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IBM Informix vs SAP HANA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 5, 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
24th
Average Rating
8.6
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 February 2025, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 1.1%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 7.7%, down from 13.3% 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

"It supports in-house-built applications in .NET and VB6"
"Every version is faster than the previous."
"The stability is incredible. I have customers with uptimes of several years."
"It supports multiple applications and business intelligence tools."
"The solution's stability, performance, enhanced functionality, and replication are all great features."
"So far, we do not have a lot of issues. It's pretty problem-free."
"The most valuable feature is concurrency and locking because my customers usually use databases in OLTP mode. So, for a large number of competitive users. Other features that are well valued are quick large-scale data types. It is better than Oracle."
"This solution has made financial reporting possible by allowing financial people the opportunity to set Informix to "Auto Pilot" so that they can attend other duties."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
"This solution is very fast."
"Technically it resembles Oracle, but as a somewhat lighter version."
"The UX experience is very good."
"We appreciate that the current, redesigned version of this solution that is much more straightforward for new users, and has been well thought out with industry best practice standards in mind."
"The most value for us was in terms of using it to issue tenders online. We host our server, but it is open to the public, so clients who want to buy those tenders were able to go online, put their tender documents up, and we could evaluate them using SAP."
"Its in-memory capabilities are good, which is why many companies still use it."
"In comparison with other DMS solutions, it offers good performance."
 

Cons

"The solution really doesn't add new features very often."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"The technical support services need substantial improvement."
"I experienced poor input/output (IO) performance."
"There should be more intelligence surrounding discovering data to be able to automatically create indexes."
"This product could be made easier to use for beginners."
"In my opinion, the packages could be improved. The version I use doesn't allow for packages. I can do some general procedures, but no packages like in Oracle. So, develop separate modules in SQL language. This would be most beneficial for me."
"I would like to see backups from secondary servers."
"Technical support could be better."
"The product lacks some flexibility in its settings and configurations."
"The documentation can be improved in the future."
"In terms of improvement, the speed is not as good as we thought it would be. That is why we are trying different solutions that will be built with different technologies."
"The user experience should be better. Its user interface is not good. I also don't like the transition concept."
"I would like to see improvement on the feedback from the road-map; it is currently extremely hard to get insight in this area."
"Uses a large amount of RAM and is costly."
"The only downside of the product is that it is an expensive solution that needs to consider lowering its prices to improve the product."
 

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."
"The price of licensing is dependent on the size of the project, however, we have found that there is scope to negotiate the cost. If the solution is implemented on-premises there may be some extra costs for hosting etc."
"The price of SAP HANA is very expensive and it is paid annually."
"The pricing is relatively high for both customers and partners."
"Its licensing is expensive for SMEs and large enterprises alike."
"SAP HANA is expensive, but unfortunately, we do not have any alternatives."
"There is an annual license to use SAP HANA."
"The licensing could improve."
"A monthly or yearly license must be purchased, although its utility will be based on the cost-benefit analysis that is reached by the individual customer."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
66%
Financial Services Firm
4%
Computer Software Company
4%
Retailer
3%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
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: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.