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InterSystems IRIS 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

InterSystems IRIS
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
10th
Ranking in Database Management Systems (DBMS)
12th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
4.2
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
SAP HANA
Ranking in Relational Databases Tools
3rd
Ranking in Database Management Systems (DBMS)
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
Data Virtualization (2nd), Embedded Database (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of InterSystems IRIS is 0.9%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 6.2%, down from 8.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
SAP HANA6.2%
InterSystems IRIS0.9%
Other92.9%
Relational Databases Tools
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2892648 - PeerSpot reviewer
Developer/Database Administrator at a transportation company with 201-500 employees
Robust multidimensional database has enabled smooth API integrations and modern data workflows
I think InterSystems IRIS is a continuation of the Caché legacy. Since I have been working with it since 2005 with Caché, I think it is a really amazing tool. It is a very robust and very scalable database. It is very good to work with, and I am already used to working with it. Where it falls a bit short is in the availability of manpower and professionals who work with InterSystems IRIS or Caché. There are few professionals who work with it. Another thing is the cost and the license cost. I think there could be some kind of package that could serve smaller companies and small and medium-sized companies. That would reach a larger slice of the market, because the cost to work with Caché, InterSystems IRIS, and so on is high. I would make this remark about putting together a package and a new product that could serve small and medium-sized companies. The area where InterSystems IRIS falls a bit short is in the cost and the licensing cost. The licensing cost is the main issue I have already mentioned.
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

"The best features that InterSystems IRIS offers in my opinion are the speed in querying data, and due to our system, which requires a large query with a large volume of data, InterSystems IRIS stands out for its query speed, making my work easier."
"The best features InterSystems IRIS offers, in my experience, include being a really powerful engine and a really good database."
"InterSystems IRIS as a database is very efficient, with its best features being its speed and high performance, along with an easy understanding of its data searching functionalities."
"The best features InterSystems IRIS offers are its powerful database and speed, which contribute greatly to my work."
"My final observation is that everyone should use InterSystems IRIS; it is an amazing tool on the market."
"InterSystems IRIS has had a positive impact on my organization by improving performance and data security."
"In my opinion, the best features that InterSystems IRIS offers are its very optimized database, which I found amazing, and the observability it provides for checking messages and how the data is being transferred, which I find very interesting."
"The best features that InterSystems IRIS offers are its capability to function as both a relational and non-relational database, with performance and speed as specific functionalities that serve as differentiators."
"Integration is the most valuable feature we use SAP HANA for."
"This solution is very fast."
"This is a feature-rich product and I like all of them."
"We are using the solution for the DW system. The primary function of the solution is for the database in memory."
"In comparison with other DMS solutions, it offers good performance."
"Probably the main feature is its in-memory database."
"SAP HANA is very flexible and supports many different scenarios as it can work with analytics, GenAI use cases, and also supports transactional applications."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."
 

Cons

"InterSystems IRIS can be improved since its studio is very poor."
"The area where InterSystems IRIS falls a bit short is in the cost and the licensing cost."
"I cannot determine a very positive impact or a beneficial result from InterSystems IRIS, although this observability part is important because we were able to find problems much faster."
"InterSystems IRIS could be improved, particularly the internal interface of the database."
"InterSystems IRIS can be improved by addressing the lack of libraries, mainly mathematical ones, where we would save a lot of time on some formulas that we have to build by hand every time we need them."
"Python support can be enhanced further, as it's really clunky at the moment, considering that the use of Python is pretty much all over the world and nobody knows ObjectScript really thoroughly and deeply."
"In a future release, SAP HANA should add a module for taxation, such as income tax and withholding tax."
"The solution could improve by having better migration flexibility. For example, it would be helpful if there was a way for customers could check their nonproduction and production deployments."
"Some production features are lacking. For example, we cannot see any dashboards in the production department."
"I would like more technical documentation. I would like it to be easier to find online help or have a better launch-based service. SAP has a lot of functions, so we need more best practices and more detailed documentation on industry solutions. For example, it would be good to have documentation on why a certain process needs to be set up and which kinds of configurations need to be set up."
"The pricing could be better. Finding the solution or adding some additional features that are customized for what we need is difficult."
"High availability and disaster recovery are very poor in HANA."
"The support is lacking and not worth the premium price. If support was just a nominal fee, it would be perceived differently."
"Uses a large amount of RAM and is costly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The tool has a high price. I rate the solution’s pricing, one on a scale of ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap."
"The pricing for SAP HANA is high. You pay a lot for the license, and you also have to pay for some add-ons."
"It is expensive."
"The price of licensing is dependent on the size of the project, however, we have found that there is scope to negotiate the cost. If the solution is implemented on-premises there may be some extra costs for hosting etc."
"Setup and licensing require planning and proper budgeting, as it is not cheap."
"SAP HANA is expensive, but unfortunately, we do not have any alternatives."
"SAP HANA is very expensive here in China. My company bought the SAP ERP suite, which includes SAP HANA. For others who use SAP HANA as an analytical database, CPU numbers will affect the pricing, so as a solution, it's costly."
"The price of SAP HANA is very expensive and it is paid annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
26%
Comms Service Provider
16%
Healthcare Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise64
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with InterSystems IRIS?
InterSystems IRIS has already improved in many areas, and I enjoy using it. My work is sufficient for what I use, and I do not have anything more specific to make InterSystems IRIS better.
What is your primary use case for InterSystems IRIS?
My main use case for InterSystems IRIS is to manage bugs in the system when they are in production. A quick, specific example of how I use InterSystems IRIS to manage bugs in production is when the...
What advice do you have for others considering InterSystems IRIS?
Regarding InterSystems IRIS's AI capabilities, I believe the governance and security are positive. In my experience with its governance and security, I feel my data is well-protected, which is a gr...
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

No data available
SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Global Investment Bank, Parkview Medical Center
Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited
Find out what your peers are saying about InterSystems IRIS vs. SAP HANA and other solutions. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.