SAP gives SQL Anywhere a fresh IoT injection

The new database administrator cockpit in SAP's SQL Anywhere 17.

SAP's SQL Anywhere has long served as an embeddable database option for mobile devices, but the rise of the Internet of Things has opened up a new world of possibilities, and SAP has lost no time in polishing the technology for that purpose.

On Wednesday, in fact, the enterprise software giant unveiled a new version of the software that includes new remote data-synchronization capabilities and other features designed to help securely move data between the enterprise and remote locations such as retail stores and restaurants or vending machines and mines.

SAP SQL Anywhere version 17 can now tailor its performance to a wide variety of IoT platforms by automatically detecting changes to the deployment environment and optimizing performance accordingly, whether the server is running on a smart meter or vending machine.

Application-profiling tools and a new DBA cockpit for database administrators, meanwhile, provide enhanced monitoring and diagnostic capabilities to help support new IoT application scenarios.

To make development easier, the new release also supports a variety of modern programming languages and environments, including JavaScript stored procedures and functions.

SAP SQL Anywhere delivers improved encryption and data isolation, SAP said, meaning that data remains protected while at rest on edge devices and during synchronization to the data center, whether that data center is on-premise or in the cloud.

Synchronization from edge devices and IoT applications to SAP enterprise systems has gotten better as well, featuring tighter integration with the Hana in-memory database platform and expanded support for newer versions of popular databases, SAP said.

Finally, SQL Anywhere 17 reduces the downtime associated with database maintenance and application upgrades thanks to features such as online rebuild, dynamic starting and stopping of connection protocols, and point-in-time recovery.

SQL Anywhere 17 is available in multiple configurations on the SAP Store. Pricing for a networked client version is US$195 for one user.