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IBM Informix 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

IBM Informix
Ranking in Embedded Database
9th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
23rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
16
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP HANA
Ranking in Embedded Database
4th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
84
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.3%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 8.7%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Embedded Database
 

Featured Reviews

Nazzareno Maria Rezzini - PeerSpot reviewer
Supports multiple business intelligence tools, but the technical support services need improvement
IBM Informix is a central database solution across various environments, supporting multiple applications and business intelligence tools The key areas for improvement revolve around understanding the current customer trends and demands, particularly in software and database requirements. The…
Jayarami Reddy Pujeri - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive system with real-time analytics for versatile industry applications
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 The solution is very user-friendly and supports all kinds of…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"Replication, all levels of replication, query charting, and the MongoDB embedded are the most valuable features of this solution."
"So far, we do not have a lot of issues. It's pretty problem-free."
"The stability is incredible. I have customers with uptimes of several years."
"IBM Informix benefits users with high availability and good integration capabilities."
"The solution's stability, performance, enhanced functionality, and replication are all great features."
"For IoT business cases, having Informix Enterprise Edition work on edge computers, like Raspberry Pi and using Informix replication, makes complex situations simple to build and maintain."
"Every version is faster than the previous."
"I like the integration process. Also, the data is trusted by our management, and we use the data from transactions for analysis."
"The performance in terms of processing time is unmatched due to the in-memory processing capability."
"The solution can easily be modeled."
"A very feature-rich solution with excellent performance."
"SAP HANA's interface is pretty user-friendly."
"What's most valuable in SAP HANA is that it covers the business process systems of my company. The solution also helps because it makes almost everything automated. Another valuable feature of SAP HANA is that it can be integrated with third parties and other enhancements needed by the company."
"The in-memory computing and the efficient response time are very good features."
"The solution is extremely stable. That's the most important aspect of the solution, for our organization. There is no downtime, and the performance is very good."
 

Cons

"The solution lacks some functionality."
"It would be helpful to have IBM salespeople know that Informix exists, and sell it. Currently, it is completely ignored by IBM."
"I really would love to have a QT plugin."
"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"There should be more intelligence surrounding discovering data to be able to automatically create indexes."
"The solution really doesn't add new features very often."
"The support team could include local engineers to establish efficient communication. It will help us speed up the escalation process."
"Continue extending the SQL language for compatibility with the competition's language, including Stored Procedure Language."
"The initial setup of SAP HANA is complex. We did the implementation of one site, and a global deployment will take another three to four years."
"The main issue is the ecosystem, which lacks the widespread support that SQL enjoys."
"The solution's development platform should be more flexible and scalable to adapt to other solutions."
"Ease of use could be improved in SAP HANA. I like SAP because SAP solutions can be used by anyone, which means even laymen can start working on SAP tools, but in SAP HANA modeling, you'll need to know some other technologies and sequel scripting, and you need a separate skillset, so if you don't have the skillset, you won't be able to work on SAP HANA. Making SAP HANA low-code would make it even better."
"You cannot apply mulit-join inside the calculation views, for example, when you are joining tables."
"SAP HANA is not perfect and they could improve by having more options and more integration."
"If the developers were to enhance or improve the application logic while processing the transactions, that would be great."
"The challenge right now is all databases are on S4 HANA architecture. You're running it for HANA, but not all the functionalities are available. If they can speed up getting all the databases on S4 HANA that would help."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
"The free edition can be enough to handle moderate-size implementations, but you may want a pay for edition to benefit from more functionality, such as replication."
"I am not aware of the licensing costs or terms."
"SAP HANA is very expensive here in China. My company bought the SAP ERP suite, which includes SAP HANA. For others who use SAP HANA as an analytical database, CPU numbers will affect the pricing, so as a solution, it's costly."
"It is expensive, which isn't a problem for us because SAP HANA is processing the data so fast."
"There is an annual payment needed to use the solution."
"The tool is expensive compared to other products, like Oracle R or Microsoft, but it offers a range of all the company's functions."
"SAP HANA is more expensive than other solutions."
"SAP HANA is affordable. I rate it a seven out of ten."
"The licensing cost for SAP HANA is approximately $200 per user per month."
"It comes with a significant cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
62%
Financial Services Firm
5%
Computer Software Company
5%
Retailer
3%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Informix?
It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Informix?
The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license.
What needs improvement with IBM Informix?
The key areas for improvement revolve around understanding the current customer trends and demands, particularly in software and database requirements. The product's performance could be better com...
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...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Informix
SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Shaspa, Hildebrand, Kaifa, Ranhill Powertron, Federaci‹ Farmacutica (FedeFarma), Camden Council, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Myers, Votorantim Group, Doosan Infracore, GreenIvory
Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. SAP HANA and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,716 professionals have used our research since 2012.