in-memory database that stores and retrieves data very quickly. This speed makes it faster to use and maintain data, as no additional processes move data between memory and disk.
With SAP HANA's in-memory technology, accessing your data is exceptionally fast. You don't need to retrieve it from disks or other media. Everything you need is already in memory, making data retrieval and report generation quick.
In certain instances, decisions must be made within 90 minutes. For instance, ideas that require data to support them are proposed during support meetings. This analysis involves comparing various data sets and dashboards to inform decisions. Integrating our infrastructure with the tool allows for connectivity between different functions, such as material management, manufacturing, human resources, and finance.
What needs improvement?
One notable issue is the difficulty in finding consultants with experience in the SuccessFactors product, a human resource management tool part of SAP's cloud-based solutions. For example, learning the Oracle database is straightforward. You can easily go to the Oracle website, download the database, install it on your laptop, and access technical resources and books.
However, SAP HANA presents a different scenario. The huge and solid software makes it difficult to install and use without proper training. Mastering SAP HANA often requires attending training centers, which can be costly.
The solution's support also needs to be faster.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with the product for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the solution's stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
My company has 1000 users for SAP HANA. We follow an offshoring and outsourcing model for our technical team. For support, I have around 50 consultants. I rate its scalability an eight out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we relied on the Oracle database, but now, with SAP HANA, our applications run on a more stable database platform. I have worked with Oracle and Microsoft. However, SAP HANA is the most stable.
How was the initial setup?
The tool's deployment is straightforward. During the blueprint phase, we discuss the customer's requirements and obtain their approval. Deploying SAP HANA within a business usually takes six months to one year. Some implementations may take less than six months, depending on the customer.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
SAP HANA is affordable. I rate it a seven out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend the product to others since it is stable and reliable. I rate it a nine out of ten.
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
Offers good performance and third-party integrations and sufficed all of our requirements
Pros and Cons
- "It's sufficed all of our requirements. We primarily needed it to run SAP applications, like NetWeaver or S/4HANA, and it has been really good at that."
- "The releases need to be more stable. It's surprising to still encounter significant bugs after ten years of the product being available."
What is our primary use case?
Primarily, we used it for reporting and as the underlying database platform for SAP BW solutions.
My experience with SAP NetWeaver is primarily at the database level with SAP HANA. The database is still under development even after its official release over ten years ago. We often see new products with each major release, and there are still a lot of bugs.
How has it helped my organization?
As an in-memory database, expectations for HANA were already high, especially considering the infrastructure investments.
We've seen reporting performance increase four to five times, which was a substantial improvement. At the end of the day, you expect those improvements when spending significant amounts on a solution.
It's a relatively new technology, and in-memory databases intrinsically require larger servers with more memory. We purchase the HANA license from SAP and the hardware from a vendor like HP or IBM.
Ultimately, as an organization, we aimed to speed up support and enable our executives to generate reports on their screens almost instantly with the click of a button. From that perspective, HANA delivered as a reporting solution.
SAP HANA's in-memory computing improved our operational efficiency. In terms of our overall business operations, I'd estimate a 30-40% improvement. Considering things like ticketing, resource allocation, and issue resolution, it's definitely had a sizable impact.
What is most valuable?
Its performance is one big benefit.
Reporting is also valuable, but that's standard. I also like SAP HANA's ability to integrate with third-party tools. We can do reporting with tools like Tableau or Power BI by integrating them with HANA for visualization.
It's sufficed all of our requirements. We primarily needed it to run SAP applications, like NetWeaver or S/4HANA, and it has been really good at that. We also successfully integrated it with Tableau for reporting. Overall, it sufficed our needs.
What needs improvement?
The releases need to be more stable. It's surprising to still encounter significant bugs after ten years of the product being available.
In terms of features, SAP seems to be keeping up with its competitors like Oracle. The main issue is that the features they add often have a lot of bugs.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with it for ten years. I was a customer of HANA for ten years and have since moved on to new technologies.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. It should be improved. It's not that the system goes down, but there are irritations that affect users.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a highly scalable solution. No concerns there. It supports our growing data needs.
