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Apache Cassandra vs. SAP HANA Cloud vs. Microsoft SQL Server

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cassandra

    Score9 out of 10
    N/ACassandra is a no-SQL database from Apache.N/A

    SAP HANA Cloud

    Score8.9 out of 10
    N/ASAP HANA is an application that uses in-memory database technology to process very large amounts of real-time data from relational databases, both SAP and non-SAP, in a very short time. The in-memory computing engine allows HANA to process data stored in RAM as opposed to reading it from a disk which means that the data can be accessed in real time by the applications using HANA. The product is sold both as an appliance and as a cloud-based software solution.

    $0.95

    per month Capacity Units

    Microsoft SQL Server

    Score8.7 out of 10
    N/AMicrosoft SQL Server is a relational database.

    $1,418

    Per License

    Pricing
    CassandraSAP HANA CloudMicrosoft SQL Server
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Subscription
    $1,418.00
    Per License
    Enterprise
    $13,748.00
    Per License
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    CassandraSAP HANA CloudMicrosoft SQL Server
    Free Trial
    NoYesNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptionalNo setup fee
    Additional Details—Includes a one year free trial.—
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    CassandraSAP HANA CloudMicrosoft SQL Server
    Considered Multiple Products
    Apache
    No answer on this topic
    SAP
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    Developer friendly environment and real time data access and processing
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    Main features is in memory database. SAP HANA Cloud is specifically good for Accounting and supply chain management.
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    As discussed earlier, SAP HANA is one of its kind. With SAP HANA, we are much better equipped to handle and go even beyond the big data trend. Its machine learning and advanced analytic capabilities allow us to integrate with many external and internal resources. [Another] …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    We have been using Microsoft SQL for our database related tasks until we made a successful & much-needed transition to SAP HANA for good. With the level of complexities SAP HANA can handle & deliver it was our obvious choice.
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    As SAP HANA is built into memeory, the proformance of the product is hard to beat against it's rivals but that comes with a price. You can get away with using another product but you'll be losing out else where. For example in time/multiple systems and efforts to relplicate …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    The customer has most of their investment in Microsoft databases. If SAP HANA was not available, we would have gone to getting data into a SQL server and creating APIs to access them inside SAP. But, with the help of HANA, we could avoid all those unnecessary things and get …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    The choice of the SAP HANA solution was mainly determined by the choice of the new company ERP, which having been SAP, naturally led to the choice of its DB solution.
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    1. In memory functionality.
    2. Data compression using columnar storage functionality.
    3. Performance.
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    HANA has the best SAP Integration.
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    SAP HANA is a more modern database with capabilities which reach far beyond a classical database. We chose SAP HANA as it represents the future direction of SAP which aligns with our strategic direction. With the introduction of S/4 HANA, SAP HANA will remain the only …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    SAP HANA is much better suited for SAP ERP connectivity.
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    SAP HANA uses the sheer power of in memory analytics based on columnar compression of data in the back-end resulting in an overall decreased footprint of the data resulting in a paradigm shift. The traditional RDBMS database would rely heavily on additional indexes to retrieve …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    There are many alternatives to SAP HANA if we consider functionality. Most of them, just like HANA, have their own niche place of specialization. But SAP HANA is at the forefront when it comes to performance comparison in its area of expertise which is business intelligence and …
    Incentivized
    Chose SAP HANA Cloud
    MS SQLServer is an alternative if the data foundation is not very big and a separate application layer or Excel can be used for reports.
    Incentivized
    Microsoft
    Chose Microsoft SQL Server
    Microsoft SQL Server was our first choice as we are a Microsoft partner.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Would buy again
    315 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    53 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    272 Answers
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    45 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    321 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    53 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    93%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    199 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    39 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    96%
    Implementation went as expected
    266 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    45 Answers
    Features
    CassandraSAP HANA CloudMicrosoft SQL Server
    Relational Databases
    Comparison of Relational Databases features of Apache Cassandra and SAP HANA Cloud and Microsoft SQL Server
    Feature
    Apache Cassandra
    -
    Ratings
    SAP HANA Cloud
    9.0
    53 Ratings
    11% above category average
    Microsoft SQL Server
    -
    Ratings
    ACID compliance00 Ratings9.439 Ratings00 Ratings
    Database monitoring00 Ratings9.251 Ratings00 Ratings
    Database locking00 Ratings9.243 Ratings00 Ratings
    Encryption00 Ratings8.745 Ratings00 Ratings
    Disaster recovery00 Ratings8.843 Ratings00 Ratings
    Flexible deployment00 Ratings8.946 Ratings00 Ratings
    Multiple datatypes00 Ratings8.847 Ratings00 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    CassandraSAP HANA CloudMicrosoft SQL Server
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    Amazon RDS
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Amazon RDS
    Score8.1 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    HBase
    Score7.3 out of 10
    SingleStore
    Score8.2 out of 10
    SingleStore
    Score8.2 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Azure Cosmos DB
    Score9.1 out of 10
    SAP IQ
    Score5.4 out of 10
    SAP IQ
    Score5.4 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    CassandraSAP HANA CloudMicrosoft SQL Server
    Likelihood to Recommend
    6.0
    (16 ratings)
