HPE is a recognized market leader for SAP HANA infrastructure. Official HPE sources consistently state that approximately 40% of all SAP HANA infrastructure deployments run on HPE hardware. This significant market share is a result of a long-standing, 30+ year partnership between HPE and SAP, which has led to a broad portfolio of co-innovated and certified solutions. These solutions, including HPE Superdome Flex and HPE Alletra, are optimized for the performance, scalability, and reliability demands of SAP HANA workloads, making HPE a prevalent choice for customers.

A. SAP, not hardware vendors like HPE, provides and controls the software licenses for SAP HANA. HPE provides certified infrastructure on which the licensed software runs.

B. HPE Alletra MP can lower the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) through consolidation and operational efficiency, but it does not directly reduce SAP's licensing costs, which are typically based on memory size.

C. The official and consistently reported market share for HPE in the SAP HANA infrastructure space is approximately 40%, making the 77% figure inaccurate.

1. HPE and SAP Alliance Webpage. (Supports Correct Answer D and refutes C). HPE.com. "HPE has over 40% market share for SAP HANA infrastructure, and we are the #1 infrastructure provider for SAP NetWeaver." Retrieved from the official HPE and SAP Alliance page.

2. HPE Solution Brief: HPE Solutions for SAP HANA. (Supports Correct Answer D). Document ID: 4AA5-7833ENW, Published November 2022. Page 2, "HPE is the undisputed market leader for SAP HANA with about 40% market share."

3. SAP Document: SAP HANA Tailored Data Center Integration – Overview. (Refutes Incorrect Option A). SAP Help Portal. This document outlines the process where customers acquire SAP HANA licenses directly from SAP and then choose certified hardware from partners like HPE, confirming the separation of software licensing and hardware provision.

4. HPE Solution Brief: HPE Alletra for SAP and SAP HANA. (Refutes Incorrect Option B). Document ID: a50008373enw, Published May 2023. Page 3, "Benefits" section discusses improved performance, 99.9999% availability, and simplified management, which contribute to TCO reduction, not a direct reduction in SAP license fees.