I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.
We have database-based users and business users. Overall, it would be more than five thousand at my last organization, we had many employees dependent on SAP. However, we were looking to onboard a few more of our business units to SAP. So, we were targeting an increase in usage by 20% to 30%.
How are customer service and support?
There is room for improvement in the following areas:
- The response times
- The prioritization framework for customers
- Reaching the correct expert quickly
So, those areas should be noted for improvement in customer service and support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
I would rate my experience with the initial setup a six out of ten, with ten being easy.
Because with HANA, it's less about setting up a new system and more about migrating your old system to HANA. The migration experience isn't the same for everyone or for all customers; you can't follow a single runbook.
You often need external consultants, SAP premium subscriptions, and SAP experts to manage the migration, and sometimes you need external code. So, from that perspective, it's a six.
I have used SAP HANA on the public cloud and on-premise.
What about the implementation team?
There are two ways to think about the deployment stage:
- For a Greenfield implementation of HANA, you are building a system from the ground up with SAP, which might take as little as a week.
- For large-scale brownfield implementations, where you're migrating your existing database to SAP HANA, it can take anywhere from five to six months to one year.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is on the expensive side, at eight out of ten, with ten being expensive.
We were premium customers with our HANA boxes. It was part of an enterprise license that wasn’t tied to the number of HANA instances we had.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend ensuring you have the proper SAP experts on your team if you plan to go for SAP HANA.
If you don't have SAP experts, it's better to opt for SAP cloud solutions, which are managed by SAP.
Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
SAP manager at Pakistan Telecommunication Limited
Along with an easy setup phase, users can opt for the multiple deployment models it offers
Pros and Cons
- "The product's initial setup phase was really easy."
- "The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."
What is our primary use case?
SAP S/4HANA recently established communication with SAP HANA database. No other database can be used with SAP S/4HANA application.
SAP HANA can be used for real-time analysis and resolving queries. It has an in-memory database that uses RAM instead of hard drive disks, making it a very fast tool compared with any other relational database.
What needs improvement?
Actually, SAP HANA has a different application for each purpose. If you want a better UI experience, SAP has its own application. If a user wants to manage an application, SAP has another application. If a user wants to use the baseline command, SAP has its own tool for it where one can manage it. There is always room for improvement in every field, but right now, I can't think of any area.
The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have experience with SAP HANA.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine to ten out of ten.
I have barely faced any issues with the product in the last two or three years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product offers scalability options. The tool offers two to three scalability options. If you are stuck on the upgrade part and you want to expand the disk space at RAM or storage levels, you can easily upgrade your hardware or networks.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase was really easy. A user just has to choose the pre-configuration options, and the tool will prompt with every option to help what one should choose, after which the product can be installed within ten to twenty minutes.
The solution is deployed on the cloud and in the on-premises model. Depending on what a user wants, it offers an on-premises data center deployment option. People can also choose between the SAP Cloud and the public cloud options. In SAP Cloud, there are other products offered, and the cloud also helps manage the DBMS application.
What was our ROI?
Speaking about the value and benefits a company can experience from the use of the solution, I would say that if an organization plans to implement an ERP solution in their company, then it should be SAP S/4HANA as it will be very beneficial. SAP HANA provides a free database to users, but it has very limited functionality. If a company wants to get full advantage from SAP application, then they must go with SAP HANA.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The tool is expensive compared to other products, like Oracle R or Microsoft, but it offers a range of all the company's functions.
What other advice do I have?
SAP HANA is a new innovation from SAP compared to the old databases, like RDBMS. SAP HANA serves as an in-memory database that works fast and solves queries in real-time.
In terms of the most valuable functionality in speeding up data processing tasks, the main features of SAP HANA revolve around the fact that it is really easy to manage since there is no need to work on the command line, as the solution has its own application that is used for it. Our company's work and manageability parts are very easy with SAP HANA. SAP has many applications that can help my company manage SAP HANA, which is a very easy process. With the product, it is easy to manage backup and restore.
