Oracle Database vs SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise comparison

Oracle Database vs. SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

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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

Oracle Database

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

2nd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

292

Ranking in other categories

Database Management Systems (DBMS) (2nd)

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

20th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of Oracle Database is 10.9%, down from 12.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Oracle Database	10.9%
SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise	1.4%
Other	87.7%

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

Muhammad Usman Muzaffar

Senior Vice President IT Operations at ZTBL

Running secure internal banking applications has been reliable and supports fast deployments

I am still working with Oracle products. I am still using Enterprise Manager 14c. I am using Oracle Database, Oracle ExaCC, Oracle EBS, Oracle WebLogic, Oracle Enterprise Manager, and Oracle Linux. I can answer questions about my experience with WebLogic Suite. I use it in my company. I have not used WebLogic's diagnostic tools. I do not utilize its lifecycle management features. I do not have much experience with WebLogic Java EE support, as I just deploy the application and the other team utilizes this server. I am not directly involved in WebLogic. I have been using Oracle Linux myself. The deployment is local, on-premises. I have been working with Enterprise Manager as well. All the components of Oracle I am using are on-premises. I use Oracle 19c database, Oracle ExaCC, Exadata on Cloud at Customer. I have been using Oracle Linux, Enterprise Manager, and databases as well. I have been working with Oracle Database for about 20 years. My experience has been 100% positive with Oracle Database. I have utilized its Real Application Clusters along with Data Guard. I do not use Oracle's Advanced Analytics and machine learning features right now. I have given this review an overall rating of 9 out of 10.

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reviewer2784705

Senior Advisor at a government with 10,001+ employees

Long term database experience has supported OLTP workloads and delivers reliable cross platform migrations

SAP is not putting money into modernizing SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise. One of the things I discovered on the last project I was on was that they did not incorporate the Intel new instruction set in SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise. Intel has augmented its instruction set referred to as new instructions. They did that to make conversion easier. When you migrate SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise cross-platform, you go through a process where it converts the character set. If you are going from AIX to Linux or from Solaris to Linux, Linux is referred to as Little Endian, while AIX or Solaris are considered Big Endian. This is determined by how the product stores data. The word size of these processors is 32 bits long. If you start numbering from the little end, it is referred to as Little Endian. If you start numbering from the big end, it is called Big Endian. To migrate a SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise database from a Big Endian setup like AIX or Solaris to migrate to a Big Endian setup on an Intel, the operating system determines whether it is Little Endian or Big Endian. When you migrate from Big Endian to Little Endian, the database has to go through a character set conversion, and some of these databases are quite large with gigabytes and gigabytes of data. They have to do a character set conversion to the existing database before they do anything else. The worst part is that you have to rebuild all the indexes when you do that. When you switch endianness of the database, you have to rebuild all the indexes. It will automatically do that for system tables, but for actual user databases, you have to rebuild all your indexes, and it takes a long time. SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is a relational database and is the predecessor of Microsoft SQL Server. All that functionality that Microsoft SQL Server had came from essentially SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise. The problem with SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise these days is it is not expanding its place in the marketplace or expanding its position in the marketplace. A lot of companies have migrated away from SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise. It works fairly well, but the problem is SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise was architected to be an OLTP engine and is now doing things for larger databases that were not in its original intended purpose. The endianness of the RDBMS is a major impediment to continuing to use SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise. You have a multi-gigabyte database, and it will go through a conversion process in a single-threaded fashion, and then you have to rebuild the indexes. Rebuilding the indexes is lengthy and time-consuming. The part of the conversion process that is concerned with conversion of the character set is single-threaded. You may have eight cores on your machine or virtual machine and only one can be used in the conversion process. There is another problem with the whole thing in that it will sometimes not operate properly. Under certain workloads, SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise will become overwhelmed. When you convert it, it does not operate properly in all circumstances. The root cause of that is that SAP in its desire to save money and desire to orphan the product has not recompiled or redeveloped the product to take advantage of the Intel new instruction set. Other relational databases such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server have the same issue to deal with, but with those platforms, they are taking advantage of the new instruction set. There are some additional Intel instruction sets or instructions in their Intel instruction set. With SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise, they did not bother to incorporate support for the new instruction set instructions. In certain circumstances, the database does not operate properly. It is unable to do what it needs to do. If you do your research and go on the internet and see what happens with Oracle or Microsoft SQL Server, what comes back is that it takes 4% longer to perform a lot of the instructions. When you are using the new instruction set, it adds 4% to the runtime of the database.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The main benefit we've had is from making the move from on-prem to cloud - it has saved us a lot of money."

