SAP Announces Updates for HANA and its Apple Partnership

SAP today announced a host of new features for its HANA platform, as well as the first steps in its partnership with Apple. The new capabilities aim to accelerate workflows in the cloud and introduce additional functionality on mobile devices.

A number of updates focus on improving access to applications running on SAP HANA Cloud. A virtual machine capability looks to assist customers in bringing applications into the cloud, as well as in adding workloads based on existing on-premises software; the Ariba Cloud Integration Gateway will provide users with a way of linking SAP HANA Cloud with the customer and supplier network Ariba, with the goal of making it easier to conduct secure transactions; and the API Business Hub provides a catalog of APIs for SAP solutions, with new ones added daily.

The company is also experimenting with new business services. A workflow service—currently in beta—is designed to help business analysts quickly create workflows via a graphical interface. New business rule functionality—also in beta—enables users to change and embed business logic into business processes without rewriting the entire application. Furthermore, new services for location data aim to ensure clean data through a validation process.

Other updates include smart data streaming and predictive services. By analyzing data streams in real time, the smart data streaming capability enables applications to quickly detect and respond to changes. The predictive services bring predictive analytics to applications running on the SAP HANA Cloud platform and rely on an automated predictive library that aims to free users from needing to build predictive models from scratch.

Announced in May 2016, the partnership between SAP and Apple looks to improve users’ access to enterprise data and processes. Today, SAP announced capabilities for Apple’s iOS that will enable users to take action from their iPhone or iPad devices. The SAP HANA Cloud Platform software development kit is being tested on iOS with select customers and partners, providing them with the tools to build enterprise-grade apps for iPhones and iPads. Additionally, SAP Academy for iOS—also being tested with select customers and partners—will provide training for releases between the two companies.

In a statement, Bjoern Goerke, president, SAP HANA Cloud Platform, SAP, said the new features were designed with users' "digital transformation journey" in mind: 

"We are extending our enterprise platform-as-a-service leadership by supporting our customers and partners through their digital transformation journey as they strive to become an agile business and optimize their business processes end to end. The new business services can help our customers to fully embrace their innovation agenda at development speed and deployment flexibility that they have never seen from SAP before, making our SAP HANA Cloud Platform even more attractive to enterprises on their digital transformation journey."

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