Benefits of Choosing SAP HANA for Application Development

Category: SAP HANA, ZaranTech Training Posted:Apr 24, 2017 By: Ashley Morrison

Benefits of Choosing SAP HANA for Application Development

SAP HANA is being hailed as the market breakthrough in-memory database. But only a handful of people knows that it is also a brand new in-memory application platform. It is a turnkey solution to construct and deploy the latest real-time applications and extended analytics.

It is a known fact that SAP CRM and SAP ERP are running on HANA currently. More than 30 non-SAP products from start-ups are known to be running on HANA. It is also common to find organizations who are SAP HANA customers who are into constructing custom applications on HANA.

SAP HANA Applications

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As a decision maker and project stakeholder or product owner, one will need to know the technical benefits offered by HANA platform. Here are the top reasons to find out why you should choose the SAP HANA platform to build your application:

1. Speed:

Individuals and organizations can fully facilitate leveraging of existing hardware computing power.

  • SAP HANA leverages modern hardware such as multiple CPU cores, caches and large main memory, to the fullest extent. This coupled with Massive Parallel Processing (MPP) in the database kernel, along with the database extensions needed by enterprise applications makes SAP HANA extremely efficient.
  • SAP HANA makes use of Intel’s SSE vector processing to process several sections of data in one instruction cycle.
  • SAP HANA offers individuals and organizations with highly advanced Data Partitioning and Query Optimizer to comprehensively accomplish the parallelization processing.

To obtain efficient data analysis, organizations need to implement superior data management measures. SAP HANA offers a highly advanced data platform, which permits faster data access utilizing any column as the index, and also by having only the relevant columns accessed through the encoded column store. Highly efficient compression is made possible through columnar data storage, which is especially applicable for the sorted columns. SAP HANA uses high-efficiency compression methods like run-length encoding, dictionary coding and cluster coding.

2. Real-Time

Organizations can run both analytical and transactional applications on a single data model, which will completely change how business applications are built and user expectations in consuming them.

3. Any Data

Users will be enabled with the ability to query complicated questions on all sets of data utilizing standard SQL to accomplish tasks which weren’t possible prior to SAP HANA.

4. Any Sources

 Users will have access to several ways to load data from pre-existing data sources into SAP HANA. SAP HANA capabilities make up for missing functionalities in remote databases.

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5. Predictable Window

As enterprises expand, the size of datasets will present multiple levels of complexity. This is where SAP HANA shines, by making responses available within a predictable time window.

6. Open platform

 Standard protocols can be used to access SAP HANA for the application integration along with SAP HANA. Users can also utilize programming languages they are familiar with constructing the application on the top of SAP HANA.

7. Simplification

Application development can be greatly simplified by using SAP HANA. Application codes can be minimized by up to 75% using the in-memory technology that is a part of SAP HANA.

8. Prediction 

Predictive Analysis can be accelerated by a great deal using SAP HANA. Also, in-database algorithms can be delivered right to the box which means users can adapt models more often.

9. Consolidation

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) can be minimized through consolidation of heterogeneous servers into SAP HANA servers. This is achieved by minimizing maintenance, lifecycle management and hardware.

10. Choices

Based on the requirements for the application users will have several options for using HANA for the built application. Real-time business in the cloud can be made possible with SAP HANA. Users are at the liberty to select any option in the SAP HANA medium to meet their application development requirement.

Users can benefit greatly from the SAP HANA platform by tapping into the immense power of hardware available coupled with highly advanced capabilities like Data Virtualization, Spatial Processing, Text Analytics, and even Predictive capabilities on the very same architecture. This refers to a single database and environment.

Given below list of detailed features act as reasons to choose SAP HANA for Application Development:

Gain high-speed features critical for application development

The Express edition of SAP HANA is free up to 32 GB of memory use. It is best suited for use cases with relatively low demand on system resources such as running on your desktop computer, laptop computer, or any server with an Intel chipset.

In spite of leaving out features that consume more resources, the Express edition has everything one may require for application development, notwithstanding advanced data processing and database services. The installation package comprises of options for Linux along with preconfigured virtual machines that provide the power of SAP HANA to Microsoft Windows or the Apple Mac OS.

The Express edition also runs in the cloud when you utilize the SAP Cloud Appliance Library tool to access Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure. This edition also includes community support from SAP Community, tutorials, use cases, and sample code to help one jump-start your introduction to the power of SAP HANA.

The Express edition runs on any computer with Linux, Windows, or Mac OS – with no requirement for hardware certification.