"It helped consolidate most of our database servers, and saved annual maintenance costs of up to 23% on physical servers."

"From a business perspective, it's an enterprise-class database that is extremely reliable."

"The feature I find most valuable about this solution is the reliability."

"The Oracle BI, Business Intelligence, is its most valuable aspect."

"The solution is very easy to use in general."

"The most important features of Oracle Database are ease of use and high reliability. I also love the dynamic PL/SQL feature, which I use to generate custom and ad hoc reports."

"The benefit that we get from using the Oracle Database is the sense of security or the stability."

More Oracle Database pros

"It's pretty good at handling a large number of transactions, which is critical for a banking client."

"During the last 20 years, I have never had a stability problem with this product."

"I like that SAP ASE can match code and the database index to index data in the programming language."

"The financials is the most valuable feature for us in operational terms because we deal with a lot of services and SAP has integrated everything for us, both financial reporting and operations."

"It's user-friendly, especially in the logistics field."

"In SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise, there are some built-in stored procedures that you can use to fire those commands and get the data in a very systematic manner where you can see the results."

"They provide easy integration with other systems."

"This is a wonderful database that is, in my opinion, underrated."

More SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise pros

Cons

"The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"There have been various stability issues so far, but the main concern, again, is the middleware."

"Considering the current threats in the industry, my company has to put in efforts to update the tool, or we have to work on some more things so that we can have a secure environment."

"Others would be better fit to answer this, but I hope that the product will improve in terms of usability (user-friendliness)."

"As a developer, I use the reporting side. We need a better reporting tool with some kind of data warehouse capability."

"Since the solution is from Oracle it tends to be complex when trying to integrate with other solutions."

"Sometimes, the patches supplied by Oracle to update the software do not work."

"One of the most stable databases I have ever seen, but to be honest the support when you have a bug or something will make your life very hard."

More Oracle Database cons

"I think that the solution needs to be positioned better within the market as it appears as though the Adaptive Server is being left out of the SAP scope."

"Better promotion. Sybase seems little known."

"There could be some improvements in barcode scanning and RFID access."

"I'd like to see a more friendly user interface."

"Cluster features: The Cluster Edition didn't get the same level of reliability as the Enterprise Edition did."

"The solution should improve view partitioning. The documentation is very confined and available only for users. Distributors also would like access to it."

"The solution is kind-of expensive."

"Because the solution is customized. we do occasionally face unique bugs. There are always some changes that need to be made here and there."

More SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is quite expensive."

"For us as a bank, the price is not too high, but for a small business, it would be an expensive solution."

"The licensing and support pricing for Oracle Database is a bit expensive, as it is a top-of-the-line product. We'd like for its price to be lower."

"It has an annual subscription. It is an Oracle solution, so it is a bit expensive, but that's fine."

"The price of Oracle Database is too expensive and especially for individual environments. The pricing model is not clear, if I want to run it on a virtual environment, I still need to license the whole physical box."

"We pay for a yearly licensing subscription. Funds permitting, we have plans to increase usage for Oracle Database in the new year."

"The license cost of Oracle Database is more expensive, and this could result in some clients moving away from it."

"You buy it initially, and then you pay for yearly support if you need support. If you don't need support, you can also use it without the support."

