RI-Solution GmbH Selects SAP(R) Nearline Solution From SAND

SAND Technology Inc. (OTC BB: SNDTF), an international provider of intelligent enterprise information management solutions, announced today that RI-Solution GmbH, a Munich-based IT service provider specializing in information systems, services and solutions for retail companies, has licensed SAND/DNA(TM) in conjunction with SAP NetWeaver® BI 3.5 to meet the needs of a major retail client. The SAND solution, officially certified by SAP as an integrated ABAP add-on with SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI), was specifically developed to address the increasingly complex data management issues faced by companies running large scale SAP NetWeaver BI implementations.

"We were interested in finding a way to control the explosion of data inside SAP NetWeaver BI, so that we could fulfill our Service Level Agreements while optimizing resource usage. After thoroughly analyzing the market, we decided to perform a test installation of SAND/DNA for SAP BI, which was successfully completed in January. The results showed that this solution satisfies our needs perfectly, and implementation is now underway," explained Bardo Gutberlet, Head of SAP System Development / Management at RI-Solution.

SAND/DNA for SAP BI was selected by RI-Solution because of its ability to compress selected SAP BI data so that it takes up substantially less space, while still keeping it immediately accessible for analysis or for building new ODS Objects and InfoCubes. This capability was particularly applicable to the large volumes of SAP Persistent Staging Area (PSA) data that are used in SAP NetWeaver BI. For RI-Solution, reproducing this data from the source systems would have been very difficult, if not completely impossible, since it either no longer exists or would take too long to load. However, the customer, a large retail enterprise, needed this data to build new analysis objects in response to constantly changing user demands. "In our opinion, SAND/DNA for SAP BI represents the best solution in this area. On one hand, it significantly reduces the volume of data currently stored in SAP NetWeaver BI and therefore keeps our data management processes lean; on the other, the data is not simply erased or archived, so we are able to access just the required portions quickly and satisfy the requirement of our IT department for flexible and efficient provision of information content," Gutberlet added.

"We are very pleased that RI-Solution has decided in favor of nearline integration using SAND/DNA for SAP BI," commented Roland Markowski, Managing Director, Central Europe for SAND Technology. "This installation clearly demonstrates that SAND/DNA for SAP BI is an efficient nearline component, giving SAP NetWeaver BI customers the ability to keep their total costs under control despite continued growth in the overall volume of data," he concluded.

SAND/DNA Access

SAND/DNA Access(TM) allows organizations to achieve both significant storage economy and high levels of data availability. Its unique, highly compressed storage format typically occupies 5-10 percent of the space required for traditional indexed data while allowing business users direct access to the compressed data using standard SQL-based tools and methods. As a result, all aspects of storage-related costs are reduced, and the organization's ability to access granular historical information is substantially improved.

SAND Dynamic Nearline Access(TM) for SAP Netweaver BI has been certified by SAP for its smooth integration as an ABAP add-on with the SAP NetWeaver Application Server, and awarded the "Powered by SAP NetWeaver" endorsement.

RI-Solution GmbH

RI-Solution GmbH, a company that specializes in information systems, services and solutions for retail companies, was founded as an IT service provider on January 1, 2002. The company has some 200 employees at its sites in Munich and Vienna. RI-Solution specializes in meeting the needs of retailers and wholesalers and has in-depth know-how with regard to the trading processes in areas such as agro, technology, building materials and energy. RI-Solution supports its customers in all areas, from analyzing processes to performing feasibility studies, project planning, implementation, installation and ongoing operation of a flexible, high-performance and economical user and systems environment. More information is available under www.ri-solution.com .

SAND Technology

SAND is an international provider of intelligent information management software. The SAND/DNA(TM) product suite scales to help any size enterprise cope with exploding data requirements, now and into the future. SAND/DNA Access(TM) allows for retaining all potentially relevant data in a tiny footprint while providing instant access to just what's required. SAND/DNA Analytics(TM) allows for complex what-if analysis to meet any planned and unplanned business need. Sharing SAND's patented "ask-anything" DNA, together they provide a just-in-time approach to data management with unparalleled productivity and cost-effectiveness.