Hurd's comments should be placed in the proper context, said analyst Curt Monash of Monash Research. For one thing, SAP isn't trumpeting HANA as having replaced Oracle yet, he said. In addition, Oracle may not be talking to SAP loyalists. "I don't think Oracle [analytics] is heavily marketed to those highly loyal SAP users that would be early HANA adopters," Monash said.

SAP spokesman Dever also downplayed Ellison and Hurd's comments.

"Oracle says it sees no threat from SAP HANA, yet spent nearly 10 minutes of a 45-minute conference call talking about it," he said. "In this case, actions speak louder than words."

The IDG News Service