More Oracle Database pricing and cost advice

"The licensing cost for ASE is pretty low."

"Price-wise, the product is worth it since one needs very less infrastructure to use it."

"I rate SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise's pricing a six out of ten."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Comms Service Provider

Construction Company

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

15%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Construction Company

Comms Service Provider

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	87
Midsize Enterprise	65
Large Enterprise	179

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

How do you run Oracle Database at your organization and why?

My company has been using Oracle Exadata Database Service for some years now, and we are happy with it. I will allow myself to answer your questions about why and what benefits it provides us with ...

Do you know of any disadvantages of Oracle Database?

Undoubtedly, Oracle Database is a top product in its category. But it does have its disadvantages, and for me and my organization, that has been the limitations of the product. When it comes to Ora...

What is the best use for Oracle Database?

Oracle Database is flexible and can be used for many things. My company's main use case for this product is for storing data. We benefit from its high level of security as well as from the fact tha...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise?

From a pricing perspective, I would say the solution is fairly priced. In Oracle, you have two or three databases at most on one machine. In SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise, one machine can have mul...

What needs improvement with SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise?

What is your primary use case for SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise?

I have worked with SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise, SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise IQ, and Replication Server. I also worked with SQL Anywhere at one point. SAP acquired Sybase at one point, and the...

SAP HANA vs Oracle Database

Comparisons

Compared 19% of the time

SQL Server vs Oracle Database

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Db2 Database vs Oracle Database

Compared 7% of the time

Teradata vs Oracle Database

Compared 6% of the time

YugabyteDB vs Oracle Database

Compared 6% of the time

More Oracle Database Competitors

SAP HANA vs SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Compared 16% of the time

SAP IQ vs SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Compared 14% of the time

SQL Server vs SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Compared 13% of the time

Oracle Database In-Memory vs SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Compared 8% of the time

IBM Db2 Database vs SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Compared 8% of the time

More SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise Competitors

Product Reports

Oracle Database

Download Oracle Database product report

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise

Download SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise product report

Also Known As

Oracle 12c, RDBMS

SAP ASE

Overview

Oracle Database is renowned for its reliability, scalability, and performance, delivering high availability and security. It integrates seamlessly with other systems, providing exceptional data protection and backup, suitable for managing multiple applications and supporting large datasets.

Oracle Database offers a powerful platform for managing data across industries such as finance, manufacturing, and agriculture. It is particularly beneficial for ERP systems, data warehouses, and transactional processing. Users can harness advanced security measures, automation, and integration capabilities, though high pricing and complex licensing can deter smaller enterprises. The database's flexible yet intricate setup process requires advanced skills, while limited integration with other databases and cloud platforms can be a drawback. User interface improvements, along with enhancements in query optimization and support services, are areas for potential development.

What are Oracle Database's key features?

Reliability and Scalability: Delivers consistent performance and can handle increasing workloads.
High Availability: Features like Data Guard ensure database uptime and disaster recovery.
Advanced Security: Protects sensitive data with robust security measures.
Seamless Integration: Works well with existing systems and applications.
Data Management: Supports large datasets and complex computations for varied applications.

What benefits can users expect?

Security: Offers comprehensive data protection mechanisms.
Scalability: Easily adapts to changing data processing needs.
Performance: Provides strong transactional and analytical processing capabilities.
Flexibility: Supports diverse applications, from CRM to e-commerce.
Disaster Recovery: Ensures continuity with reliable backup solutions.

Industries like finance, manufacturing, and agriculture utilize Oracle Database for its ability to handle extensive transactions and data analyses. It's essential for ERP systems, supporting CRM, e-commerce, and healthcare applications with its robust infrastructure and disaster recovery options. Despite its challenges in pricing and complexity, it remains a top choice for organizations requiring reliable and high-performing databases.

Oracle

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise delivers customizable operations and reliable OLTP features crucial for banking, being resource-efficient and SQL-capable while maintaining high security and performance standards, though updates and cross-platform conversion can be challenging.

