SAP Hana, Mon Amour

Everyone loves Hana, but no one wants to marry her. Little has remained of the initial enthusiasm for in-memory computing technology. Instead of making Hana the mistress of a new ERP, it is now just a handmaiden for digital transformation.

SAP has neglected Hana, left it to its own devices, didn’t even think of a viable roadmap. Hana needs to get rid of the AnyDB mess and bring a new order to the ERP house, but the transition is happening with barely any enthusiasm.

When former Chief Technology Officer Vishal Sikka was still the ‘protector’ of Hana, hardly a month went by without jubilant news, new insights and exciting projects. Hana even set out to conquer the world outside the SAP community. Professor Alexander Zeier agreed with Professor Hasso Plattner that Hana would be the next computing revolution, and Intel eagerly provided assistance.

Well, not much has remained of Hana’s glorious past: The SAP and Intel alliance is history, and Alexander Zeier is trying to hold on to the last spark of hope for a happy ending for Hana at Accenture. For now, Hana seems little more than an additional burden for S/4 conversion.

An open S/4 with compatibility to the in-memory computing technology from IBM, Oracle and Microsoft would probably have been met with more enthusiasm. But S/4 is shackled to Hana and has to bear that responsibility like a millstone around its neck. Anyone who says S/4 always has to think of Hana, too – so much for digital transformation.

‘Hana, Mon Amour’ could be the title of an old black-and-white movie. And there’s a case to be made for the classics – a lot of people still enjoy watching Casablanca, for example. However, the style, directing choices, and governance of the movie can no longer keep up with the times. Perhaps Hana’s time is already over – only SAP hasn’t noticed yet.