The SAP in-memory computing engine that resides at the heart of SAP HANA is an integrated database and calculation layer that allows the processing of massive quantities of real-time data in main memory to provide immediate results from analyses and transactions.

Like any standard database, the SAP in-memory computing engine supports industry standards such as SQL and MDX but also incorporates a high-performance calculation engine that embeds procedural language support directly into the database kernel. This approach is designed to eliminate the need to read data from the database, process it and then write data back to the database 


More info available @ SAP® HANA 1.0 ENABLES BREAKTHROUGH DATA MANAGEMENT WITH IN-MEMORY COMPUTING ENGINE