Build in flexibility to grow as your business expands

All applications begin with simpler features but inevitably grow to highly complex suites. Every new application will benefit from being run on a platform where scaling according to user demand will not be an issue. The SAP HANA Express edition enables one, to begin with, a small scale version of an agile approach, enabling one to invest in a full-featured edition of SAP HANA as the user base and corresponding data volumes expand.

SAP HANA Platform

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There exist three full license versions of SAP HANA which provide more features on an incremental basis. While the base release of SAP HANA offers basic development tools, application function libraries (AFLs), business function libraries (BFLs) and core database services. Fresh options for spatial, time-series and text processing are added in the platform edition of SAP HANA along with management of a data warehouse and implementation of Predictive Analytics. Organizations can also buy added functionalities including the ones for Dynamic Tiering, Operational Process Intelligence and Data Streaming.

The Enterprise edition comprises of platform features, base and express editions along with a business rules framework, and functionality for data distribution rights, replication and data provisioning.

The Express edition includes open interfaces for standard protocols and languages, built-in integration services, and functionality for data mining.

Begin developing modern applications right away

Now, one can get a head start on development of crucial applications that aid businesses to harness the power of emerging technologies. One will have unimpeded access to open interfaces for programming languages, protocols and standard application environments to enable application of expertise to cut through conventionally long learning curves. The express edition of SAP HANA allows for interaction with multiple other developers in the SAP community to aid in regulating standards and avoiding common pitfalls.

Build business value on the SAP HANA platform

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Database services, integration services, processing services and built-in application services allow for simplification of application architectures. Analysis of several data types like a graph, spatial, text and structured data is made possible with SAP HANA. Analytics and transactions can be combined in the same application which can minimize development efforts.  Data Mining and Predictive Analytics are made possible through the embedded application function library along with R integration in almost any of the full license edition of SAP HANA which can end up saving an individual a great deal of time.

One can rapidly build application prototypes utilizing around 32 GB of memory to exhibit particular features meant for user feedback.

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Program for high reusability with multiple tools

In the age of cutthroat competition in the IT field across various sub-verticals, organizations will not have time for linear development burdened with tons of change requests during the review phase of the software product. Applications need to be developed progressively and dynamically while boosting the possibilities of reusing previous work.

The in-memory computing platform offered by SAP HANA shifts computation right down to the database, code reuse is increased in the case of SAP HANA to a great extent as compared to other platforms. Browser-based SAP Web IDE for SAP HANA or a command-line interface allows one to program through the SAP HANA Express edition.

NextGen SAP Community

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Applications including multiple SAP HANA data models have SAP Web IDE for SAP HANA as the optimum medium, and especially so in terms of detailed business logic for access via Web-based interfaces. As an option one can install Eclipse-based SAP HANA Studio for applications development and even manage the SAP HANA database. One can also use open interfaces to utilize chosen tools and even version control systems.

SAP HANA, Express edition makes it possible to save an extra amount of time and effort with the advanced models of SAP HANA extended application services.

You can save additional time and effort with the advanced model of SAP HANA extended application services. With this, a full-featured application server and Web server will support several run-time environments which include Java and also JavaScript. Robust debugging and testing tools along with syntax-aware editors are also provided.

Create next-generation, real-time, flexible applications

SAP HANA in its Express edition avatar is free, fast and flexible. Rapid prototyping development and deployment of applications on a PC or cloud are made possible through unimpeded access to the SAP HANA platform for its in-memory computing.

SAP HANA is one has pioneered processing of a transactional data and application data on a single in-memory database. This makes it possible for an organization to lay the foundation for real-time enterprises. The Express edition of SAP HANA lets one harness samples, tutorials and even a community network to profit from a zero risk first-hand experience through the power of SAP HANA. Individuals and organizations will be empowered to work directly with a PC or the cloud for the development and testing of complex applications that begin simple but still look into advanced business interests with cutting edge technologies.

Even if the application developed shifts into production and extends to cater users who need higher and more complex functionalities, SAP HANA will come to the rescue with the capability to scale upward by adopting a more holistic SAP HANA version as applicable.

Conclusion

Since enterprises have come to expect whole lot more from developers in terms of creating applications and capturing emerging opportunities to gain that ever-needed competitive edge. It is for this purpose that individuals and organizations need a highly accessible tool suite to speed up cutting edge application development and appropriate support irrespective of scale in terms of size or complexity. SAP HANA is the universal solution for such needs through its pioneering technology that lets organizations outperforms their competition.

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