Latest Tech Boosts Performance, Lowers TCO

As cloud computing continues to grow at a staggering rate, businesses are increasingly seeking to adopt cloud solutions that can deliver better performance at a lower cost while meeting high standards for scalability, security, and compliance. SAP recently collaborated with Intel and Microsoft to address the rising demand for faster access to even more data in the cloud. Earlier this year, Microsoft Azure launched new, certified SAP HANA instances optimized on Intel’s latest technology.

The combined power of Intel processors, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Teams, and SAP S/4HANA lets organizations more quickly adapt, innovate, and transform their business through the cloud.

Powered by 3rd Gen Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors, Microsoft’s Dsv5- and Esv5-series Virtual Machines (VMs) increase the agility of cloud deployments and deliver improved return on investment (ROI) in a simplified SAP HANA landscape. This combination enables real-time insights and a single source of truth. The result is greater business value when compared to the current installed base, whether on-premise or another cloud solution.

Intel’s latest processor generation offers superior performance over previous generations. Customers that upgrade to Azure’s MV2 or HLI for HANA can expect 2.7 times improved database query performance. This level of performance improvement is possible even with the largest scale-up configurations because Azure utilizes robust infrastructure configurations that leverage the compute power and scalability of Intel Xeon scalable processors. The result is leadership SAP Application Performance Standard (SAPS) performance across certified instance types, including the largest instances with nearly 900 vCPUs powered by Intel.

In addition, Microsoft’s new diskless Dsv5 and Esv5 instances deliver up to 28 percent better price for performance and an 8 percent higher SAPS than the previous generation Ddsv4 and Edsv4. Besides delivering the highest speed and efficiency, this winning combination of technologies offers significant cost savings.

The most recent version of Azure introduces diskless SAP HANA instances. By leveraging Microsoft’s diskless feature, customers can cost optimize their landscape. Paying only for the storage they need substantially reduces customers’ total cost of ownership (TCO).

Opportunities to Optimize SAP S/4HANA Performance

As SAP ECC approaches obsolescence, hundreds of businesses are migrating to SAP S/4HANA each month. This transition may seem to pose challenges, yet it provides the opportunity to turn any obstacles into improved, optimized performance.

Azure holds 22% of the cloud infrastructure market, serving businesses of all sizes, including 95% of Fortune 500 companies. Despite the platform’s popularity and rapidly growing adoption, many organizations are using older instances, such as Azure’s Ev3 series. Some businesses are using very outdated technologies—up to two generations older for Azure and up to four generations older for Intel.

Earlier generations cannot match the performance of Azure’s latest SAP HANA offering. Customers will be pleasantly surprised to learn that despite having improved performance, the cost of the newest technology is comparable to older generations. Thus, by not leveraging the newest instances, organizations leave both money and performance on the table.

Some customers might hesitate to upgrade because HANA can be difficult to move from one machine type to another. However, moving the SAP application tier is simple and minimally disruptive. Businesses that use older generation technology will have little difficulty moving their app tier workloads to the new Dsv5 and Esv5 series. Most migrations can be accomplished with no downtime.

Customers looking to upgrade their SAP landscape may consider other joint solutions with Azure. Among the currently offered options, Intel delivers superior performance. Another key differentiator is Intel’s wide availability. Azure supports Intel instances across all regions, availability zones, and countries/territories globally, whereas competitive infrastructures are less available.

Because the SAP application tier is amenable to scale-out architecture, this availability makes it easy to spin up or spin down new instances to meet changing demand. Broad availability gives customers peace of mind. They can count on instances being available, regardless of where in the world their business is located.

Azure with Intel-based infrastructure makes it easy for growing businesses that run SAP S/4HANA applications to add new users or even a new business unit. To support additional users or business processes, simply add more SAP app tier VMs.

Businesses can remove instances just as easily. Those experiencing excess capacity or cyclical demand can spin down resources, thereby optimizing cost.

*Based on SAPS SD benchmark SAPS performance (reference SAP Note 1928533) and Azure pricing comparison with Dds_v4 and Eds_v4, as of 1/5/2022

**Based on SAP BWH Benchmark performance comparison between 2nd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors (#2021010) and E7-8800v4 CPU (#2017003) Generation

Performance varies by use, configuration and other factors. Learn more at www.Intel.com/PerformanceIndex​.

The Intel-Azure Advantage: Optimization

While other cloud providers and other public clouds (such as Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud Platform) are available, Azure’s implementation based on Intel delivers exceptional performance as compared to its competitors. Plus, Azure’s new diskless option gives users greater flexibility and more control over TCO, helping Microsoft compete with cost management.

Intel offers three primary benefits. In addition to the excellent performance and broad availability already mentioned, another major advantage of Intel is the greater breadth of instance “shapes” available. Customers can custom match their infrastructure resources to their workloads. That way, they never have to pay for more capacity than they need.

Further, diskless versions of the Dsv5 and Esv5 Virtual Machine (VM) series are now certified for NetWeaver applications. Esv5 series is also certified for HANA, enabling cost optimization when local temporary storage is not required. Businesses have the choice to pay only for the storage they need, thereby improving TCO. For businesses that already use managed disks in Azure for their SAP landscape, these new diskless instances eliminate the cost of temporary storage in the VM.

Customers seeking to lower their costs often look for optimizations in the SAP application tier. Because this area is highly scalable, customers incur less risk. If they mis-size the landscape, they have the flexibility to add or remove instances to meet the demands of the business. The new diskless instances enable customers to optimize for cost and performance with easy migrations from older gen instances.

Peak Performance and Lower Costs with Intel

Why settle for outdated systems when you can have next-generation technology for virtually the same cost? Azure with Intel-based infrastructure offers superior performance, broad availability, and improved TCO.

Don’t wait to be offered the latest technology. Many vendors are not yet aware that it exists. If you’re ready to upgrade your SAP cloud platform on Azure, be sure to ask for the new diskless Dsv5, Esv5, and Mv2 instances powered by Intel.

For nearly 50 years, Intel and SAP have been turbocharging the next wave of breakthrough innovations with the power of in-memory computing and persistent memory technologies, unleashing the potential of data. Their co-innovations help enterprises increase business agility and flexibility with real-time analytics and reimagined performance. Customers can protect and future-proof their investments (on premises or in cloud) with a modern infrastructure of validated and SAP-certified components and accelerate speed to market with an optimized, enterprise-ready platform designed for innovation.

www.intel.com/sap

Intel technologies may require enabled hardware, software, or service activation.

© Intel Corporation. Intel, the Intel logo, and other Intel marks are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries. Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

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