S O L U T I O N P R O F I L E Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA ™ Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA gives today’s information- driven enterprise the ability to accelerate business decisions and pro- vides near real-time insight based on innovative in-memory analysis of massive data sets. This solution delivers SAP’s next-generation, in-memory computing technology on an integrated, high-performance hardware platform that combines Hitachi blade server and storage sys- tems with standard network components. Together, Hitachi and SAP are enabling organizations to unlock answers, insights and new value faster than ever before – at the speed of today’s business. In today’s increasingly competitive busi- ness climate, an organization’s profitability and reputation depend on its ability to immediately access and analyze all opera- tional and business data. To react quickly to changing market conditions, decision makers need near real-time, accurate and penetrating insight into business operations as they happen — and not a moment later. However, the volume of operational data needed for strong business decisions often exceeds the amount of data that traditional server, storage and business intelligence systems can process in a reasonable time frame. Until now, decision makers have often had to rely on information that is as much as 2 weeks old. Traditionally, businesses have attempted to speed access to business intelligence (BI) by reducing the amount of data from opera- tional applications and analytic models. The consequence of this is making decisions based upon a partial view of the available data, which is risky at best, disastrous at worst. Corporations risk revenue loss from inadequate access to the full spectrum of information or from unacceptable lag times Accelerate Access to Business Intelligence
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S o l u t i o n P r o f i l e
Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA™
Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA gives today’s information-
driven enterprise the ability to accelerate business decisions and pro-
vides near real-time insight based on innovative in-memory analysis
of massive data sets. This solution delivers SAP’s next-generation,
in-memory computing technology on an integrated, high-performance
hardware platform that combines Hitachi blade server and storage sys-
tems with standard network components. Together, Hitachi and SAP
are enabling organizations to unlock answers, insights and new value
faster than ever before – at the speed of today’s business.
In today’s increasingly competitive busi-ness climate, an organization’s profitability and reputation depend on its ability to immediately access and analyze all opera-tional and business data. To react quickly to changing market conditions, decision makers need near real-time, accurate and penetrating insight into business operations as they happen — and not a moment later. However, the volume of operational data needed for strong business decisions often exceeds the amount of data that traditional server, storage and business intelligence systems can process in a reasonable time frame. Until now, decision makers have often had to rely on information that is as much as 2 weeks old.
Traditionally, businesses have attempted to speed access to business intelligence (BI) by reducing the amount of data from opera-tional applications and analytic models. The consequence of this is making decisions based upon a partial view of the available data, which is risky at best, disastrous at worst. Corporations risk revenue loss from inadequate access to the full spectrum of information or from unacceptable lag times
Accelerate Access to Business Intelligence
S o l u t i o n P r o f i l e 2
Hitachi and SAP: A Proven PartnershipSince 1994, Hitachi, Ltd., and its subsidiar-ies, including Hitachi Data Systems, have had a strategic relationship with SAP that includes the sale, integration and implemen-tation of SAP solutions. During this time, Hitachi has won numerous SAP awards for exceptional customer satisfaction. In 2011, Hitachi became an SAP Global Technology Partner – the highest level of partnership SAP offers. More than 250 global custom-ers run their business on SAP and Hitachi storage.
With the optimally configured Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA, technology leaders can scale for additional capacity without adding complexity to the environment. Hitachi provides a single, virtualized and scalable storage and data management infrastructure for the com-plete spectrum of SAP production, test and development, and archival data. Hitachi also ensures the necessary storage performance and high throughput to meet the stringent demands of in-memory computing. By dramatically reducing the traditional delay
between the gathering of data and insight into that data. Time and information have never been so valuable as right now.
To act strategically, companies need to accelerate their ability to transform vast quantities of data into actionable intelligence and valuable information. Consider the possibilities:
■■ A global retailer uses its power to ana-lyze purchase orders in real time to more accurately manage product based on actual demand and avoid costly over-stock problems.
■■ A utility company leverages real-time, smart-meter consumption statistics and key weather data to ensure business and residential energy rates are continuously optimized.
■■ An apparel manufacturer uses in-depth analysis to discover which suppliers are, at this moment, providing raw materials on time, at the highest quality and lowest price.
SAP HANA: High-performance Business IntelligenceSAP HANA replaces the cumbersome, complex and costly data gathering and analysis of the past with a flexible, real-time approach to analyzing large data sets. From a single integrated environment, you can access current information from virtually any
data source for nearly immediate analysis and trending business.
This innovative in-memory technology moves data sets directly into the server’s memory (see Figure 1). This enables you to gain faster analysis across many SAP Business Suite tools by removing the bandwidth barriers between analytics and transactional systems.
