Introduction

This appendix explains the features of SAP HANA, compares them with other traditional databases, and explains the bottlenecks currently faced by users. We will go through the groundbreaking technology innovations that have led to the innovation of the SAP HANA database and see how the database supports analyzing real-time data even in huge chunks. We will also see why the SAP HANA database is a good choice when other databases with similar features are available.

HANA stands for High-Performance Analytic Appliance. SAP HANA is a combination of hardware and software, and is therefore an appliance. SAP HANA supports column- and row-level storage. We can store and perform analytics on a huge amount of real-time, non-aggregated transactional data. Hence, HANA acts as both a database and a warehousing tool, which helps in making decisions at the right time.