SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise vs SAP SQL Anywhere comparison

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise and SAP SQL Anywhere are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.2, while SAP SQL Anywhere is ranked #20 with an average rating of 10.0. SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise holds a 1.0% mindshare in SQL, compared to SAP SQL Anywhere’s 0.8% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 83% of SAP SQL Anywhere users who would recommend it.

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Read 12 SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise reviews

1,226 Views
646 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

SAP SQL Anywhere

Read 6 SAP SQL Anywhere reviews

945 Views
521 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

SAP SQL Anywhere

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 4, 2025

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise and SAP SQL Anywhere compete in the database solutions market within the SAP ecosystem. SAP SQL Anywhere has an advantage with its mobility support and energy efficiency features, appealing to businesses focusing on lightweight, distributed environments.

Features: SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise offers advanced analytics, scalable architecture, and high-end reporting suitable for large enterprises. SAP SQL Anywhere provides mobility support, synchronization features, and energy efficiency, making it ideal for mobile applications and smaller setups.

Room for Improvement: SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise could improve its deployment complexity, cost management, and integration with modern web technologies. SAP SQL Anywhere could enhance its support for large enterprise applications, analytics capabilities, and cloud-based functionalities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SAP SQL Anywhere provides a flexible deployment model and accessible customer service, making it attractive for rapid rollouts. SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise offers comprehensive guidance but involves a more complex deployment process suited for enterprise-scale infrastructure.

Pricing and ROI: SAP SQL Anywhere is cost-effective, offering strong ROI through resource efficiency and maintenance savings, appealing to small businesses. SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise, with higher setup costs, provides significant ROI for enterprises through robust performance and scalability.

To learn more, read our detailed SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise vs. SAP SQL Anywhere Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise vs. SAP SQL Anywhere

March 2025

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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

14th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

SAP SQL Anywhere

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

20th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is 1.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SQL Anywhere is 0.8%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

Tejas Raj

Manager at Capgemini

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.

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Crewmem67

IT Consultant at College Notre Dame de Nazareth

Reliable and able to expand but needs to be more secure

It is not as good as a SQL Server. I prefer to work with the SQL Server for Microsoft or Oracle. These are better as there are some comments on SQL Anywhere that makes me feel that I'm blocked. We'd like to have them update to a new version. They should update more often. I find I can't move to a new version without running tests as there are chances of bugs that can get into my system. The initial setup is not simple or straightforward, and it took a while to deploy. It is not as secure as it could be. This is an aspect they need to improve. There needs to be more encryption.

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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."

"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."

"It's user-friendly, especially in the logistics field."

"The actual interface is good."

"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."

"They provide easy integration with other systems."

More SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise pros

"We've found the solution very reliable overall. It's very fast."

"The most valuable features of SAP SQL Anywhere are the ease of use and the user interface is intuitive."

"SAP SQL Anywhere is very helpful."

"It works well in general."

"The auto-backup replication is a perfect feature. That is the feature I liked the most."

Cons

"The solution should improve view partitioning. The documentation is very confined and available only for users. Distributors also would like access to it."

"User interface could be more user friendly."

"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 overall performance of the product is an area where the tool has certain shortcomings and needs to improve."

"There could be some improvements in barcode scanning and RFID access."

"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."

"Cost-wise, SAP is still expensive compared to other available products."

"Because the solution is customized. we do occasionally face unique bugs. There are always some changes that need to be made here and there."

More SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise cons

"It is not as secure as it could be."

"We have had some stability issues with SAP SQL Anywhere, but I am not sure if it is an application or network issue. We sometimes have a large amount of data being queried and it cannot handle it."

"The interface is not easy in comparison to the SQL Server. It could be more user-friendly."

"SAP SQL Anywhere needs to incorporate functionalities like SAP S/4HANA."

"A problem we are experiencing now is when doing a backup in SQL 2012 and 14."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, the product is worth it since one needs very less infrastructure to use it."

"The licensing cost for ASE is pretty low."

"I rate SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise's pricing a six out of ten."

"SQL Anywhere cost us about $400."

"SAP SQL Anywhere is affordable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

19%

Manufacturing Company

15%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Construction Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise?

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is a good transactional database.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

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What do you like most about SAP SQL Anywhere?

SAP SQL Anywhere is very helpful.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP SQL Anywhere?

SAP SQL Anywhere is affordable.

See all answers

What needs improvement with SAP SQL Anywhere?

SAP SQL Anywhere needs to incorporate functionalities like SAP S/4HANA.

See all answers

Comparisons

SAP HANA vs SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Compared 68% of the time

SQL Server vs SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Compared 13% of the time

More SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise Competitors

SQL Server vs SAP SQL Anywhere

Compared 32% of the time

SAP HANA vs SAP SQL Anywhere

Compared 24% of the time

Oracle Database vs SAP SQL Anywhere

Compared 20% of the time

More SAP SQL Anywhere Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

March 2025

Download SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise product report

Buyer's Guide

Relational Databases Tools

February 2025

Download SAP SQL Anywhere product report

Also Known As

SAP ASE

Sybase SQL Anywhere

Overview

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) is a high-performance relational database management system designed for mission-critical, data-intensive environments. It provides a centralized environment for storing and managing data, with the ability to handle a wide range of data types and a modularization technique allowing easy customization.

SAP ASE is particularly valuable for financial operations, as it offers integrated financial features. The solution also offers various control agents and the ability to match code and database index. SAP ASE has improved daily data collection and program functionality for many organizations.

SAP

SAP SQL Anywhere enables companies to develop custom mobile and IoT application and rapidly design and deploy embedded database applications. The RDBMS solutions can provide secure, reliable data management and synchronization for thousands of mobile devices, Internet of Things (IoT) systems, and remote environments. They let business users work uninterrupted, even without a network connection.

SAP

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

AOK Bundesverband, Surgutneftegas Open Joint Stock Company, Molson Coors Brewing Company, City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International, Wªrth Group, Takisada-Osaka Co. Ltd., Coelba, RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association, TALLY WEiJL

Buyer's Guide

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise vs. SAP SQL Anywhere

March 2025

Free Report: SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise vs. SAP SQL Anywhere

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