{"id":11168,"date":"2018-11-29T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-29T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.zapliance.com\/?p=11168"},"modified":"2022-08-26T13:38:47","modified_gmt":"2022-08-26T13:38:47","slug":"whats-what-a-short-tour-through-the-world-of-sap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.zapliance.com\/en\/blog\/whats-what-a-short-tour-through-the-world-of-sap\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s what? \u2013 A short tour through the world of SAP"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You can sometimes overhear some interesting things being said in the corridors at conferences and the terms SAP S\/4, SAP HANA and SAP C\/4 are often used synonymously. In this article, I will explain not only that there are indeed technological differences between SAP products but also that some of them are actually built on each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is SAP R\/3, mySAP ERP and SAP ERP?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s get one thing out of the way first: R\/3, mySAP and SAP ERP are in fact one and the same product. Looking back over the time, SAP ERP was first referred to as SAP R\/3 until December 2003. It was then known as mySAP ERP until 2007, after which it was simply baptized SAP ERP. To keep the distinction clear, we will refer to it as SAP R\/3 in what follows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The main objective when using SAP R\/3 systems is the digitization of work processes. The system is based on a system structure that is divided into clients and servers. The client requests a service from the server that answers the client\u2019s request. It adapts best practices in the handling of processes and follows all generally accepted standards. The R in the software name stands for \u201creal-time data processing\u201d and the 3 for \u201c3 levels\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An SAP\/R 3 system consists of various modules that work multifunctionally and flexibly. Among the most widespread are accounting and controlling, personnel management, materials management, sales and production planning. Each of these modules handles a specific work process and is linked to other modules when necessary to facilitate the work process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The SAP R\/3 system is compatible with all possible platforms (databases such as Microsoft and IBM) and operating systems. It can be used collaboratively by several companies, even if they use other platforms [1].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the HANA DB?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The HANA DB is a pure database with in-memory technology. For processing, all data is stored in the main memory, which makes the database capable of performing extremely powerful analyses and calculations, thus making it particularly suitable for a big data environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The data can (optionally) be available in a relational database but is stored in full in the working memory for processing (in-memory technology) and processed there column by column. Data requests are made to the memory. Analyses are also generated from this memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If data has to be changed and written, this is done in a column-based way in the working memory. This data is not stored in the database until later, line by line. Storage snapshots are taken at regular intervals to back up the data in the working memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The abbreviation HANA originally stood for \u201cHigh-Performance Analytic Appliance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The advantages of fast access and the possibilities of predictive analytics are offset by the following disadvantages [2]:<\/p>\n\n\n\n