Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

SAP HANA vs Spark SQL comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

SAP HANA
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
83
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd), Embedded Database (4th), Relational Databases Tools (3rd)
Spark SQL
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Hadoop (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Md Ashraful  Islam - PeerSpot reviewer
Dec 7, 2023
Powerful in-memory processing capabilities and advanced analytics, enhancing real-time decision-making, but with challenges in reaching SAP for support
The use case revolves around the ERP system, covering standard modules that begin with procurement, extend through sales, encompass the entire spectrum of business processes, including commercial aspects, inventory management, and production, and conclude with sales and financial tracking…
SurjitChoudhury - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 23, 2023
Offers the flexibility to handle large-scale data processing
My experience with the initial setup of Spark SQL was relatively smooth. Understanding the system wasn't overly difficult because the data was structured in databases, and we could use notebooks for coding in Python or Java. Configuring networks and running scripts to load data into the database were routine tasks that didn't pose significant challenges. The flexibility to use different languages for coding and the ability to process data using key-value pairs in Python made the setup adaptable. Once we received the source data, processing it in SparkSQL involved writing scripts to create dimension and fact tables, which became a standard part of our workflow. Setting up Spark SQL was reasonably quick, but sometimes we face performance issues, especially during data loading into the SQL Server data warehouse. Sequencing notebooks for efficient job runs is crucial, and managing complex tasks with multiple notebooks requires careful tracking. Exploring ways to optimize this process could be beneficial. However, once you are familiar with the database architecture and project tools, understanding and adapting to the system become more straightforward.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When we upgraded, we received more functions or more features."
"The solution is marvelous because it controls everything including workflow and that makes our company more productive."
"It's user-friendly so long as you use it frequently."
"The data storage requirement is reduced from the original database to the HANA database."
"Eases management of databases."
"SAP HANA is a stable solution."
"The solution operates well."
"We like that the product is both vertically and horizontally scalable, allowing us to do around 86 percent compression of documentation from 50 to seven terabytes."
"Spark SQL's efficiency in managing distributed data and its simplicity in expressing complex operations make it an essential part of our data pipeline."
"It is a stable solution."
"Data validation and ease of use are the most valuable features."
"The speed of getting data."
"This solution is useful to leverage within a distributed ecosystem."
"The team members don't have to learn a new language and can implement complex tasks very easily using only SQL."
"The performance is one of the most important features. It has an API to process the data in a functional manner."
"Certain data sets that are very large are very difficult to process with Pandas and Python libraries. Spark SQL has helped us a lot with that."
 

Cons

"Needs graphical programming without coding."
"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."
"Uses a large amount of RAM and is costly."
"What needs improvement in SAP HANA is its automation, in particular, it needs more enhancements in that area."
"The pricing is expensive."
"The interface is a little bit hard to customize. You almost have to consult the SAP original developer to change it."
"The solution needs to work on its performance and make it faster."
"The solution could improve in the handling of backup data and the administration tools."
"SparkUI could have more advanced versions of the performance and the queries and all."
"In the next update, we'd like to see better performance for small points of data. It is possible but there are better tools that are faster and cheaper."
"The solution needs to include graphing capabilities. Including financial charts would help improve everything overall."
"It takes a bit of time to get used to using this solution versus Pandas as it has a steep learning curve."
"It would be beneficial for aggregate functions to include a code block or toolbox that explains its calculations or supported conditional statements."
"It would be useful if Spark SQL integrated with some data visualization tools."
"This solution could be improved by adding monitoring and integration for the EMR."
"There are many inconsistencies in syntax for the different querying tasks."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The tool has a high price. I rate the solution’s pricing, one on a scale of ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap."
"The price is on the expensive side, at eight out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"The price of SAP HANA is very expensive and it is paid annually."
"There is a yearly subscription to use SAP HANA. There is a fee for maintenance."
"SAP HANA is an expensive product."
"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."
"We pay annually for the license of the solution."
"There is no license or subscription for this solution."
"The solution is open-sourced and free."
"We don't have to pay for licenses with this solution because we are working in a small market, and we rely on open-source because the budgets of projects are very small."
"The on-premise solution is quite expensive in terms of hardware, setting up the cluster, memory, hardware and resources. It depends on the use case, but in our case with a shared cluster which is quite large, it is quite expensive."
"We use the open-source version, so we do not have direct support from Apache."
"The solution is bundled with Palantir Foundry at no extra charge."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Hadoop solutions are best for your needs.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
6%
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
6%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 do you like most about Spark SQL?
Spark SQL's efficiency in managing distributed data and its simplicity in expressing complex operations make it an essential part of our data pipeline.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Spark SQL?
We don't have to pay for licenses with this solution because we are working in a small market, and we rely on open-source because the budgets of projects are very small.
What needs improvement with Spark SQL?
In terms of improvement, the only thing that could be enhanced is the stability aspect of Spark SQL. There could be additional features that I haven't explored but the current solution for working ...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
UC Berkeley AMPLab, Amazon, Alibaba Taobao, Kenshoo, Hitachi Solutions
Find out what your peers are saying about SAP HANA vs. Spark SQL and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.