OREANDA-NEWS. October 3, 2012. Fujitsu UK & Ireland has joined forces with Sapphire Systems to help mid-market companies using SAP’s Business One software to analyse data up to 10,000 times more quickly, to enable faster decision-making in a rapidly changing world.

The partnership brings the benefits of SAP HANA to mid-sized and growing businesses using in-memory computing, which stores data in the main random access memory (RAM) of a server instead of in complex databases running on relatively slow disk drives. The combined solution from Fujitsu and Sapphire Systems comprises a range of PRIMERGY servers with pre-installed SAP HANA software, alongside consultancy and support services – which can be deployed in a matter of hours.
Fujitsu’s HANA solution has a proven track record in enterprise environments. One customer has reduced the time taken to do sales and financial analysis from two days to just 20 minutes, providing it with the ability to make critical business decisions with real time data. The partnership with Sapphire Systems brings that expertise to the mid-market.

Craig Parker, head of product marketing at Fujitsu UK & Ireland’s Technology Product Group, said: “These days, organisations are expected to react quickly to changing external forces – whether they are customer demands, market changes or dramatic events like the Japanese tsunami last year. They need to be able to understand the implications quickly – for example what a natural disaster might mean for sourcing and deliveries; or the implications of a change in revenue forecasts on the end-of-year tax bill. A quarterly plan and report is no longer enough; organisations have to be able to re-plan and respond almost instantly. Fujitsu’s SAP HANA solution helps them do just that.”

Ralph Bolton, technical director at Sapphire Systems, added: “HANA is recognised as a real game changer – it will give businesses rapid information from large data sources delivered to the point of need, at very affordable costs. HANA will deliver great benefit to existing and new customers."

“Sapphire is the world’s largest SAP Business One implementer and we have a fully committed team trained to implement the solution – available immediately. We are delighted to have made the strategic partnership with Fujitsu to deliver HANA to our clients and recognise that Fujitsu has invested heavily to make its HANA-optimised servers exceptionally powerful, robust and easy to install.”

Fujitsu recently won the 2012 SAP Pinnacle “Technology Innovator of the Year” award, and is currently the only vendor to provide an appliance for SAP Business One, powered by SAP HANA. Its servers also power the SAP HANA Demo Centre at SAP’s headquarters in Walldorf, Germany.