In-memory processing to boost business intelligence performance
Techworld, By Chris Kanaracus, 19 October 2010
SAP plans to release its High-Performance Analytic Appliance (HANA) in November, roughly six months after announcing the product. The HANA machines employ in-memory technology SAP has been developing for some time. In-memory processing pushes data into RAM, giving a performance boost over reading it off of disks, proponents say.
IBM and Hewlett-Packard were already set to supply hardware optimised for HANA appliances, but SAP is set to announce Tuesday that it is also developing "co-innovation" programs with Cisco, Fujitsu and Intel.
Overall, SAP is positioning HANA as a faster, better way to process data from business applications in real time. SAP is also readying a series of specialised applications, including one that utilities can use to analyse data from smart meters, said CTO Vishal Sikka in an interview Monday.
SAP is no doubt hoping customers will use its own Business Objects BI (business intelligence) software on top of HANA for reporting and visualisations. But HANA will be compatible with any other BI application that supports common query languages like SQL and MDX, said Sikka, who will deliver a keynote at SAP's Tech Ed conference.
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