Copy Automation Tool for SAP Systems by Pure Storage

Pure Storage, Inc. announced the availability of its Copy Automation Tool (CAT) for SAP systems.

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The tool allows customers to automate the SAP database copy, clone and refresh processes, which includes database, pre- and post-copy tasks – a process that typically takes several days. The CAT for SAP from the company can reduce database copy from days to hours, and cut SAP-related storage and management costs by up to 90% annually. Running directly on both FlashArray//M and FlashArray//X, CAT for SAP is included at no additional charge, provides deep functionality right out-of-the-box, and allows customers the flexibility to integrate additional tasks, customize and scale.

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As organizations become increasingly digital, time, money and resources have shifted away from operational management to innovation. To effectively leverage technological infrastructure as an innovation driver requires an increased emphasis on automation. This array-embedded CAT enables reductions in SAP database copy time and storage costs of more than 80%, and drives lightning-fast SID change. As a result, customers are able to deploy IT staff to drive innovation, rather than manage time-consuming and complex database infrastructures.

Agrosuper, producer of animal protein in South America, sees this new tool as an opportunity to streamline operations and turn key technical resources into direct value for customers. As part of the CAT for SAP beta program, it was able to complete the copy and clone of a 21TB database – typically a nine-day process – in just twenty minutes.

“The internal process required to leverage SAP copies for our most emblematic and complex projects has historically required two or more weeks for IT operations to execute,” said Ricardo Alegria, deputy manager, IT operations, Agrosuper. “This means critical projects are put o hold while the copying process finishes. With the implementation of CAT for SAP functionality from Pure Storage, we expect to reduce that wait time, which will increase productivity and generate operational benefits throughout the organization. With CAT for SAP, we expect to transform costly maintenance efforts into new product innovations and service improvements.“

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The solution is easy to use and embedded directly in Purity Run, a safe, dedicated, compute-and-memory-isolated execution environment within FlashArray. This allows customers to run CAT directly on the FlashArray without requiring any additional hardware to procure or manage.

CAT for SAP also leverages Purity Protect, the space-efficient DR and protection suite that comes standard with every FlashArray.

With Purity Protect, customers receive:

• Instant snapshots, no performance degradation. No reservations or planning required, zero performance overhead and flexible consistency groups.

• Complete copies with all capabilities. Mount, read, write or snapshot again with zero inter-dependency and full performance.

• Snapshot space savings up to 90%. Zero data duplication – always thin, de-duped and compressed.

• Recovery anything, to anywhere. Instantly roll forward or backward, and recover any volume from any snapshot.

“Our goal is to help customers achieve new levels of innovation through simplicity. As customers integrate the newest cutting-edge technologies into day-to-day business operations, automation becomes increasingly critical,” said Matt Kixmoeller, VP, marketing, product and solutions, Pure. “Our CAT for SAP extends that promise to our customers. What took days can now be performed, fully automated, in a matter of hours. Ultimately, this means increased productivity levels, faster time to market and optimal resource allocation.“