Although SAP HANA is technically a database, it’s important to note it’s also so much more than that. So you’ll often see it referred to as a data-platform instead. This is because it contains a multitude of other functionalities that give it the ability to not just store data but process it too.
SAP was one of the first organizations to embrace in-memory processing, which essentially means that HANA performs intensive data processing, calculations and analysis at the database-level rather than at the application level.
With SAP HANA your organization is much better equipped to handle, and even go beyond, the Big Data trend. Not only will you be able to process a far greater volume of data, but, thanks to changes in the way it’s stored and accessed, you’ll also be able to make use of a much wider range of data.