SAP HANA vs. Oracle
Listed below are some of the basic differences between Oracle and SAP HANA:
| Name | Oracle | SAP HANA |
| Developer | Oracle | |
| First Release | 1980 | 2010 |
| Present Release | 12 Release 1 (12.1.0.2), July 2014 | SPS12 Revision 120, May 2016 |
| Functions on | Oracle database in-memory can function on any platform that runs Oracle Database 12c. | SAP HANA cannot run on current non certified hardware as it functions on SAP-certified, X86-based HANA appliances only from partners. |
| Language that is implemented | Oracle implements C and C++ | No such specification is found in SAP HANA |
| Support of XML | Oracle supports XML | SAP HANA does not support XML |
| SQL | Oracle supports SQL | SAP HANA supports major parts of SQL Standard |
| Data availability and security | In oracle, memory duplication inhibits downtime on node failure | In SAP HANA, downtime is almost unavoidable due to immature product and missing availability features. |
| Compatibility with big data, cloud computing and data warehousing | Oracle uses dynamic random access memory (DRAM), flash, and disk transparently. Overspending on storage does not occur here as the users do not need to put their entire database in costly DRAM. | In case of SAP HANA, the entire database needs to be fit in the costly DRAM. Large data warehouses and big data do not fit. However, as recommended by SAP, users can combine HANA with other databases for example Sybase in order to migrate data to and from HANA. But this is delicate, difficult, and slow architecture. |
| DB-Engines Ranking | Score 1462.02 Rank #1 Overall #1 Relational DBMS | Score 41.37 Rank #19 Overall #12 Relational DBMS |
| Scales for online transaction processing (OLTP) and analytics
| Oracle allows transparent scales for online transaction processing (OLTP) and analytics running together.
| For high performance analytics HANA uses a column format that has severe architectural limitations for scalability and OLTP performance. |
| Leverages standing IT talent (DBAs, developers). | Oracle is easy to implement and maintain as no new APIs are required. Only a minimal DBA commands are required. | A new team or retraining is required as HANA is a new “platform” with unique operational procedures and programming practices. |