The virtual and physical servers, SAP HANA databases, storage units, and networks access a pool of physical hardware. If individual components fail, the load can be reallocated to other components without impairing system stability. If hardware fails due to a fire, data can be recovered from the backup system.

The data center is subdivided into many fire compartments. Thousands of fire detectors and aspirating smoke detectors (ASD) monitor the rooms and pick up on specific gases that stem from overheating electronic components to set off a preliminary alarm and alert the fire department. Should a fire break out, the affected room is flooded with extinguishing gas and the fire is smothered.

The data center consists of 100,000 metric tons of reinforced concrete and rests on 480 concrete pillars – each extending 16 meters into the ground. The exterior walls are 30 centimeters thick and made of reinforced concrete. The server rooms are further surrounded by three concrete walls. This design provides effective protection against storms and even a small airplane crash.

Data falls under the jurisdiction selected by our customers and is not forwarded to third parties. Data protection is also maintained during required maintanance operations. SAP has implemented a wide range of measures to protect data controlled by us and our customers from unauthorized access and processing, accidental loss, or destruction.

Backups are performed in the form of disk-to-disk copies, which enables rapid data creation and recovery. Besides completing full backups on a daily basis, interim versions are created several times a day and archived, like all backups, at a second location for security purposes.

An intrusion detection system monitors incoming data and identifies suspicious activities, while firewalls made by different manufacturers protect data. Backup files and data are exchanged with customers in an encrypted format or transmitted through secure fiber-optic cables.