In every project, my company uses SAP HANA for data management because we have to load all the data in the DB. At that time, I never faced any error while doing any configurations since there would never be any issues with the DB part. A specific person is needed to manage the DB part. Even in a small company, there will be one person to manage the DB since it is very easy to manage by SAP HANA.
When speaking about the tool's in-memory computing can impact data analysis capabilities, if one considers the old database or RDBMS, then I would say that they have capabilities related to rows. When we execute a query or when we analyze data, the query only works with the rows as it reads every line. SAP S/4HANA allows for the aggregation of columns, making the retrieval of data very specific. I think a range of 1-1000 can be considered for the analysis of data.
SAP HANA is specifically made for SAP applications and is called S/4HANA. SAP launched HANA database with applications for SAP-related operations. SAP has certain tunings to ensure that SAP applications work better. I just use the tool with SAP applications, and I will never use it with any other applications. From SAP's end, SAP HANA is a very good database.
From the admin side, I never got involved with any integrations related to the product, but I would recommend it.
If a company wants to manage its resources, like for different functions, if an organization wants an application that can be used for enterprise resource planning, SAP is the best solution in the world.
I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Development & ERP Technologies Department Manager at Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.
Good solution for SAP-oriented users
Pros and Cons
- "We are using the solution for the DW system. The primary function of the solution is for the database in memory."
- "I would like to see improvements in the connectivity of the solution with other BI software. Not every software can connect to it natively."
What is our primary use case?
We are using the solution for the DW system. The primary function of the solution is for the database in memory.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see improvements in the connectivity of the solution with other BI software. Not every software can connect to it natively.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for the past five to six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of the solution an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability of the solution an eight out of ten. The solution is quite scalable. You can increase the usage if you have enough hardware. There are about 5000 users in our organization.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we used Oracle Database, but we have changed to HANA database now.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not easy since it took a couple of days to install the tool. We had to download it from the internet and follow some processes so that the tool could be integrated into our internal network.
What about the implementation team?
The deployment of the solution was done in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I would rate the pricing of the solution a ten out of ten. The pricing for on-prem SAP HANA is on a yearly basis and expensive. I am not aware of the actual pricing but it is based on 64 Gigabytes. For instance, if you consider $10,000 for 64 Gigabytes, then you can calculate the cost for Terabytes in case you have one. You will have to buy expensive hardware as well which is quite a lot.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. There are three SAP-based individuals involved in the maintenance of the solution. This solution is recommended for SAP-oriented users only since it is very expensive as a database.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Commercial Manager at Natco Information technology
Excellent compatibility between modules and the control
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is marvelous because it controls everything including workflow and that makes our company more productive."
- "The surface side or Attack dashboard needs improvement because there are some gaps after sales services."
What is our primary use case?
Our company uses the solution for our accounting system and our services department.
We have 60 companies so we take each project step by step. Most of our companies have been using the solution for one or two years so they have already converted to implementation or training phases.
We have 18,000 users across all of our companies.
How has it helped my organization?
The solution saves us in operational costs. The controls are very professional for managing orders with suppliers and partners.
What is most valuable?
The solution is marvelous because it controls everything including workflow, and that makes our company more productive.
The compatibility between modules and the control are excellent.
The documentation and archiving systems are good.
What needs improvement?
The Attack dashboard needs improvement because there are some gaps after sales services.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable so I rate stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable so I rate scalability a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is very good so I rate support a ten out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The setup is easy so I rate it an eight out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
A third party handles implementations with assistance from our team of 40 IT managers. Our team works on the old core system but we are encouraging them to do that only for maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution's license is very expensive so I rate pricing a one out of ten.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We use the solution, SAP Business ByDesign, or Oracle depending on the project.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend the solution and rate it a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Supply Team Engineer at Micron Technology
User-friendly interface that allows users to fetch data easily
Pros and Cons
- "SAP HANA's interface is pretty user-friendly."
