Apache Hadoop and SAP BW4HANA are prominent data management platforms competing in big data and analytics. Apache Hadoop boasts cost efficiency and open-source flexibility, which gives it an edge for organizations managing extensive datasets. However, SAP BW4HANA’s robust analytics and integration capabilities often justify its higher cost for users seeking comprehensive solutions.
Features: Apache Hadoop thrives in storage and processing through its distributed file system, HDFS, which efficiently manages large data types including video, pictures, JSON, XML, and plain text. It is scalable and supports various data types, making it a preferred cost-effective choice for big data tasks. Conversely, SAP BW4HANA excels in analytics and visualization with an architecture tailored for seamless ERP integration and extensive reporting capabilities.
Room for Improvement: Apache Hadoop faces criticism for its complexity and lack of a user-friendly interface, with users advocating for enhanced performance speed and easier integration for real-time analytics. Conversely, SAP BW4HANA's primary drawbacks include its high cost and limited customization options, with users calling for better third-party tool integration and adjustments in licensing models to alleviate financial constraints.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Apache Hadoop offers flexible deployment options, both on-premise and in the cloud, but relies on community forums and third-party vendors for support, being favorable to tech-savvy businesses. SAP BW4HANA primarily focuses on on-premise setups while expanding cloud capabilities, offering structured albeit pricier support options.
Pricing and ROI: Apache Hadoop’s open-source nature presents a budget-friendly option for companies capitalizing on large-scale data without traditional RDBMS constraints. In contrast, SAP BW4HANA is recognized for its expense, but many enterprises find the investment worthwhile given its advanced analytics and smooth integration with SAP environments, resulting in substantial ROI for properly equipped organizations.
It's not structured support, which is why we don't use purely open-source projects without additional structured support.
In the meantime, I found solutions independently and provided two solutions to my client.
I am satisfied with the response time and quality.
It is a distributed file system and scales reasonably well as long as it is given sufficient resources.
Continuous management in the way of upgrades and technical management is necessary to ensure that it remains effective.
The problem with Apache Hadoop arose when the guys that originally set it up left the firm, and the group that later owned it didn't have enough technical resources to properly maintain it.
Integration needs improvement.
The integration with AI/ML in SAP BW4HANA is currently very limited, which is definitely an area that needs improvement.
The certification cost for SAP BW4HANA in 2025 is expected to be one lakh forty thousand.
Hadoop is a distributed file system, and it scales reasonably well provided you give it sufficient resources.
I assess Apache Hadoop's fault tolerance during hardware failures positively since we have hardware failover, which works without problems.
The best features include the ability to create data sources directly on tables, and perform mapping without creating info objects.
The capability to handle a large amount of data and perform ETL operations is most valuable.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Apache Hadoop | 3.5% |
| SAP BW4HANA | 3.7% |
| Other | 92.8% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 14 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 8 |
| Large Enterprise | 21 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 16 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 4 |
| Large Enterprise | 29 |
SAP BW4HANA is a data warehouse solution developed by SAP for businesses looking to analyze big data in real time. It is designed to run on the SAP HANA database, offering improved performance and optimized processing of large data sets. SAP BW/4HANA provides an array of advanced analytics capabilities, including predictive analytics, text analytics, and spatial data processing. It also offers a modern, intuitive user interface and streamlined data modeling and administration tools, making it easier for businesses to access, manage, and utilize their data.
SAP BW4HANA Features
SAP BW4HANA has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:
SAP BW4HANA Benefits
There are many benefits to implementing SAP BW4HANA. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:
Reviews from Real Users
SAP BW4HANA is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are its hierarchical alert slicing, real-time insights, and its ability to transform large amounts of data.
PeerSpot reviewer, Srivatsav A., SAP BW/4HANA Specialist at a government, is very happy with the solution. He explains, "You can do hierarchical alert slicing and dicing out-of-box, which is not available in other solutions. I haven't come across that in Oracle or any other software provider."
“It has got wonderful features in terms of analyzing your production data, and it gives you real-time insight into productive maintenance. You can plan your budget, and you can map them against actuals. It gives you good insights on overall performance and processes,” says Amrit J., ERP Application Manager at an energy/utilities company.
In addition, a Technology Analyst at a tech services company mentions, "The most valuable feature is that we can transform a huge amount of data and apply business logic as per the requirements."
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