Three game-changing technologies impacting Digital Transformation

Business leaders say they need three things from their data systems to help them compete effectively and embrace digital transformation: reliable data to empower their workers, deep insight from all their data, and access to the latest analytics and machine learning techniques to amplify their insights and apply them to their business.

In addition to new business demands, technology advances are creating new strategic opportunities for data management and analytics. The three key technologies that are having the most impact are:

• In-memory computing delivers real-time performance that obviates the need to have separate solutions for transaction processing and analytics. This has the added advantage of removing the need for multiple copies of data and eliminating latency between transaction systems and data warehouses introduced by batch or overnight replication.
• Storage for large data sets is dramatically lower in cost allowing almost unlimited data sets to be created. Coupled with in-memory performance that can handle these massive data sets, business can see insights into their business in real time.
• Cloud computing has reduced the need for huge capital investments and made powerful advanced computing more accessible. New applications can be deployed quickly to capture opportunities without waiting for data centers to be built and systems readied. 

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Ask Approyo - What is the benefit of using an in-memory platform?

In-memory computing is the storage of information in the main random access memory (RAM) of dedicated servers rather than in complicated relational databases operating on comparatively slow disk drives. In-memory computing helps business customers, including retailers, banks and utilities, to quickly detect patterns, analyze massive data volumes on the fly, and perform their operations quickly. The drop in memory prices in the present market is a major factor contributing to the increasing popularity of in-memory computing technology. This has made in-memory computing economical among a wide variety of applications.

Some of the advantages of in-memory computing include:

• The ability to cache countless amounts of data constantly. This ensures extremely fast response times for searches.
• The ability to store session data, allowing for the customization of live sessions and ensuring optimum website performance.
• The ability to process events for improved complex event processing

SAP S/4HANA and In-Memory Computing
SAP  S/4HANA  delivers high-volume online transaction processing (OLTP) and high volume real-time online analytical processing (OLAP) based on a unified data model without the redundant data layers typically required by traditional RDBMS-based systems.  This reduces TCO while providing new opportunities to increase business value from existing investments.

Examples of redundant data layers are custom-built layers based on database tuning efforts such as secondary indexes, or application built-in performance accelerators such as aggregate tables or multiple general ledger versions for different managerial reporting needs. The massive simplifications of the data model and the data processing layers enable business and technological innovations on a broad scale, across all lines of business (LoBs) and industry solutions. The new application architecture simplifies system landscapes and accelerates cloud deployments on an economical scale.

SAP HANA and In-Memory Computing
SAP HANA relies on in-memory computing to quickly analyze massive amounts of data. In-memory computing is a technology that allows the processing of tremendous quantities of data in main memory to provide immediate results from analysis and transaction. The data is available for processing or analysis immediately after it is created. SAP HANA's performance is 10,000 times faster when compared to standard disks, which allows companies to analyze data in a matter of seconds instead of long hours.

The Cloud Helpers Blog Series - In-Memory Computing

Welcome to our blog series, The Cloud Helpers. This series will focus on cloud computing topics and help you understand how the cloud can impact your business today and in the future. Today we are going to focus on In-Memory Computing.

What is In-Memory Computing?
In-memory computing is the storage of information in the main random access memory (RAM) of dedicated servers rather than in complicated relational databases operating on comparatively slow disk drives. In-memory computing helps business customers, including retailers, banks and utilities, to quickly detect patterns, analyze massive data volumes on the fly, and perform their operations quickly. The drop in memory prices in the present market is a major factor contributing to the increasing popularity of in-memory computing technology. This has made in-memory computing economical among a wide variety of applications.

SAP HANA and In-Memory Computing
SAP HANA relies on in-memory computing to quickly analyze massive amounts of data. In-memory computing is a technology that allows the processing of tremendous quantities of data in main memory to provide immediate results from analysis and transaction. The data is available for processing or analysis immediately after it is created. SAP HANA's performance is 10,000 times faster when compared to standard disks, which allows companies to analyze data in a matter of seconds instead of long hours.

To achieve the preferred performance, in-memory computing adheres to the following basic concepts:

• Keep data in main memory to speed up data access.
• Minimize data movement by using the columnar storage concept and compression, and performing calculations at the database level.
• Divide and conquer by using multi-core architecture and multi-processor servers to meet growing demands.

Some of the advantages of in-memory computing include:

• The ability to cache countless amounts of data constantly. This ensures extremely fast response times for searches.
• The ability to store session data, allowing for the customization of live sessions and ensuring optimum website performance.
• The ability to process events for improved complex event processing

Innovating with In-Memory Technology
A recent study by IDC on Innovating with Real-Time Data and Insights with SAP HANA revealed three important examples  that illustrate  some of the ways SAP HANA  and In-Memory Computing customers are changing their businesses:

• Enablement of core customer-facing services: “SAP HANA is part of a greenfield buildout of an entirely new capability that didn’t exist anywhere, and no one else is doing this with a completely new use of technology. We didn’t have an existing service that SAP HANA snapped into; we built it from the ground up.”
• Understanding and responding to business patterns. One retail organization is achieving better business results because its stores “now have better and precise knowledge of consumption and because we can keep inventory up to date with SAP HANA.”
• Customer support teams. Granular and more robust insights about customer behavior enabled more effective support of customers for the 50-person team at one organization. It noted: “We’re using a tool driven by SAP HANA that allows us to be ahead of our customers so that we’ve already spotted anything that they see. So we’ll have already found that little nugget of information and have come up with ways to address their issue.”

Ask Approyo: Can I simplify my IT landscape with an in-memory solution?