    9.4
    (364 ratings)
    7.9
    (107 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.6
    (16 ratings)
    10.0
    (15 ratings)
    9.0
    (8 ratings)
    Usability
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    9.5
    (83 ratings)
    7.6
    (17 ratings)
    Availability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Performance
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.5
    (253 ratings)
    7.9
    (26 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Online Training
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    7.0
    (1 ratings)
    7.3
    (3 ratings)
    9.0
    (6 ratings)
    Configurability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Data Sharing and Collaboration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    Data Sources
    -
    (0 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    10.0
    (5 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Professional Services
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    -
    (0 ratings)
    7.3
    (2 ratings)
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    CassandraSAP HANA CloudMicrosoft SQL Server
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Apache
    Apache Cassandra is a NoSQL database and well suited where you need highly available, linearly scalable, tunable consistency and high performance across varying workloads. It has worked well for our use cases, and I shared my experiences to use it effectively at the last Cassandra summit! http://bit.ly/1Ok56TK It is a NoSQL database, finally you can tune it to be strongly consistent and successfully use it as such. However those are not usual patterns, as you negotiate on latency. It works well if you require that. If your use case needs strongly consistent environments with semantics of a relational database or if the use case needs a data warehouse, or if you need NoSQL with ACID transactions, Apache Cassandra may not be the optimum choice.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    I think if you have a large organization, it's probably the product and the marketplace to go to. We're a large management consulting firm operating in four to seven countries. And generally speaking, I think that's the size and the scope where it scales best. I can't speak to smaller companies, but I can't see smaller companies leveraging the benefits as much as a larger organization can.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Microsoft SQL is ubiquitous, while MySQL runs under the hood all over the place. Microsoft SQL is the platform taught in colleges and certification courses and is the one most likely to be used by businesses because it is backed by Microsoft. Its interface is friendly (well, as pleasant as SQL can be) and has been used by so many for so long that resources are freely available if you encounter any issues.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Apache
    • Continuous availability: as a fully distributed database (no master nodes), we can update nodes with rolling restarts and accommodate minor outages without impacting our customer services.
    • Linear scalability: for every unit of compute that you add, you get an equivalent unit of capacity. The same application can scale from a single developer's laptop to a web-scale service with billions of rows in a table.
    • Amazing performance: if you design your data model correctly, bearing in mind the queries you need to answer, you can get answers in milliseconds.
    • Time-series data: Cassandra excels at recording, processing, and retrieving time-series data. It's a simple matter to version everything and simply record what happens, rather than going back and editing things. Then, you can compute things from the recorded history.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    • Real-time reporting and analytics on data: because of its in-memory architecture, it is perfect for businesses that need to make quick decisions based on current information.
    • Managing workload with complex data: it can handle a vast range of data types, including relational, documental, geospatial, graph, vector, and time series data.
    • Developing and deploying intelligent data applications: it provides various tools for such applications and can be used for machine learning and artificial intelligence to automate tasks, gain insights from data, and make predictions.
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Easy to configure and use with Visual Studio and Dot Net
    • Easy integration with MSBI to perform data analysis
    • Data Security
    • Easy to understand and use
    • Very easy to export database and tables in the form of SQL query or a script
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Apache
    • Cassandra runs on the JVM and therefor may require a lot of GC tuning for read/write intensive applications.
    • Requires manual periodic maintenance - for example it is recommended to run a cleanup on a regular basis.
    • There are a lot of knobs and buttons to configure the system. For many cases the default configuration will be sufficient, but if its not - you will need significant ramp up on the inner workings of Cassandra in order to effectively tune it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    • Requires higher processing power, otherwise it won't fly. How ever computing costs are lower. Incase you are migrating to cloud please do not select the highest config available in that series . Upgrading it later against a reserved instance can cost you dearly with a series change
    • Lack of clarity on licensing is one major challenge
    • Unless S/4 with additional features are enabled mere migration HANA DB is not a rewarding journey. Power is in S/4
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise edition has a high cost but is the only edition which supports SQL Always On Availability Groups. It would be nice to include this feature in the Standard version.
    • Licensing of Microsoft SQL Server is a quite complex matter, it would be good to simplify licensing in the future. For example, per core vs per user CAL licensing, as well as complex licensing scenarios in the Cloud and on Edge locations.
    • It would be good to include native tools for converting Oracle, DB2, Postgresql and MySQL/MariaDB databases (schema and data) for import into Microsoft SQL Server.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Apache
    I would recommend Cassandra DB to those who know their use case very well, as well as know how they are going to store and retrieve data. If you need a guarantee in data storage and retrieval, and a DB that can be linearly grown by adding nodes across availability zones and regions, then this is the database you should choose.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    We would rate our likelihood of renewing at 9/10. SAP HANA Cloud has proven to be a highly reliable and scalable data platform that consistently delivers strong performance. Its seamless integration with our overall SAP landscape, combined with improved analytics and real-time data capabilities, makes it a core part of our long-term technology strategy.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    We understand that the Microsoft SQL Server will continue to advance, offering the same robust and reliable platform while adding new features that enable us, as a software center, to create a superior product. That provides excellent performance while reducing the hardware requirements and the total cost of ownership of our solution.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Apache
