SAPinSider SPeciAl rePort | Best- in-Class Bi serviCe and solution Providers

Reproduced from the Jan n Feb n Mar 2011 issue of SAPinsider with permission from its publisher, WIS Publishing | sapinsider.wispubs.com

data can provide power, but if that data is wrong, or

if you don’t have an effective way to navigate it, it

can leave you powerless. Even with the explosion of data

flowing into today’s companies, business leaders are

operating with larger blind spots than ever before.

According to a recent IBM Global Business Services sur-

vey of 225 business executives, one in three executives is

making major decisions with incomplete or untrust-

worthy information.1 IBM has also found, in working

with thousands of organizations worldwide, that many

companies get their data from disjointed sources and

lack the right analysis tools to turn all of that data into

actionable insight.

There is a major opportunity for businesses to create

a competitive advantage when business process man-

agement is coupled with new business intelligence (BI)

technology and analytics capabilities. The opportunity

becomes even greater when BI solutions work in real

time to translate data into actionable insights at the

pace of your business.

That’s why IBM has teamed up with SAP to offer

in-memory computing using SAP High-Performance

Analytic Appliance (SAP HANA) software to help busi-

nesses quickly turn their growing data into usable

insights that enable smart, innovative decisions.

In-Memory Analytics Drive Business TransformationBusiness leaders in the new economic environment face

intense pressure to cut costs and optimize resources and

capital productivity on a global basis. In a truly globally

integrated enterprise, work flows to where it can be

done best, emphasizing repeatable processes, optimized

assets, and integrated operations. SAP HANA provides a

platform to accelerate the operationalization of this

globally integrated enterprise through:

Architecture simplification: Since SAP HANA pro-

vides in-memory business applications, it eliminates

1 LaValle, Steve. “Business Analytics and Optimization for the Intelligent Enterprise.” IBM Institute for Business Value (2009).

the need to have a copy of the database for transac-

tional systems. The software, which is groundbreak-

ing yet non-disruptive to existing landscapes, also

streamlines the IT landscape and reduces TCO.

Process integration: SAP HANA supports consolida-

tion and acceleration of both transactional and multi-

dimensional in-memory data on one platform,

without affecting performance. This enables mixed

workloads of analytics, operations, and performance

management in a single system. All of this means you

can achieve greater flexibility to deliver innovative,

real-time analysis and reporting scenarios.

Data acceleration: SAP HANA provides an environ-

ment that supports real-time decision making, simu-

lation, and what-if analysis to enable smarter business

decisions that are supported by increased visibility

into large volumes of business information. This also

allows organizations to more nimbly react to business

events through real-time analysis and reporting of

operational data.

Get the Right Technology to Support In-Memory ComputingIBM is teaming up with SAP to offer SAP HANA as a

rapid-deployment solution by leveraging IBM hardware

and memory technology. SAP HANA can be deployed

alongside existing SAP transactional systems and SAP

NetWeaver Business Warehouse (SAP NetWeaver BW)

systems to quickly solve specific business problems

around data-intensive analysis, easing the burden on

transactional systems and providing real-time analytics.

When deploying SAP HANA, IBM provides an architec-

ture assessment and benchmark, a proof of concept,

express deployment, and strategic business alignment.

Combining SAP HANA with IBM System x and

BladeCenter servers that use eX5 technology enables a

scalable solution and benefits customers with a shared

vision that delivers a whole new level of unprecedented

BI performance, while still remaining cost effective. To

learn more, visit www.ibm-sap.com/hana. n

Better Business Through In-Memory AnalyticsStrengthen Your Business Intelligence, Analytics, and Infrastructure with SAP and IBM

Don MetticaSAP Business Analytics Global Practice Leader IBM Global Business

Services

IBM and SAP are

working to help

businesses turn their

data into usable

insights that enable

smart, innovative

decisions.