Intel and SAP have announced a multiyear technology partnership focused on optimising Intel’s platforms, including Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Optane DC persistent memory, for SAP’s end-to-end enterprise software applications, including SAP S/4HANA.

The partnership is designed to employ Intel’s leading technologies to power SAP’s suite of business solutions and intelligent technologies, enabling enterprises to deploy high-performance, highly-optimised applications within the cloud, enterprise and at the edge.

“For more than a decade, Intel and SAP have engaged closely on developing differentiated breakthrough technologies that make organisations run more efficiently, and with today’s news we will further accelerate our technology collaboration and grow the value that we deliver to our customers,” says Navin Shenoy, Intel executive vice-president and GM of the Data Centre Group.

“Broadening our technology collaboration with SAP means our mutual customers will be able to achieve faster insights from the largest data challenges, delivering a competitive edge.”

Intel offers platform innovations consisting of processors, memory, storage and accelerator technologies that are capable of delivering SAP customers the performance and value required to accelerate business applications.

As an example, running SAP HANA-based applications within Intel Optane DC persistent memory may significantly reduce the complexity and risk of running realtime in-memory applications by providing persistent data that is more resilient to computer outages, without compromising security.

SAP HANA customers deploying Intel Optane DC persistent memory are capable of reducing data recovery times from 50 minutes to 4 minutes on a 6Tb SAP HANA instance.

Intel Optane DC persistent memory delivers significantly denser memory, which enables customers to do more data processing within the same server – intended for cost savings and enabling new capabilities for customers converting to SAP S/4HANA.

“The platform innovation delivered across Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Optane DC persistent memory unleash memory persistence and capacity that allows our customers to become intelligent enterprises in the Experience Economy,” says Irfan Khan, president: platform and technologies at SAP. “Our expanded partnership with Intel will accelerate our customers’ move to SAP S/4HANA by allowing organizations to unlock the value of data assets with greater ease and operate with increased visibility, focus and agility.”

The partnership will empower customers to transform mission-critical business processes by deploying high-performance applications running on Intel-based infrastructure in the cloud, on-premises and in hybrid environments.

The technology partnership will aim to further optimise Intel Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Optane DC persistent memory for SAP HANA, while allowing customers to accelerate migration to SAP S/4HANA.

Intel and SAP will also work to optimize Intel’s platforms for SAP’s range of enterprise applications, including the SAP Leonardo portfolio of intelligent technologies (artificial intelligence, analytics, internet of things (IoT), big data and blockchain) as well as SAP Business Suite applications.

A joint Intel and SAP centre of excellence (CoE) is planned to include a dedicated team of professionals who will demonstrate to customers the ability of Intel and SAP technologies and provide strategic guidance on enabling their digital transformation.