All experts agree that SAP customers who want to exploit the potential of big data should combine SAP HANA database technology with the platform Hadoop®. This is the only way to capture large volumes of unstructured data cost-effectively and analyze it together with real-time information from the ERP systems. To achieve this, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) for SAP Applications for the SAP landscape has proved to be the optimum operating system. It maximizes the availability and performance of SAP HANA and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) for Hadoop and ensures that they work together seamlessly in the existing SAP environments.
Joint Distribution Through SAP
“The SAP HANA platform and its integration with Hadoop combines real-time information with enormous storage capacities,” explained SAP in 2013 when justifying the strategic decision to distribute its own in-memory database technology together with Intel Distribution for Apache Hadoop Software. This integration enables one the largest problems associated with big data to be overcome – namely fragmented landscapes consisting of solutions that are difficult to integrate.
The core of SAP HANA is the superfast in-memory database. It offers users the advantage of being able to access transactional company data in real time and analyze it directly. With the knowledge gained, business processes can be influenced and controlled directly. In contrast, the Hadoop platform shows its strength in processing large volumes of unstructured data, which can be found in social media channels or Web forums. Another advantage is presented by the low hardware storage costs, whereby “Hadoop clusters” with hundreds of standard servers can be deployed. An example of where SAP HANA and Hadoop can be combined successfully is the “SAP Demand Signal Management” application, which takes into account point-of-sales and market research data, as well as customer preferences such as large data volumes. This enables companies to respond to fluctuations in demand at an early stage.
Central System Management with SUSE Manager
The Linux operating system of SUSE not only ensures optimal performance of the HANA-Hadoop applications. SUSE Manager provides continuous system management. From one central location, all components and elements of the infrastructure and its patch/update status, as well as the complete systems themselves, are taken into account. Furthermore, specific environments required for enterprise operations, for example, for development, test, or production systems, can be controlled precisely. It is also possible to meet compliance requirements, such as security requirements, in a simplified way and document such compliance.
SUSE Manager also brings cost advantages to users since it reduces many manual and recurring tasks for platform management. Management is possible across all hardware x86 Intel providers and hypervisors, as well as in mixed environments – both native and virtualized.
