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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
20th
Average Rating
7.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of SAP HANA is 12.0%, up from 10.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP SQL Anywhere is 0.7%, down from 0.8% 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

"Provides us with predictive capabilities for asset maintenance, and real-time forecasts."
"SAP HANA is one of the best databases known for its performance...The new version of the solution is stable."
"The best feature of SAP HANA is column computing. The computing speed of the solution is also very high, so developers can easily develop programs through SAP HANA."
"The speed at which it gets the data is great."
"The solution is very stable."
"The most valuable features are the flexibility and the integration with other solutions in data quality."
"It's user-friendly so long as you use it frequently."
"We've had good experiences with technical support."
"We've found the solution very reliable overall. It's very fast."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is very helpful."
"It works well in general."
"The most valuable features of SAP SQL Anywhere are the ease of use and the user interface is intuitive."
"The auto-backup replication is a perfect feature. That is the feature I liked the most."
 

Cons

"The solution could improve by having better migration flexibility. For example, it would be helpful if there was a way for customers could check their nonproduction and production deployments."
"The JDBC connectors are very slow."
"The support is lacking and not worth the premium price. If support was just a nominal fee, it would be perceived differently."
"The solution could improve in the handling of backup data and the administration tools."
"I would like to see improvement on the feedback from the road-map; it is currently extremely hard to get insight in this area."
"Technical support should be more customer-friendly."
"High availability and disaster recovery are very poor in HANA."
"I would like more technical documentation. I would like it to be easier to find online help or have a better launch-based service. SAP has a lot of functions, so we need more best practices and more detailed documentation on industry solutions. For example, it would be good to have documentation on why a certain process needs to be set up and which kinds of configurations need to be set up."
"The interface is not easy in comparison to the SQL Server. It could be more user-friendly."
"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."
"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

"SAP HANA is an expensive product."
"The price is high and could be a bit cheaper."
"It is expensive, which isn't a problem for us because SAP HANA is processing the data so fast."
"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."
"The tool is expensive compared to other products, like Oracle R or Microsoft, but it offers a range of all the company's functions."
"There is a yearly subscription to use SAP HANA. There is a fee for maintenance."
"SAP HANA is very expensive for small to medium businesses."
"While the cost of the license may seem high, it is important to note that the benefits of the solution far outweighs the cost."
"SQL Anywhere cost us about $400."
"SAP SQL Anywhere is affordable."
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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
12%
Construction Company
7%
Healthcare Company
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: January 2025.
837,501 professionals have used our research since 2012.