■■ A high-performance, in-memory computing engine and a powerful data calcu-lation engine
■■ Real-time replication service to access and replicate data from SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
■■ Data integration services to access and index information from virtually any data source
■■ A data repository to store views of business information
■■ Highly tuned integration with SAP BusinessObjects BI solutions for insight and analytics
■■ SQL and MDX interfaces for 3rd-party application access
■■ A unified information modeling and design environment
SAP HANA COMPONENTS AND CAPABILITIES
Figure 1. Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA: Architecture
AMS 2100 = Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage 2100, CB 2000 = Hitachi Compute Blade 2000, FC = Fibre Channel, SSD = solid state disk, SW = software, LoM = LAN on motherboard
S o l u t i o n P r o f i l e 3
between operations and analytics, this platform helps business leaders gain near real-time insights and information to make smarter business decisions, faster.
Performance and Scalability DemandsIn-memory computing, the technology that enables the near real-time business intelli-gence of SAP HANA, demands processing, storage and transport at unprecedented speeds and volumes. We introduce SAP HANA on Hitachi Compute Blade 2000 (CB 2000) blade servers and Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage 2100 (AMS 2100) for a solution that is fast, reliable and scales eas-ily to accommodate dynamic workloads.
Hitachi offers the first blade server solution for SAP HANA, and we designed it that way because adding a blade server to expand HANA capacity is far simpler than migrating to a new rack. Our converged data center solutions, such as this solution for SAP HANA, accelerate the delivery of business value through the use of innovative tech-nologies. We integrate Hitachi compute, storage and networking resources to meet the most demanding applications in either a physical or virtual computing environ-ment. As this new converged infrastructure approach proves itself within organizations, and additional applications and business units utilize an SAP HANA installation, a blade server-based solution allows the enterprise to scale up processing and scale out bandwidth and connectivity at will.
One powerful feature offered only by Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA is the ability to securely transport a combination of development, test and production applica-tions concurrently, with each given its own dedicated resources as needed. Hitachi Compute Blades support our powerful hardware-based partitioning to ensure each application instance has ample compute, network and storage resources to draw upon. Other SAP HANA solutions, even those built around competing blade architec-tures, cannot provide this level of security or predictability of performance.
Your SAP HANA solution is delivered in a single unit, ready to plug in to your network. It includes 4 components.
■■ Operating System: SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP1 for SAP
Table 2. Select Care Program Operational Support Service Options
■■ Move near real-time data from across your enterprise into the hands of decision makers in seconds, not weeks or months.
■■ Make immediate strategic decisions based on near real-time information and analysis.
■■ Use innovative applications that combine high-volume transactions with analyt-ics for improved forecasting.
■■ Reduce total cost of ownership via less hardware, maintenance and testing.■■ Easily implement proven technology, and reconfigure quickly as your needs
change.■■ Accelerate business intelligence through the integration of SAP
BusinessObjects BI clients directly on top of the SAP HANA technology. ■■ Integrate and model data from virtually any data source for 360-degree near
real-time insight into the entire business.■■ Gain next-generation in-memory technology foundation for your current and
future SAP Business Warehouse and SAP ERP deployments.
WHAT SAP HANA TECHNOLOGY MEANS FOR YOU
■■ Storage: AMS 2100, which is designed for high availability, down to the dual battery backup that protects the cache dur-ing power outage. It contains symmetric active-active controllers that self balance workloads.
■■ Network: Fibre Channel host bus adaptors
■■ Compute: CB 2000 offers the large I/O capacity and onboard memory required for effective implementation of SAP HANA
Accelerated Implementation Means Faster Return on InvestmentThe more quickly you can implement your SAP HANA solution, the sooner you will begin to gain new insights and see a return on your investment. With the expertise of our global solution integrator partners, you can significantly accelerate implementation and shorten associated testing times. These partners, as well as our consulting partner, Hitachi Consulting Corporation, can help you leverage SAP tools most effectively, so that you can quickly realize the full potential of your new data-gathering and analytical capabilities.
Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA in Your Enterprise: The Larger PictureSAP HANA dramatically improves your ability to access and analyze large volumes of data. Properly implemented, SAP HANA turns data into actionable information in near real time, supporting the speed of your business.
Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA ensures you can accommodate SAP HANA’s processing requirements and accommodate the flow of information entering the computing environment. Our top-tier hardware solutions are designed for performance, with proven resilience and availability. When it comes time to grow, the flexibility and power of our compute blades and storage platforms enable you to scale up and out without expanding into a larger, more complex and more costly footprint.
We deliver Hitachi Converged Platform for SAP HANA in one standard enclosure, ready to plug in to your LAN, so you can begin reap-ing the benefits immediately. And we designed the platform not only for easy adoption, but also for easy scalability, because enterprise change happens quickly, and you’re bound to need applications in the future that you can’t even imagine today.
All Hitachi Converged Data Center Solutions, including this solution for SAP HANA, accel-erate the delivery of business value through the use of advanced technologies, like our Hitachi Compute Blades and our portfolio of virtualized storage platforms. Hitachi integrates compute, storage and network-ing resources to meet the most demanding applications in either a physical or virtual computing environment to help organizations extract the maximum value out of their data and information assets. We do this efficiently and effectively to help reduce CAPEX, lower OPEX and accelerate time-to-value for today’s information-driven enterprises.
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