- "SAP HANA's long run time to extract data could be improved upon."
What is our primary use case?
We use SAP HANA mostly for fetching data. There are a lot of tables for which we need to do some troubleshooting. For example, if the fill rates are low daily, we examine various factors, such as yield production versions and inventory levels, to understand why it is happening. To assist us in this process, we leverage Blue Yonder ESP, which operates on HANA View. As a supply chain consultant, we use SAP HANA to fetch data from these tables to troubleshoot the issue and find out why the fill rate is dropping. This helps us determine if it is a genuine issue related to supply or something related to the model.
How has it helped my organization?
We have been building a lot of sniffer audits for users. For instance, if a bond structure is not going a particular way, the master data team and the business users can check those audits. These audits, made to assess the data quality, will confirm if it is something we have already identified. So all the data quality audits are built on HANA View.
What is most valuable?
SAP HANA's interface is pretty user-friendly. It is not very difficult to pull out data extract, and even a beginner can fetch data easily. Additionally, data snapshots are available. Also, building upon a more advanced query is not that difficult. In terms of usability, SAP HANA is pretty good.
What needs improvement?
SAP HANA's long run time to extract data could be improved upon. Also, the analytics given in SAP HANA's interface is basic and could be improved upon.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using SAP HANA for a year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate SAP HANA an eight out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate SAP HANA a seven out of ten for scalability. SAP HANA can be used in the tactical horizon, which for us is 52 weeks. Anything beyond that needs scenario-based planning, which is not possible with SAP HANA.
Around 5,000 to 6,000 users are using SAP HANA because we are a team spread across the globe in places like Boise, the US, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, and India. The first users are supply chain engineers and IT employees. Business users hardly use it because it is a little complicated for them. Since we are trying to expand our tactical horizon from 12 months to 18 months, the usage of SAP HANA will increase in the future.
How are customer service and support?
SAP HANA's technical support is pretty good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before using SAP HANA, we were entirely using SAP APO. We switched to SAP HANA because it is an optimizer and gives better results than SAP APO.
How was the initial setup?
I rate SAP HANA a seven and a half out of ten for its initial setup. The deployment of SAP HANA took around 18 months.
What about the implementation team?
The major part of the deployment was done internally. However, initially, we did use external consultants. So SAP HANA's deployment was partly internal.
The first step in the deployment process is customization, which involves obtaining the solution according to our requirements, including the data we use and the basic tables it provides. Our bond structure was changed to enterprise bonds so SAP HANA could process it. An IT team worked entirely on the data transformation part to ensure the data from other upstream systems could be processed. After that, we went into the design part, the user acceptance testing, and finally went live.
What other advice do I have?
New users of SAP HANA need to have basic SQL coding skills and attention to detail to see data using the solution. It might be complicated for someone, not from a background where they're used to seeing a lot of data.
Overall, I rate SAP HANA an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Buyer's Guide
Download our free SAP HANA Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: August 2025
Popular Comparisons
SQL Server
Teradata
MySQL
Oracle Database
MariaDB
Denodo
IBM Db2 Database
IBM Cloud Pak for Data
SQLite
CockroachDB
Amazon Aurora
Oracle Database In-Memory
IBM Informix
SAP IQ
AtScale Adaptive Analytics (A3)
Buyer's Guide
Download our free SAP HANA Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- Microsoft sql2017 VS SAP Hana
- What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?
- Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?
- Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?
- Which is better: SQL Server or SAP HANA?
- What are the main differences between SAP HANA and Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS)?
- Can anyone share a price comparison between Oracle Cloud (Oracle Fusion), SAP HANA and Microsoft Dynamics NAV?
- How do I extract SAP BW data models and SAP HANA data models?
- When using SAP CAP as the backend, is UI5 better than Vue, React or any other frontend framework?
- What are the differences between SAP ASE and SAP HANA?