SAP HANA: An Introduction

Penny Silvia is the SAP analytics and HANA leader for IBM's Global SAP iCoC. She has extensive experience in implementing advanced and in-memory analytic solutions for SAP customers. She works closely with clients to help them understand and develop SAP HANA roadmaps, strategies, and implementation plans, as well as identifying data and analytic needs that can benefit from an in-memory solution. She is a frequent speaker at SAP conferences and is on the Advisory Board for multiple SAP publications.

Dr. Bjarne Berg is VP of ComeritLabs and has implemented in-memory solutions for SAP analytics in Europe and in the USA. In addition to his SAP HANA work at ComeritLabs, he has also collaborated with IBM at the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina with testing, development, and benchmarking SAP HANA on SAP BW solutions. In the past, he has implemented in-memory systems for Fortune 500 companies, and has managed over 50 SAP NetWeaver performance tuning engagements for large organizations. He is a frequent speaker at SAP conferences and also teaches in the SAP University Alliance.

Rob Frye served in the NC Army National Guard for nearly two decades, and is a combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  After retiring from military service, he completed his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Lenoir-Rhyne University, where he was the First Honor Graduate with a 4.0 overall GPA.  More recently, Rob has managed ComeritLabs, in Huntersville, NC, for the past 4 years.  ComeritLabs provides infrastructure, remote development, and training services for COMERIT, Inc.  Rob is an experienced SAP HANA and SAP BusinessObjects developer, and has created SAP HANA content, training material, and processes, as well as SAP BW on HANA InfoObjects for Fortune 500 companies. Rob was the lead author for The SAP BW to HANA Migration Handbook, one of the first books to provide comprehensive, step-by-step instructions for completing the DMO (database migration option) process. Rob has delivered training in SAP HANA and the BusinessObjects toolset in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and South Africa. Rob is also a PhD student at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte, where he is conducting research into recommender systems for artificial intelligence.