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SAP HANA vs SAP SQL Anywhere 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

SAP HANA
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), Embedded Database (4th)
SAP SQL Anywhere
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
18th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of SAP HANA is 11.4%, up from 11.0% 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

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…
Crewmem67 - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's stable and reliable."
"The solution is marvelous because it controls everything including workflow and that makes our company more productive."
"Technically it resembles Oracle, but as a somewhat lighter version."
"The solution is stable."
"This is a feature-rich product and I like all of them."
"It has a very huge bandwidth and data transfer."
"We can save data very easily."
"The solution is very stable."
"It works well in general."
"The auto-backup replication is a perfect feature. That is the feature I liked the most."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is very helpful."
"The most valuable features of SAP SQL Anywhere are the ease of use and the user interface is intuitive."
"We've found the solution very reliable overall. It's very fast."
 

Cons

"FI, or the financial module of SAP, has room for improvement. It has to have some better localization for the Middle East, especially in regards to taxes and the letter of credit cycle. I would like to see better localization from the HCM."
"In a future release, SAP HANA should add a module for taxation, such as income tax and withholding tax."
"HANA could be improved by adding analytics and development models in the institution."
"It is challenging to integrate it with third-party tools."
"Per SAP, you can do both transactional and analytical processes in SAP HANA. Though that's true, the speed is slower when you combine the two functions, so this is what I'd like SAP to improve in SAP HANA. In the next release, I want to see better diagrams in SAP HANA and a more user-friendly interface."
"Technical support could be better."
"The solution's development platform should be more flexible and scalable to adapt to other solutions."
"The SAP HANA interface has room for improvement because it takes more work to manage than the Microsoft SQL Server interface."
"The interface is not easy in comparison to the SQL Server. It could be more user-friendly."
"A problem we are experiencing now is when doing a backup in SQL 2012 and 14."
"SAP SQL Anywhere needs to incorporate functionalities like SAP S/4HANA."
"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."
"It is not as secure as it could be."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"SAP HANA is expensive, but unfortunately, we do not have any alternatives."
"It comes with a significant cost."
"The price of the solution could be reduced, it is expensive."
"There is an annual license to use SAP HANA."
"SAP HANA is an expensive product."
"The price of SAP HANA is very expensive and it is paid annually."
"The licensing could improve."
"Price-wise, the product falls on the higher side of the spectrum. There is no need to pay for maintenance and support additionally. Support is available for bug fixes in the product."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is affordable."
"SQL Anywhere cost us about $400."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Construction Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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...
What needs improvement with SAP SQL Anywhere?
SAP SQL Anywhere needs to incorporate functionalities like SAP S/4HANA.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
Sybase SQL Anywhere
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
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
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP HANA vs. SAP SQL Anywhere and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.