    It’s great tool but it can be complicated when it comes administration and maintenance.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    It is very useful solution which provides you speedier data processing, real-time analytics. It helps you manage diverse data types. It also offers you excellent disaster management. It has user friendly interface which helps you navigate system and transactions easily and perform task smoothly.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    SQL Server mostly 'just works' or generates error messages to help you sort out the trouble. You can usually count on the product to get the job done and keep an eye on your potential mistakes. Interaction with other Microsoft products makes operating as a Windows user pretty straight forward. Digging through the multitude of dialogs and wizards can be a pain, but the answer is usually there somewhere.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Apache
    No answers on this topic
    SAP
    so far, we didn't get any outage
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Its does not have outages.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Performance
    Apache
    No answers on this topic
    SAP
    so far good
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    SSAS data cubes may some time slow down your Excel reports.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Support Rating
    Apache
    Sometimes instead giving straight answer, we ‘re getting transfered to talk professional service.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    However, I am not the right person to answer this as we have another department to handle support and contact the service provider for any support required. Although i will say that they are the quick respondent and knows how to handle querry of the customers and provide quick and better support.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    We managed to handle most of our problems by looking into Microsoft's official documentation that has everything explained and almost every function has an example that illustrates in detail how a particular functionality works. Just like PowerShell has the ability to show you an example of how some cmdlet works, that is the case also here, and in my opinion, it is a very good practice and I like it.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    In-Person Training
    Apache
    No answers on this topic
    SAP
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    It was good
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Apache
    No answers on this topic
    SAP
    No answers on this topic
    Microsoft
    very hands on and detailed training
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Implementation Rating
    Apache
    No answers on this topic
    SAP
    Professional GIS people are some of the most risk-averse there are, and it's difficult to get them to move to HANA in one step. Start with small projects building to 80% use of HANA spatial over time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    Other than SQL taking quite a bit of time to actually install there are no problems with installation. Even on hardware that has good performance SQL can still take close to an hour to install a typical server with management and reporting services.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Apache
    We evaluated MongoDB also, but don't like the single point failure possibility. The HBase coupled us too tightly to the Hadoop world while we prefer more technical flexibility. Also HBase is designed for "cold"/old historical data lake use cases and is not typically used for web and mobile applications due to its performance concern. Cassandra, by contrast, offers the availability and performance necessary for developing highly available applications. Furthermore, the Hadoop technology stack is typically deployed in a single location, while in the big international enterprise context, we demand the feasibility for deployment across countries and continents, hence finally we are favor of Cassandra
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    I have deep knowledge of other disk based DBMSs. They are venerable technology, but the attempts to extend them to current architectures belie the fact they are built on 40 year old technology. There are some good columnar in-memory databases but they lack the completeness of capability present in the HANA platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    [Microsoft] SQL Server has a much better community and professional support and is overall just a more reliable system with Microsoft behind it. I've used MySQL in the past and SQL Server has just become more comfortable for me and is my go to RDBMS.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Contract Terms and Pricing Model
    Apache
    No answers on this topic
    SAP
    I don't have visibility in licensing
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Scalability
    Apache
    No answers on this topic
    SAP
    Limitation of training deliverable by organization
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    SQL server does handle growing demands of a mid sized company.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Professional Services
    Apache
    No answers on this topic
    SAP
    We are still in process for the first applciaiton
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Apache
    • I have no experience with this but from the blogs and news what I believe is that in businesses where there is high demand for scalability, Cassandra is a good choice to go for.
    • Since it works on CQL, it is quite familiar with SQL in understanding therefore it does not prevent a new employee to start in learning and having the Cassandra experience at an industrial level.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SAP
    • ROI has always been high in terms of the functionality that it offers and the security features it comes with.
    • Managing large volumes of data in real-time is not an easy task, but it does it pretty well with faster data processing.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Microsoft
    • Increased accuracy - We went from multiple users having different versions of an Excel spreadsheet to a single source of truth for our reporting.
    • Increased Efficiency - We can now generate reports at any time from a single source rather than multiple users spending their time collating data and generating reports.
    • Improved Security - Enterprise level security on a dedicated server rather than financial files on multiple laptop hard drives.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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