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IBM Informix vs SAP HANA comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 25, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Informix
Ranking in Embedded Database
10th
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
26th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP HANA
Ranking in Embedded Database
1st
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd), Database Management Systems (DBMS) (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Embedded Database category, the mindshare of IBM Informix is 3.9%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 13.0%, up from 9.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Embedded Database Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP HANA13.0%
IBM Informix3.9%
Other83.1%
Embedded Database
 

Featured Reviews

Nasir Niamat - PeerSpot reviewer
DB Consultant at i2c
Has offered a cost-effective option despite frequent technical issues and limited market demand
We find some bugs in IBM Informix. Maybe we are using it more aggressively than others. Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal. It should be rare, not this frequent. The good thing is they cover those bugs in the next release within weeks or days on demand. IBM Informix should become hybrid and should include AI features similar to other DBMS systems such as Snowflake, Redshift, and DataBricks. This would help its value rise with the market.
Bassem Mohammed - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Application Manager at TBTD
Integrated business processes have improved real-time analytics and financial performance
Whether I or my customers utilize SAP HANA's real-time analytics depends on the data needed to be displayed, and then choosing how to transfer the data to the analytic object, data source, or database to be displayed in the reports. It may be near real-time, real-time, or running batch every day. There are tools for integration between third-party systems, such as OData or APIs from SAP to get in or push data to other systems. Support for both structured and unstructured data helps organizations unify data sources depending on the needed data to be displayed. There are many ways to store it for report displays, but structured data will be better than unstructured data.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Every version is faster than the previous."
"Flexible Grid provides the ability to automatically create database objects, such as tables, indexes, and stored procedures on all nodes within the grid as a single operation."
"My advice is to take it; you will never regret it."
"The solution is quite stable and reliable; we use it mainly due to its general stable nature."
"The stability is incredible. I have customers with uptimes of several years."
"So far, we do not have a lot of issues. It's pretty problem-free."
"IBM Informix benefits users with high availability and good integration capabilities."
"Replication, all levels of replication, query charting, and the MongoDB embedded are the most valuable features of this solution."
"This product covers almost everything, and it's scalable and very innovative."
"We have found that the Fiori Apps are particularly good."
"The tool is an in-memory database that stores and retrieves data very quickly. This speed makes it faster to use and maintain data, as no additional processes move data between memory and disk."
"The speed at which it gets the data is great."
"The solution's in-memory computing and the efficient response time are very good features."
"We've had good experiences with technical support."
"The solution is very stable."
"SAP HANA should cover all and automate your business processes without needing a lot of customizations."
 

Cons

"Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal."
"For me, it's always too expensive. The problem is that Informix sometimes competes with free products, so yes, it's very expensive, but when we're talking about licensed products like SQL Server or anything, the midsize pricing could be significantly improved."
"The solution doesn't include functionality like data anonymization."
"I would like to see backups from secondary servers."
"The pricing is a bit expensive."
"There should be more intelligence surrounding discovering data to be able to automatically create indexes."
"Continue extending the SQL language for compatibility with the competition's language, including Stored Procedure Language."
"The product needs a lot more marketing involvement from IBM."
"I'd just like to see some more improvements done on the training, both on the functional training and technical training sides as a part of the complete solution."
"The user experience should be better. Its user interface is not good. I also don't like the transition concept."
"The initial setup of SAP HANA is complex. We did the implementation of one site, and a global deployment will take another three to four years."
"The SAP ERP processes are quite complex and it can be challenging."
"I don't like the presentation layer tools on the analytics side, it's too complex."
"One notable issue is the difficulty in finding consultants with experience in the SuccessFactors product, a human resource management tool part of SAP's cloud-based solutions. For example, learning the Oracle database is straightforward. You can easily go to the Oracle website, download the database, install it on your laptop, and access technical resources and books."
"I think that the pricing is high and it needs improvement."
"If the developers were to enhance or improve the application logic while processing the transactions, that would be great."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I am not aware of the licensing costs or terms."
"The free edition can be enough to handle moderate-size implementations, but you may want a pay for edition to benefit from more functionality, such as replication."
"For me, it's always too expensive."
"The product has reasonable pricing. We purchase its yearly license."
"The price of SAP HANA is very expensive and it is paid annually."
"Price-wise, the product falls on the higher side of the spectrum. There is no need to pay for maintenance and support additionally. Support is available for bug fixes in the product."
"The cost of SAP HANA is high, and I would rate the price at eight out of ten."
"We are spending about 20,000 to 30,000 euros on the solution."
"Setup and licensing require planning and proper budgeting, as it is not cheap."
"SAP HANA is more expensive than other solutions."
"The tool’s subscription is yearly."
"The licensing could improve."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Construction Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise64
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Informix?
There is a cost reason to move from IBM Informix. It is relatively cheaper than Oracle. The second reason is that moving the whole application to a new database would require significant cost. The ...
What needs improvement with IBM Informix?
We find some bugs in IBM Informix. Maybe we are using it more aggressively than others. Every month or every second month, we find some bugs in it, which is not ideal. It should be rare, not this f...
What is your primary use case for IBM Informix?
We are using IBM Informix for OLTP systems. We are using IBM Informix although it is a technology that is not very popular compared to others. We are using it because our application was initially ...
What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?
Based on my work with SAP HANA, the biggest benefit that it can bring to your business is total data management. This product is by SAP - a company that serves almost all needs a client may have co...
Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?
We have been using SAP HANA for a fairly short period of time and have only taken advantage of their customer support. So far, we have not had issues that required specialized help from technical s...
Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?
SAP HANA is fairly easy to set up, however, I do not think a complete beginner can do it. You certainly need some preparation - either you need to have experience with similar solutions, or with ot...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Informix
SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Shaspa, Hildebrand, Kaifa, Ranhill Powertron, Federaci‹ Farmacutica (FedeFarma), Camden Council, The German Aerospace Center (DLR), Myers, Votorantim Group, Doosan Infracore, GreenIvory
Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about IBM Informix vs. SAP HANA and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.