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is tailored for environments needing secure, efficient data handling. Its OLTP capabilities make it a top choice for banking and finance by ensuring smooth transactions. While the database supports multiple data types and cloud integration, it is essential to address the need for user-friendly interfaces and better synchronization features. Although its transaction management isn't as competitive compared to Oracle and PostgreSQL, its SQL capabilities and security tools remain highly regarded. Users primarily utilize it for data storage, scripting, and operational management across development environments, including banking, enabling effective data manipulation and storage.

What are the standout features of SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise?

Customizable Operations: Tailored configurations for diverse business needs.
Strong OLTP Features: Efficient and swift transaction processing.
SQL Capabilities: Robust tools for SQL programming and querying.
Financial Integration: Seamlessly handles financial data and transactions.
Cloud Integration: Supports integration with cloud-based storage and services.

What benefits should users look for when evaluating SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise?

Cost Efficiency: Requires minimal resources for effective performance.
User-friendliness: Easy learning curve for new users and developers.
High Security: Strong measures to protect sensitive data.
Efficient Transaction Handling: Smooth management of complex transactions.
Reliability: Consistent performance with minimal downtime.

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise is widely implemented in banking, dealing with efficient data manipulation and storing historical data crucial for operations. It is leveraged for both financial and operational management tasks, including planning and logistics. The database's robust features extend benefits to industries requiring rigorous data management, such as development, testing, and production environments connected across banking networks, focusing on main data handling and replication tasks.

SAP

Sample Customers

Agncia Nacional de guas, Anbima, Aria Systems, Asiana Airlines, Astelit LLC, Australian Finance Group, Banco Occidental de Descuento, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, BT, Caja de Seguros S.A., Casas GEO S.A.B. de C.V., Comic Relief UK, Corsair Components Inc., CSAM Health AS, CSOB Group, Datacraft Solutions, DenizBank A.S., Department of Treasury and Finance WA, Office of State Revenue, Deutsche B_rse AG, Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Deutsche Messe AG, Digicel Haiti, DPR COSEA, Essar Group, Essatto Software Pty Ltd, Farmšcia e Drogaria Nissei Ltda., Fomento Econ‹mico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (FEMSA), FundaÊo Petrobras de Seguridade Social, Future Group, GFKL Financial Services AG, Grupo Posadas S.A.B. de C.V., Grupo Sinosserra, Guerra S.A. Implementos Rodovišrios, Hanatour International Service, Hays plc, Henan Mobile Co. Ltd, Hochschule Hof, Hong Kong and China Technology (Wuhan) Co. Ltd (Towngas Technology), Industries Corpa_al C.A., Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited, Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatstica, Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial, Kcell, LinkShare Corporation, MercadoLibre Inc., MetLife Inc., Nextgen Distribution, €BB-IKT GmbH, Octagon Research Solutions, Pacific Lutheran University, Paragon Data GmbH, Ping ltd., PJSC Trustbank, Prodaub _ Processamento de Dados de Uberl_ndia, Purdue University, Redknee Inc., Robi Axiata Limited, Shanghai Infoservice Technology Co. Ltd, Shanghai Sihua Technologies Co. Ltd, Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de M_xico, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Suddenlink Communications, Suprajit Engineering Limited, Tallink Grupp, Terminales Ro de la Plata S.A., Therap Services LLC, Think Passenger Inc., Trafigura, Transmed S.A.L Lebanon, ValeShop, VelQuest Corporation, Vodafone Group plc, West Virginia Network, WIND Hellas Telecommunications S.A

City of Buenos Aires, ASR Group, Citrix, EarlySense, Usha International Limited, Automotive Resources International (ARI), Takisada-Osaka Co. Ltd., Coelba (Grupo Neoenergia), RZD Russian Railways, National Basketball Association - NBA, TALLY

Oracle Database vs. SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise