An important SAP NetWeaver BW warehouse at the chemical company was growing at a rate of a terabyte every quarter due to the addition of new applications, integration of data from new sources and new requirements for data to be available for longer periods. To manage this growth, the company decided to adopt an Information Lifecycle Management strategy as recommended by SAP, using a Nearline Storage (NLS) solution that would allow older, less frequently used data to be moved out of the main database while still keeping it accessible for reporting purposes when required. They chose the software-based SAND/DNA Nearline solution on the basis of its high rates of data compression and anticipated storage cost savings, as well as the performance benefits that would result from substantially reduced database size. Since its implementation in their production environment, the SAND/DNA solution has brought improved data loading and reporting performance, heightened system availability due to reduced downtime for backup and restore operations, better data availability, and reduced storage costs.

“We are extremely pleased to have this chemical company as a customer”, said Linda Arens, Vice President, Marketing for SAND Technology. “Like most large organizations in all industries, they are experiencing an explosion in the amounts of data they need to manage in their data warehouses. The SAND/DNA Nearline solution allows them to cope with this very rapid data growth while preserving operational performance and keeping costs down – and without disturbing their existing SAP NetWeaver BW environment.”

As data volumes grow and user demands intensify, SAP NetWeaver BW users are facing significant data management challenges and increased costs. In accordance with SAP’s recommended Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) strategy, SAND Technology has teamed with SAP to integrate SAND/DNA software as a nearline solution for SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0. Designed to relieve SAP NetWeaver BW 7.0 from the need to keep large amounts of infrequently used data in the online repository, the SAND/DNA Nearline solution stores this data in a tiny footprint while maintaining easy data accessibility. The data is stored in an easily searchable but highly compressed format which significantly reduces overheads and costs typically associated with retaining considerable amounts of historical data.

SAND/DNA enables enterprise customers in all industries to cost-effectively retain massive amounts of compressed data in a nearline repository for extended periods, in accordance with any applicable business rules and regulatory requirements, and to rapidly retrieve information when needed. A centralized data management solution with unparalleled performance and storage efficiency, the SAND/DNA suite dramatically reduces costs and management complexity while ensuring continuous data availability. Organizations can create data marts on demand to respond to any analytic requirement with all enterprise data — current or historical, detailed or summarized. SAND/DNA’s advanced information management technology compresses data to typically 10 percent of its original size, while giving users the ability to query any attributes of the data without decompressing it first. This next-generation capability is ideal for satisfying enterprise compliance requirements as well as for leveraging valuable information in data warehouses.

The team responsible for managing the largest of several SAP BW instances at the energy company had been predicting that their SAP BW environment would grow from 16 TB to about 120 TB by the end of 2010, if they continued without implementing an ILM strategy that included NLS. Because growth on this scale would have brought unacceptable increases in hardware and resource costs along with severe performance penalties, they sought a solution that would allow them to reduce the size of the main SAP BW database while maintaining the accessibility of all data for querying and reporting. After a proof of concept demonstrated that the SAND/DNA solution could offer 95% compression for nearline data while providing excellent performance for both data “nearlining” and querying, the company decided to implement the solution in their production environment, which runs on an IBM P5 server with the AIX operating system using Oracle as the main database.

“We are delighted to count this major energy and petrochemical company among our customers”, said Linda Arens, Vice President, Marketing for SAND Technology. “The current exponential explosion in data volumes in all industries presents a challenge for the traditional databases used in SAP BW implementations. The SAND/DNA for SAP BI nearline solution has been designed specifically to provide highly efficient storage and access to very large amounts of data, and makes it possible for organizations to quickly and easily implement the type of ILM solution that SAP recommends for controlling data growth. With their SAND/DNA solution, the energy company is now capable of managing the massive ongoing growth of data in their SAP BW system, without a corresponding increase in costs.”

SAND/DNA enables enterprise customers in all industries to cost-effectively retain massive amounts of compressed data in a nearline repository for extended periods, in accordance with any applicable business rules and regulatory requirements, and to rapidly retrieve information when needed. A centralized data management solution with unparalleled performance and storage efficiency, the SAND/DNA suite dramatically reduces costs and management complexity while ensuring continuous data availability. Organizations can create data marts on demand to respond to any analytic requirement with all enterprise data — current or historical, detailed or summarized. SAND/DNA’s advanced information management technology compresses data to typically 10 percent of its original size, while giving users the ability to query any attributes of the data without decompressing it first. This next-generation capability is ideal for satisfying enterprise compliance requirements as well as for leveraging valuable information in data warehouses.

Montreal — September 16, 2008—SAND Technology, Inc. (OTCBB: SNDTF.OB), an international provider of data management software and best practices, announced today that a leading South African food producer and distributor, Pioneer Foods, has adopted and standardized on the SAND/DNA nearline solution for SAP BI as part of a project to more efficiently and cost-effectively manage volumes of data and ensure the operational performance of its SAP NetWeaver BI® 7.0 data warehouse.

Many large companies have an urgent need to analyze the vast amounts of data available to them. Getting hold of vital facts and figures and turning them into useful information is a complex and time-consuming task, thus Pioneer Foods embarked on a new implementation.

“We chose SAND due to its impressive functionality and the competitive economies of scale, as we have to adhere to governance guidelines that stipulate we retain data for up to five years, and typical costs soon mount up over that period with the volumes of data we deal with,” said Jannie Steyn, Group Manager Information Systems, Pioneer Foods. “Easy access and high levels of compression ensure that we have increased visibility to historical data available to our analysts, along with the peace of mind that data won’t be lost or irretrievable.”

As data volumes grow and user demands increase, SAP NetWeaver® Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI) customers are facing significant data management challenges as well as heightened costs. To help with these issues, SAP recommends implementing an Information Life Cycle (ILM) architecture for SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0. In accordance with SAP’s ILM strategy, SAND Technology has teamed with SAP to integrate SAND/DNA as a nearline solution for SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0.

Designed to relieve SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 from the need to keep large amounts of infrequently used data in the online repository, the SAND/DNA solution stores this data in a tiny footprint while maintaining easy data accessibility. The data is stored in an easily searchable but highly compressed format which significantly reduces overheads and costs associated with typically retaining considerable amounts of historical data.

The new system will be available to a range of Pioneer Foods’ SAP BI analysts as required.

About Pioneer Foods

Pioneer Foods’ core business is the production and distribution of a diverse range of food, beverages and related products. Focused on products for both human and animal consumption, Pioneer Foods is a significant player in these industries in southern Africa. Employing more than 11 000 permanent employees, the Group has a leadership position in the staple foods segment with value-added quality products, and a diversified and expanding portfolio of premium household brands, across all market segments of the LSM categories. The Group’s sophisticated research and development infrastructure and wide distribution network, enable it to pass cost benefits on to the consumer, achieved through efficiently managed economies of scale, and are comparable to the best in the southern African food industry. Underpinning the quest to produce affordable products of a consistently high quality, is a serious commitment to food safety and nutritional ethics. www.pioneerfoods.co.za

In SAP BI environments, access to data in active ODS tables or DataStore Objects (DSOs) is typically achieved via direct SQL statements. This process is particularly important when attributes of target structures are derived from other information stored in ODS Objects or DSOs – for example, when sales information is expanded to include market classification or customer classification attributes. Until now, if the classifying ODS or DSOs were even partially stored nearline, the nearline part of the data would not be considered.

The Nearline Lookup API for SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 and SAP BW 3.x was developed to address this issue by enabling combined access to both actively used data and related nearline data. SAND/DNA Query Generator makes it much easier to develop query programs for specific ODS Objects or DSOs using the Nearline API for SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 and SAP BW 3.x.

SAND/DNA – Nearline Software for SAP BI

In SAP BI systems, a nearline data repository is an intermediate step between the online database and an offline archive. The SAP BI NLS Interface makes it possible for less frequently used InfoCubes and DataStore Objects to be moved from the relational database into the nearline repository by means of data archiving processes (DAPs), then deleted from the relational database. SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 can then provide fast, transparent access to nearline data when there is a need to rebuild old performance indicators or reports, or to perform on audit on earlier data. The relational database thus stores only the current data, while older information which might become relevant later on, or which cannot be deleted for legal reasons, is stored using a nearline software solution. 

Designed to relieve SAP BI from the need to keep large amounts of infrequently used data in the online repository, SAND/DNA stores this data in a tiny footprint while maintaining easy data accessibility. Data is stored in an easily searchable, but highly compressed format which significantly reduces overhead and costs associated with typically retaining considerable amounts of historical data.

SAND/DNA™ version 2.3 software has achieved “Certified for SAP NetWeaver®” status for its integration with Near Line Storage for SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI) Release 7.0, and SAND Nearline Integration Controller has been certified as “Powered by SAP NetWeaver®”.

MONTREAL—April 16, 2008—SAND Technology Inc. (OTCBB: SNDTF.OB), an international provider of intelligent enterprise information management software, today announced that it will be exhibiting in the Sun Microsystems booth at the upcoming SAP SAPPHIRE 2008 conference. The conference, which will be held in Orlando, FL from May 4 to 7, 2008, will focus on strategies, best practices, and instruction for teams that are running and evaluating SAP NetWeaver® technology. Top SAND executives and technology experts will be on hand to discuss how organizations can implement a nearline component on Sun hardware for SAP NetWeaver BI, enabling:

• More efficient satisfaction of SLAs

<li>Reduction of backup and recovery times</li>

<li>Acceleration of data loading and query processing for reporting and analytics</li>

<li>Better management of larger amounts of information</li>

<li>Compliance with regulatory requirements</li>

<li>Reduction of resource consumption and overall costs. </li>

The combination of SAND/DNA with Sun Servers running the Solaris™ Operating System (OS) enables customers to cost-effectively retain massive amounts of compressed data for extended periods and to rapidly retrieve this information when needed, bringing greater operational efficiency and analytical power. Sun and SAND have worked together on several benchmarking activities, in which their complementary architecture has demonstrated outstanding performance. In performance tests carried out at the Global Storage Center in Scotland using the Solaris 10 OS and the Sun™ Grid system, SAND achieved load speeds of greater than 1 terabyte per hour and query speeds of 2 terabytes per minute, processing 75 million rows per second on a SAND customer data set of 165 terabytes consisting of ISP web log data, CRM data, and transactional data.

To arrange to speak with a SAND representative at the conference, please contact Linda Arens, SAND Vice President of Marketing at (650) 726-7539.

MONTREAL, March 12 – SAND Technology Inc., an international provider of intelligent enterprise information management software, today announced that Procter & Gamble Company has chosen SAND/DNA for SAP BI for a pilot project to evaluate the benefits of NLS (nearline storage) to more efficiently and cost-effectively manage their multi-terabyte SAP NetWeaver BI® 7.0 data warehouse. “SAND/DNA’s high data compression rates, minimal administration requirements and integration with SAP BI are the main reasons we are evaluating SAND to complement our SAP environment,” said Maria Gracia Pasquale Director, P&G Global Business Services.

“Our pilot with SAND is about exploring opportunities to lower costs of data storage over the long term,” added Yazdi Bagli, Associate Director, P&G Global Business Services.

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with P&G on this pilot project,” said Robin Carr, VP Sales of North America for SAND Technology. “This project will further highlight that SAND/DNA enables companies to reduce total cost of ownership and supp

• More efficient satisfaction of SLAs
• Reduction of backup and recovery times
• Acceleration of data loading and query processing for reporting and analytics
• Better management of larger amounts of information
• Compliance with regulatory requirements
• Reduction of resource consumption and overall costs.

SAND will showcase its SAND/DNA software for SAP NetWeaver BI at the conference in booth #233

To arrange meetings and speak with a SAND executive at the conference, please contact Linda Arens, VP Marketing at 650-726-7539. More information about the SAP NetWeaver BI Portals 2008 conference may be found at http://www.sapnetweaver2008.com/

LAS VEGAS – October 1, 2007 – SAND Technology, Inc. (OTCBB: SNDTF.OB), an international provider of intelligent enterprise information management solutions, announced today that it is continuing to grow the customer base for its SAND/DNA solution for use with the SAP NetWeaver® Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI) component of the SAP NetWeaver platform, primarily in the Financial Services, Retail, Consumer Package Goods, Government, Utilities, and Manufacturing industries. SAND is also continuing to broaden its partner eco-system by entering into partnerships with key System Integrators that have extensive domain expertise with SAP® applications, in order to offer customers a wide range of best-of-breed services and software. Customers such as Volkswagen Bank, RI Solutions, and Entega, among others, cite SAND/DNA’s extremely high data compression rates, minimal administration requirements and proven success as an integrated NLS (nearline storage) component for use with SAP NetWeaver BI as the reasons for choosing the SAND solution, which enables them to manage growing data volumes over the long term at the lowest possible cost.

“We are very pleased to see so many customers adopt the SAND/DNA solution,” said Arthur Ritchie, president and CEO of SAND Technology, “This growing market share highlights SAND/DNA’s superior ability to store and provide rapid access to any amount of infrequently used data. As a fully integrated extension to SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0, SAND/DNA enables companies to reduce total cost of ownership and supports their efforts to manage rapidly growing data warehouses more efficiently.”

SAND/DNA 2.3 software is certified for integration with SAP NetWeaver BI Release 7.0. It was developed specifically to handle the increasingly complex data management challenges companies are facing as a result of the fast growth of their SAP NetWeaver BI data warehouse solutions, by providing extremely high rates of data compression (averaging approximately 90 percent) while keeping data easily available for use in reporting or for building new DataStore Objects/InfoCubes. At the same time SAND/DNA significantly reduces total cost of ownership by minimizing administrative requirements and lowering infrastructure costs. In addition, SAND/DNA can be used to streamline the process of converting an SAP NetWeaver BI database to the SAP-recommended Unicode standard during upgrades from SAP Business Information Warehouse (SAP BW) Release 3.x to SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0. By enabling significant reduction in database size before the conversion process is begun, SAND/DNA can greatly reduce the time and resources required, while still keeping the infrequently used data transparently accessible.

Today’s announcement was made at TechEd ‘07 Las Vegas, SAP’s largest technical education conference. Visit SAND at TechEd in the Powered by SAP NetWeaver Partner Pavilion P10 and attend SAND’s Session BI213: SAP NetWeaver BI Near Line Storage and Information Life-Cycle Management Strategies on Oct. 2 from 1:30 to 2:30.

Montreal, Canada, September 18, 2007 – SAND Technology Inc. (OTCBB: SNDTF.OB), an international provider of intelligent enterprise information management software, announced today that it has introduced a Smart Unicode Conversion framework for SAP NetWeaver® BI. Companies worldwide have accepted Unicode as the standard encoding scheme for character data. With the introduction of SAP Netweaver BI 7.0, SAP has adopted Unicode as the recommended encoding scheme for new SAP BI installations.

As a result, many organizations migrating from SAP BW 3.x to SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 are seeking to convert their databases to Unicode. Nevertheless, conversion requires considerable resources. Tests have shown that, depending on the type of data involved, up to 1.1 to 1.3 times the amount of disk space is required to accommodate data converted to Unicode, along with 30% more CPU power and 50% more memory.

These resource requirements can be reduced by adopting SAP’s Nearline approach for SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 and moving older and less frequently used data from the main SAP BW 3.x database into SAND’s software-based SAND/DNA nearline repository.

Using the Smart Unicode Conversion framework, companies can reduce the amount of data that needs to be converted while also lowering TCO and improving their ability to meet Service Level Agreements (SLAs) using the SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 NLS Interface immediately after SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 goes into production.

“Using Smart Unicode Conversion based on SAND/DNA, companies are able to save time and resources while migrating from SAP BW 3.x to SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0,” said Roland Markowski, Managing Director, Central Europe, for SAND Technology. “Not only can they can speed up the Unicode conversion process, but perhaps more importantly they can equip their SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0 system with an agile relational database from the outset, without losing access to historical and less frequently used data,” he added.

Montreal Canada, August 14, 2007 – SAND Technology Inc. (OTCBB: SNDTF.OB), an international provider of intelligent enterprise information management software, today announced that a multi-billion dollar international consumer goods company has chosen SAND/DNA™ for SAP BI to more efficiently and cost-effectively manage their multi-terabyte SAP NetWeaver BI® 7.0 data warehouse. The company cited SAND/DNA’s extremely high data compression rates, minimal administration requirements and proven success as an integrated NLS (nearline storage) component for SAP BI as the reasons for its choice, which will enable it to manage anticipated growth in data volumes over the long term at the lowest possible cost.

“We are very pleased to see another major customer adopt the SAND/DNA solution,” said Arthur Ritchie, CEO of SAND Technology, “This decision further highlights SAND/DNA’s superior ability to store and provide rapid access to any volume of infrequently-used data. As a fully integrated extension to SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0, SAND/DNA enables companies to reduce total cost of ownership and supports their efforts to more efficiently manage rapidly growing data warehouses.”

SAND/DNA software is certified for integration with SAP NetWeaver BI 7.0. It was developed specifically to handle the increasingly complex data management challenges companies are facing as a result of the fast growth of their SAP NetWeaver BI data warehouse solutions, by providing extremely high rates of data compression (averaging approximately 90 percent) while keeping data easily available for use in reporting or for building new DataStore Objects/InfoCubes. At the same time SAND/DNA significantly reduces total cost of ownership by minimizing administrative requirements and lowering infrastructure costs.

“For many users, multi-terabyte data warehouses bring throughput and data access issues that can impede effective business analysis and substantially increase hardware and administrative costs,” said Joshua Greenbaum, Enterprise Application Consulting. “SAND/DNA for SAP NetWeaver BI offers a unique and creative way to solve these problems. Infrequently-used data can be stored outside the data warehouse on a relatively inexpensive system, while still permitting cost-effective access. This reduces TCO and enables organizations to respond efficiently to changing business needs.”