SAP HANA Platform vs. Disk-Based Database with In-Memory Cache

SAP HANA
YES - One copy of data for all requests

SAP HANA Platform simplifies IT landscapes by taking advantage of in-memory computing and by delivering application, database and integration services in one platform. By taking advantage of in-memory computing, it can efficiently process transactions,streams, graphs and advanced analytics, such as predictive, spatial and text, on the same system and on one copy of the data. Additionally, by delivering application, database and integration services in one platform, it reduces data movements and staging among operational systems and between database and application server. This results in better performance, a simplified IT infrastructure and lower administration costs.

Disk-Based Database with In-Memory Cache
NO - Multiple copies of data needed for different requests

Since disk-based databases are designed to manage data on disk, in-memory caches are deployed to accelerate data access.This involves the introduction of an additional technology layer as well as the synchronization and maintenance of multiple copies of data. As a result, the consumption of system resources, the burden of system administration and the complexity of the IT infrastructure increases

See the Benefits of SAP HANA today with Approyo!
Approyo can help your company deal with the changing world. Our SAP HANA and Big Data solutions address these important questions and more. Let us show you today! Set up a free consultation today.

 

Ask Approyo: Do my SAP Applications run better and faster on an in-memory platform?

SAP HANA Platform vs. Disk-Based Database with In-Memory Cache

SAP HANA
YES - SAP applications are optimized to run on SAP HANA.

Business logic resides inside the database

SAP HANA platform enables data-related business logic to run inside the database and provides a wealth of advanced business function libraries, algorithms and services to correlate and analyze data efficiently. SAP HANA also provides easy to use modeling capabilities to automatically push application logic to the database. SAP Business Suite takes full advantage of these capabilities, delivering increased performance.

Disk-Based Database with In-Memory Cache
NO - Performance needs to be tested on acase-by-case basis

SAP Business Suite runs efficiently on the leading RDBMSs,however, it has not been specifically optimized for any given RDBMS. At present, SAP Business Suite is not certified to run on the different RDBMSs with in-memory caches and performance on these extensions needs to be verified on a case-by-case basis.

See the Benefits of SAP HANA today with Approyo!
Approyo can help your company deal with the changing world. Our SAP HANA and Big Data solutions address these important questions and more. Let us show you today! Set up a free consultation today. 

Ask Approyo: Can my application provide analytics while updating the same copy of data in real time with SAP HANA?

SAP HANA Platform vs. Disk-Based Database with In-Memory Cache

SAP HANA
YES - Transactions and queries performed on same data in-memory

SAP HANA Platform is an ACID, persistent, in-memory, columnar database that accelerates both queries and transactions using one data copy, in-memory. SAP HANA column table’s temporary delta store makes it efficient to process high-speed transactions. With SAP HANA Platform, applications can execute transactional and analytical workloads in parallel while preserving data integrity and system performance.

Disk-Based Database with In-Memory Cache
NO - The in-memory cache is not a database, it is just a read-only cache.

Disk-based databases with an in-memory cache typically process transactions (update, insert or delete operations) on disk and then update the data in the in-memory cache to ensure read consistency. Applications that perform both transactions and queries would have to wait for transactions to complete on disk before accessing the updated data in the cache. Since disk access is much slower than memory access these applications will experience delays.

See the Benefits of SAP HANA today with Approyo!
Approyo can help your company deal with the changing world. Our SAP HANA and Big Data solutions address these important questions and more. Let us show you today! Set up a free consultation today.

Ask Approyo: Can I get the full picture of my business in real time with SAP HANA?

SAP HANA Platform vs. Disk-Based Database with In-Memory Cache 

SAP HANA
YES - Because all hot data is automatically in-memory.

Since SAP HANA Platform maintains data in-memory by default, data can be aggregated on-the-fly along any dimension, without requiring indexes, pre-aggregates or materialized views. As a result, SAP HANA can not only return aggregates in real time but also allow users to drill down to any level of detail to analyze data. With SAP HANA, users can analyze data at any level of granularity in a self-service manner and obtain results in real-time.

Disk-Based Database with In-Memory Cache
No - Because only pre-selected data is copied in-memory

Users are limited in the granularity of their real-time data analysis since disk-based databases are architected to manage data on disk and use a combination of add-on in-memory caches, indexes, pre-aggregates and materialized views to accelerate performance. For better performance the DBA has to duplicate data on in-memory caches and create data structures for data on disk before users can perform drill-downs. Additionally, if the size of the in-memory cache cannot accommodate all the required data, the DBA has to resize the system and potentially restart it.

See the Benefits of SAP HANA today with Approyo!
Approyo can help your company deal with the changing world. Our SAP HANA and Big Data solutions address these important questions and more. Let us show you today! Set up a free consultation today.

Take advantage of in-memory computing technology

Drive Performance and Growth with Scalable Solutions from Approyo and SAP HANA.

Run smarter – SAP HANA enables true market differentiation by unlocking new growth opportunities, boosting competitiveness, and inventing new data-driven business models for increased market share. Imagine the increased effectiveness of your knowledge workers when they have real-time information about accounts payable and receivable. They can spend more time on higher-value activities and less time on clerical work.

Run faster – SAP HANA dramatically speeds up your core business processes for reduced operational costs, driving business at the speed of the market and boosting responsiveness. Removing the constraints of batch-driven processes enables processing and decision making to happen in the moment, dramatically changing the way you drive your business.

Run simpler – SAP HANA helps you simplify business processes with immediate insight to action for improved effectiveness, empowering people to decide and act in the business moment and boost productivity. Combining transactions and analysis in one single database enables simplification of IT, leading to lower costs and greater efficiency.

Join the Revolution! Schedule a free SAP HANA consultation with the experts at Approyo.