SAP In Memory: Conflicts of Opinion
September 13, 2016
I was surprised by the information presented in “SAP Hana Implementation Pattern Research Yields Contradictory Results.” My goodness, I thought, an online publication actually presents some ideas that a high profile system may not be a cat fully dressed in pajamas.
The SAP Hana system is a database. The difference between Hana and the dozens of other allegedly next generation data management solutions is its “in memory, columnar database platform.” If you are not hip to the lingo of the database administrators who clutch many organizations by the throat, an in memory approach is faster than trucking back to a storage device. Think back to the 1990s and Eric Brewer or the teens who rolled out Pinpoint.
The columnar angle is that data is presented in stacks with each item written on a note card. The mapping of the data is different from a row type system. The primary key in a columnar structure is the data, which maps back to the the row identification.
The aforementioned article points to a mid tier consulting firm report. That report by an outfit called Nucleus Research. Nucleus, according to the article, “revealed that 60 percent of SAP reference customers – mostly in the US – would not buy SAP technology again.” I understand that SAP engenders some excitement among its customers, but a mid tier consulting firm seems to be demonstrating considerable bravery if the data are accurate. Many mid tier consulting firms sand the rough edges off their reports.
The article then jumps to a report paid for by an SAP reseller, which obviously has a dog in the Nucleus fight. Another mid tier research outfit called Coleman Parks was hired to do another study. The research focused on 250 Hana license holders.
The results are interesting. I learned from the write up:
When asked what claims for Hana were credible, 92% of respondents said it reduced IT infrastructure costs, a further 87% stated it saved business costs. Some 98% of Hana projects came in on-budget, and 65% yet to roll out were confident of hitting budget.
Yep, happy campers who are using the system for online transactional processing and online analytical processing. No at home chefs tucking away their favorite recipes in Hana I surmise.
However, the report allegedly determined what I have known for more than a decade:
SAP technology is often deemed too complex, and its CEO Bill McDermott has been waging a public war against this complexity for the past few years, using the mantra Run Simple.
The rebuttal study identified another plus for Hana:
“We were surprised how satisfied the Hana license holders were. SAP has done a good job in making sure these projects work, and rate at which has got Hana out is amazing for such a large organization,” said Centiq director of technology and services Robin Webster. “We had heard a lot about Hana as shelfware, so we were surprised at the number saying they were live.”
From our Hana free environment in rural Kentucky, we think:
- Mid tier consulting firms often output contradictory findings when reviewing products or conducting research. If there is bias in algorithms, imagine what might luck in the research team members’ approaches
- High profile outfits like SAP can convince some of the folks with dogs in the fight to get involved in proving that good things come to those who have more research conducted
- Open source data management systems are plentiful. Big outfits like Hewlett Packard, IBM, and Oracle find themselves trying to generate the type of revenue associated with proprietary, closed data management products at a time when fresh faced computer science graduates just love free in memory solutions like Memsql and similar solutions.
SAP mounted an open source initiative which I learned about in “SAP Embraces Open Source Sort Of.” But the real message for me is that one can get mid tier research firms to do reports. Then one can pick the one that best presents a happy face to potential licensees.
Here in Harrod’s Creek, the high tech crowd tests software before writing checks. No consultants required.
Stephen E Arnold, September 13, 2016
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