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SAP IQ pros and cons

Vendor: SAP
3.9 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

SAP IQ offers unbeatable speed and compression with its columnar storage, allowing for high compression, high load rates, and high query performance.
Its column-based technologies are highly valued for fast response time, easy object maintenance, and robust performance for ad hoc data warehouse queries.
SAP IQ limits the expansion of costly SAP HANA databases by providing effective data archiving and management through SAP NLS.
The database is highly scalable, efficient with multiple servers, and allows easy addition of additional servers to the setup.
Data in SAP IQ is fully compressed and indexed for quick transaction execution, enhancing high-performance operations.

CONS

Concurrency and functional error messaging issues are noted.
Multiplex has consistency problems in metadata, leading to potential metadata inconsistency.
Lack of significant development and support from the organization owning SAP IQ.
The high cost of SAP IQ is challenging for companies, particularly in Peru.
Technical support staff appear to lack thorough knowledge of SAP IQ.
 

SAP IQ Pros review quotes

it_user1055472 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 29, 2019
Unbeatable speed and compression with a colummn-structured relational database.
it_user727509 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 29, 2017
The column-based technologies (basically all the database for ITP) are used for SAP IQ. It is used as a column-based solution.
AN
Aug 29, 2025
The feature I appreciate the most about SAP IQ is the compression, which is very good; we cannot compare with any other type of EDW.
Learn what your peers think about SAP IQ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.
KK
Aug 21, 2025
SAP IQ is actually quite effective when it comes to scalability; we have a setup that's built with multiple servers involved and that seems to be working fairly efficiently, and if we wanted to add more servers into this entire setup, that would be fairly easy.
Mani Velayudhan - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 1, 2023
The primary benefit of SAP IQ is its ability to limit the expansion of the costly SAP HANA database, which has limited storage capacity. This necessitates a form of data management that involves moving data from SAP HANA to SAP NLS, which is essentially archiving. This allows us to retain access to the data via a link whenever it is required.
Fredy Alfaro - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 3, 2024
IQ is a very high-performance and high-transaction database.
it_user719802 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 16, 2017
It is very robust for ad hoc DW queries and its columnar compression is unique and valuable.
Fredy Alfaro - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 7, 2024
All data is compressed and indexed, allowing for fast execution of transactions.
Tejas Raj - PeerSpot reviewer
May 14, 2024
The initial setup is easy.
it_user705720 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 19, 2017
Valuable features for us include the compression, speed, fast response time, and easy object maintenance.
 

SAP IQ Cons review quotes

it_user1055472 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 29, 2019
The organization who owns the product does not support it well and appears not to be doing significant development for the future.
it_user727509 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 29, 2017
The room for improvement would be the marketing of the product, because this product is much better than advertised.
AN
Aug 29, 2025
The downside I see is that it doesn't allow most integrated backups; many of the marketplace players such as NetBackup or Veritas, those software integrated backups are not available.
Learn what your peers think about SAP IQ. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.
867,676 professionals have used our research since 2012.
KK
Aug 21, 2025
In my interaction with SAP IQ's technical support, the people we are talking to don't know this application very thoroughly.
Mani Velayudhan - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 1, 2023
The solution works best when combined with other SAP solutions. If the environment has other systems other options might be better.
Fredy Alfaro - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 3, 2024
The only negative aspect of IQ is the cost, which can be challenging for companies in Peru.
it_user719802 - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 16, 2017
Multiplex is very problematic. There are consistency problems in the metadata, meaning it is possible to lose metadata consistency. You should make sure you have healthy backups.
Fredy Alfaro - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 7, 2024
The primary negative aspect is the cost, which can be a challenge due to the economic conditions in Peru.
Tejas Raj - PeerSpot reviewer
May 14, 2024
There is very little documentation available.
it_user705720 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 19, 2017
I think the universe should be part of the Sybase IQ tool set.