Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

SAP HANA VS SQL Azure

Compare SAP HANA VS SQL Azure and see what are their differences

SAP HANA logo SAP HANA

SAP HANA is an in-memory, column-oriented, relational database management system.

SQL Azure logo SQL Azure

Microsoft Azure Cloud SQL Database is the developer’s cloud database service. The Azure database as a service is your solution to building and monitoring applications quickly and efficiently.
  • SAP HANA Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17
  • SQL Azure Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-06

SAP HANA features and specs

  • High Performance
    SAP HANA offers real-time processing speeds by leveraging in-memory computing, which can significantly reduce the time it takes to access and analyze data.
  • Real-Time Analytics
    The platform enables organizations to perform real-time analytics, providing instant insights and allowing for rapid decision-making based on current data.
  • Scalability
    SAP HANA is designed to easily scale as an organization grows, accommodating increasing amounts of data without a decrease in performance.
  • Advanced Data Processing
    It supports advanced data processing capabilities including predictive analytics, spatial data processing, text analytics, and more, thereby enabling complex data analysis.
  • Unified Data Platform
    SAP HANA integrates various types of data sources into a single platform, simplifying data management and reducing complexity.

Possible disadvantages of SAP HANA

  • High Cost
    The licensing and operational costs associated with SAP HANA can be quite high, making it less accessible for small to mid-sized enterprises.
  • Complex Installation and Management
    Implementing and managing SAP HANA can be complex and may require specialized skills and training, which could also increase operational costs.
  • Hardware Requirements
    The platform often requires high-end, specialized hardware to operate efficiently, which adds to the initial investment and maintenance cost.
  • Vendor Lock-In
    Using SAP HANA can lead to vendor lock-in, making it difficult for organizations to switch to other platforms or integrate non-SAP solutions.
  • Resource Intensive
    SAP HANA is resource-intensive in terms of memory and CPU usage, which could be a limiting factor for companies with constrained IT resources.

SQL Azure features and specs

  • Scalability
    SQL Azure provides scalable performance that can be adjusted based on demand without downtime, allowing businesses to handle varying workloads efficiently.
  • Managed Service
    As a fully managed service, SQL Azure reduces administrative overhead by handling updates, backups, and maintenance automatically, freeing up IT resources for other tasks.
  • High Availability
    Built-in high availability and disaster recovery features ensure continuous data access and reliability, minimizing downtime and protecting data integrity.
  • Security
    SQL Azure offers advanced security features, including network isolation, encryption, and threat detection, enhancing data protection and compliance with security standards.
  • Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem
    Seamless integration with other Microsoft services and tools such as Power BI, Azure Data Factory, and Azure Synapse enhances capabilities for data analysis and management.

Possible disadvantages of SQL Azure

  • Cost
    The pay-as-you-go pricing model can become expensive for businesses with large-scale demands or unpredictable usage patterns, potentially increasing operational costs.
  • Limited Control
    Because it is a managed service, users have less control over server configurations and customizations, which can be a limitation for certain specialized requirements.
  • Dependency on Internet Connectivity
    As a cloud-based service, consistent internet connectivity is required to access SQL Azure, which can be a disadvantage for locations with unreliable internet service.
  • Learning Curve
    Organizations may need to invest time and resources into training staff to understand and optimize Azure SQL features, which can delay implementation.
  • Data Transfer Costs
    There may be additional costs associated with transferring data in and out of SQL Azure, particularly for businesses that frequently move large volumes of data.

SAP HANA videos

SAP S/4HANA In 2 Minutes: Why SAP HANA?

More videos:

  • Demo - End-to-End SAP HANA Cloud Platform Demo
  • Review - SAP HANA Academy - XS Advanced: Code Review - myapp1

SQL Azure videos

No SQL Azure videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to SAP HANA and SQL Azure)
Databases
73 73%
27% 27
Relational Databases
71 71%
29% 29
Tool
67 67%
33% 33
NoSQL Databases
85 85%
15% 15

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare SAP HANA and SQL Azure

SAP HANA Reviews

Data Warehouse Tools
SAP HANA is an in-memory data warehouse solution designed for real-time analytics and integration with SAP applications. It offers exceptional performance for high-speed data processing.
Source: peliqan.io
16 Top Big Data Analytics Tools You Should Know About
SAP High-Performance ANalytical Appliance (SAP HANA) is an in-memory database developed by SAP. Its primary function as a database server is to store and retrieve data. It is used to analyze the large datasets on a real-time basis that are present entirely in its memory.

SQL Azure Reviews

We have no reviews of SQL Azure yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, SQL Azure seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 9 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

SAP HANA mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of SAP HANA yet. Tracking of SAP HANA recommendations started around Mar 2021.

SQL Azure mentions (9)

  • Microsoft Announces the Preview of Serverless for Hyperscale in Azure SQL Database
    Recently, Microsoft announced the preview of serverless for Hyperscale in the Azure SQL Database, which brings together the benefits of serverless and Hyperscale into a single database solution. For full news coverage see InfoQ news item: https://www.infoq.com/news/2023/02/azure-sql-hyperscale-serverless/. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Azure SQL Database External REST Endpoints Integration Now in Public Preview
    Microsoft recently announced the public preview of Azure SQL Database External REST Endpoint Integration – an ability to call a REST endpoint natively from Azure SQL Database. For more details see: https://www.infoq.com/news/2022/11/azure-sql-rest-endpoint/. Source: over 2 years ago
  • How I Build and Deliver B2B SaaS Software as a 1.5* Person Indie Developer
    Www Services for hosting the marketing site. This includes a Key Vault, Storage Account, Service Bus Namespace, Azure SQL database and an App Service. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
  • The Difference Between Data Warehouses, Data Lakes, and Data Lakehouses.
    Popular managed cloud data warehouse solutions include Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure SQL Database, and Amazon Redshift. - Source: dev.to / about 3 years ago
  • Top 30 Microsoft Azure Services
    Developers need databases to store structured data, like application state and user data. Azure offers a range of managed SQL and NoSQL database solutions. Azure SQL is a suite of services that offer a cloud based relational database experience for different use cases. SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines creates an entire operating system environment running the popular Microsoft Relational Database Management... - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing SAP HANA and SQL Azure, you can also consider the following products

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

Microsoft SQL - Microsoft SQL is a best in class relational database management software that facilitates the database server to provide you a primary function to store and retrieve data.

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

Oracle DBaaS - See how Oracle Database 12c enables businesses to plug into the cloud and power the real-time enterprise.

SQLite - SQLite Home Page

Amazon Aurora - MySQL and PostgreSQL-compatible relational database built for the cloud. Performance and availability of commercial-grade databases at 1/10th the cost.