Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2013/01/11/sap_hana_education_push/
SAP plans HANA education push to channel partners
Business Suite for all
Posted in Software, 11th January 2013 03:03 GMT
SAP is planning a serious education push to the channel about its super-fast Business Suite based around its HANA in-memory database software, which will be the basis for all of the company's future apps and development projects.
"This is going to be an ongoing process," Ken Tsai, VP of HANA product marketing, told The Register. "We're really going to roll out to the channel to achieve our growth strategy, implementing Business Suite in general and not just powered by HANA."
The software, due to go on full release this summer, brings data management and reporting onto a single platform to dramatically increase search times for small and medium data sets. SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner promised it would secure the company's future for the next 10-15 years.
So far the code has been out on a limited release, with 20 per cent of early users in the channel. SAP picked seven channel partners, ISVs, and VARs to test the code out in the field. A further 70 partners have staff with HANA skills, the company said, and Plattner explained that because the whole system was still SQL-based, it was easy for current users to pick up.
Tsai said that there would also be a number of specialized tools released to help channel partners set up migration routes to the new software, and SAP was offering week-long trial licenses to the channel so that the system could be demonstrated easily to potential buyers while running in parallel to avoid disruption.
SAP has set up a website for tutorials and training videos and will be offering certification. Tsai told El Reg that training will be offered as an adjunct to existing qualifications or as a standalone certification.
Over the next ten days, SAP's staff will be getting up to speed at the annual Field Kick-Off Meetings (FKOM) conferences coming up around the world. The first event is next week in Singapore, followed by sessions in Las Vegas the week after, and then Barcelona. Staff are going to get the lowdown on the new Business Suite, although a certain amount of carousing is expected also. ®