SAP’s most recent technological innovations include SAP HANA, SAP S/4 HANA, SAP BW/4 HANA, SAP Business Suite, and others. SAP HANA is a database, specifically an in-memory database, whereas SAP S/4HANA is an application that runs on the SAP HANA database. It is a ground-breaking platform built on the company’s new In-memory database. Learning it implies deciding to pursue a career path that is both rewarding and exciting to work in.
SAP HANA serves as a hub for all SAP product strategies, and it is the foundation for the latest technology, SAP S/4HANA, which is set to serve as a cornerstone for all SAP technologies. SAP HANA, which can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud, is an in-memory computing platform that allows you to accelerate business processes, deliver more business intelligence, and simplify your IT environment. SAP HANA removes the hurdles of maintaining separate legacy systems and siloed data by providing the foundation for your data needs, allowing you to run live and make better business decisions in the new digital economy.
In this guide, we will attempt to clear the air around SAP’s offerings and assist you in identifying and developing the best SAP career paths for you.
What is SAP HANA?
SAP HANA is the in-memory database technology that serves as the SAP Landscape’s backend. It is a column-oriented RDBMS that serves as the computing platform for various SAP applications. SAP HANA is most commonly used as a core technology or database platform in systems or environments involving business operations such as sales, human resources, finance, logistics, etc. Because of its in-memory technology, column-based storage, OLAP and OLTP support, and OLAP OLTP support, it can store, retrieve, process, and analyze data ten times faster and more efficiently than any other traditional RDBMS.
Furthermore, HANA uses main memory efficiently and has a much smaller memory footprint than conventional systems. It employs data compression techniques to reduce the amount of space occupied by data in column stores. Because it stores critical data in memory, real-time data analysis with SAP HANA is one of the best features of any database technology ever.
SAP HANA is not just a new option for enterprise computing; it is designed to run SAP software because it handles data differently than other databases. SAP SE has been reworking its core ERP applications to leverage HANA’s speed and flexibility. It will only support older versions until 2025 when customers must have completed their SAP HANA migration and upgraded to the new software.
Abilities of SAP HANA
- Database Administration
- Analytics and Data Processing
- Data Security
- Application Development Tools
- Data Integration and Replication
What is SAP S/4 HANA?
SAP S/4 HANA, released in February 2015, is SAP’s next-generation business suite designed exclusively for SAP HANA. SAP Business Suite 4 SAP HANA is abbreviated as S/4 HANA. SAP S/4 HANA is a fourth business suite release following SAP R/3. SAP also replaces the old SAP ECC/ERP system with SAP HANA by making it only compatible with the SAP HANA system at its backend. On the other hand, the S/4 HANA is built around its successor, the ECC solution, and treats it as its core technology.
SAP S/4 HANA is a new Enterprise Resource Planning solution with simplified data, a straightforward tool design, agility, ease of use, complex calculations, and the ability to handle larger amounts of data. It is available for on-premises, cloud, or a hybrid deployment.
S/4 HANA’s data does not support batch processing, allowing for extremely fast data retrieval and processing in real-time. S/4 HANA powered by SAP HANA can process and analyze data from the Internet of Things (IoT) or big data sources using real-time analytics.
Batch processing is not needed for S/4HANA, according to SAP. This allows businesses to simplify and drive their processes in real-time, enabling business users to access insight on data from anywhere in real-time for prediction, execution, planning, and simulation. SAP Simple Finance is a key component of S/4HANA, which aims to streamline financial processes and enable real-time financial data analysis. Simple Finance assists businesses in aligning their financial and non-financial data into what SAP calls a “single source of truth.” Some Business Suite users implement Simple Finance as their first step toward S/4HANA.
Abilities of SAP S/4 HANA
- Predictive analysis
- Artificial Intelligence
- Complex Data Management
- Multiple Deployment Models
- Greater Workload Capacity
What is the difference between SAP HANA and SAP S/4 HANA?
To fully comprehend the distinction between SAP HANA and S/4HANA, keep in mind that SAP HANA is an in-memory database that serves as the foundation for other SAP applications; SAP HANA is what runs the SAP landscape and does not execute business transactions such as Finance, HR, or logistics. To conduct business transactions, a company requires SAP applications that run on top of SAP HANA.
SAP HANA is the SAP landscape’s backend. Its major feature is an innovative Relational Database Management System critical in storing, retrieving, and processing data for core business activities. This in-memory database can hold any type of data that applications installed alongside SAP HANA can use to meet specific company needs for various tasks such as logistics or Finance.
S/4HANA is SAP’s next-generation business suite, designed specifically for use with SAP HANA. SAP 4 HANA is a work in progress, and SAP is currently reworking the code behind SAP ECC modules to optimize them for the way the SAP HANA database is designed. S/4HANA is a strong ERP solution because it combines BI and ERP capabilities and uses SAP HANA’s in-memory computing power.
Final Thoughts
SAP HANA and SAP S/4HANA’s popularity has resulted in widespread use worldwide. The demand for these modules is extremely high, and a wise professional must capitalize on this trend to meet market demands. We provide a self-paced online training program for SAP S/4 HANA courses at Tekskilled. Learn from the experts to advance your career.