What is SAP HANA?
SAP HANA is a relational database that keeps its working data in main memory and stores tables by column rather than by row. Reading from RAM avoids the delays of disk access, and columnar storage compresses well and speeds up the sums and groupings common in reporting, so HANA can process transactions and run analytics on the same live data. Changes are still written to persistent storage through logs and periodic savepoints, so data survives a restart.
Over the years SAP added more data models and processing engines to the database, including graph, spatial, JSON document store, time-series and full-text search, along with predictive analytics libraries. SAP HANA Cloud, the managed version, also stores vector embeddings for AI similarity search and runs knowledge graph queries and machine learning inside the database. HANA includes an application server and can reach data in other systems through smart data access and smart data integration.
HANA is the foundation of SAP’s own software: SAP S/4HANA runs only on it, and SAP Business Warehouse and many SAP cloud services use it too. Customers run HANA on certified servers in their own data centers, in SAP-managed private clouds or on public clouds such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. SAP positions HANA Cloud as the database engine of SAP Business Data Cloud, which became part of SAP Business AI Platform in 2026, and its 2026 purchase of Dremio adds an Apache Iceberg lakehouse alongside it.
Key features of SAP HANA
- 01
In-memory columnar storage
Tables are held in RAM in compressed columnar form, letting HANA scan and aggregate very large numbers of rows quickly while still handling the inserts and updates that transactions require.
- 02
Mixed transactional and analytical workloads
One database handles order entry and financial postings alongside real-time reporting, removing the need to copy data into a separate data warehouse for many operational analytics.
- 03
Multi-model engines
Graph, spatial, JSON document, time-series and full-text capabilities run inside the same database, so developers can combine different kinds of data in SQL queries.
- 04
Vector search and in-database AI
SAP HANA Cloud stores vector embeddings and runs similarity search, knowledge graph queries and machine learning inside the database, supporting retrieval-augmented generation and AI agents built on business data.
- 05
Data virtualization and integration
Smart data access queries remote SAP and third-party sources in place, while smart data integration and replication tools bring external data into HANA when needed.
- 06
Availability and data tiering
System replication keeps standby copies ready for failover, and data tiering moves less frequently used data to cheaper disk or data lake storage while keeping it available to queries.
Who uses SAP HANA?
- SAP customers run S/4HANA and SAP Business Warehouse on HANA, which S/4HANA requires as its database.
- Finance and operations teams analyze live transactional data for reporting and planning without waiting for batch loads into a separate warehouse.
- Developers build custom applications and AI agents on SAP HANA Cloud that combine SAP business data with vector search and graph queries.
- Data teams combine SAP and non-SAP sources through data virtualization instead of copying everything into one system.
History of SAP HANA
SAP HANA grew out of in-memory computing research SAP carried out with the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam and Stanford University. Its engineers combined several existing technologies: the TREX in-memory search engine, the P*TIME in-memory transaction engine SAP acquired in 2005, and the MaxDB relational database. The name comes from a German phrase meaning high-performance analysis application.
The first HANA product shipped in late November 2010, and SAP later said demand after the launch was unlike anything since R/3. SAP added support for SAP Business Warehouse, made its full Business Suite available on HANA in 2013 and built S/4HANA exclusively for the database in 2015. HANA 2 followed in 2016 and a free express edition in 2017. The cloud-native SAP HANA Cloud has since become the data and AI engine behind SAP Business Data Cloud, launched in 2025.
- 2005
SAP acquires P*TIME, an in-memory transaction engine later used in HANA.
- 2010
SAP ships the first SAP HANA product in late November.
- 2011
The first SAP HANA customers go live, analyzing data in seconds rather than days.
- 2013
SAP Business Suite becomes available on SAP HANA.
- 2015
SAP launches S/4HANA, an ERP suite that runs only on SAP HANA.
- 2016
SAP announces SAP HANA 2.
- 2017
SAP HANA, express edition becomes available as a free version for smaller systems.
- 2025
SAP launches SAP Business Data Cloud, with SAP HANA Cloud as its database engine.
SAP HANA pricing
Pricing modelEnterprise licensing
Runtime licenses come with SAP applications and full-use licenses cover other workloads; SAP HANA Cloud is billed by capacity, and a free express edition supports up to 32 GB of memory.
Prices change often. Check the official SAP HANA website for current plans.
SAP HANA alternatives
Profiled on SoftwareLore:
Also considerMicrosoft SQL Server, IBM Db2, SingleStore and Amazon Aurora
SAP HANA: frequently asked questions
Who makes SAP HANA?
SAP HANA is developed by SAP SE, the German enterprise software company based in Walldorf. SAP built it with input from researchers at the Hasso Plattner Institute and Stanford University, combining in-memory technologies it had developed or acquired, and shipped the first version in late 2010.
What is SAP HANA used for?
SAP HANA is used as the database for SAP business applications, including SAP S/4HANA and SAP Business Warehouse, and for real-time analytics on operational data. Developers also use SAP HANA Cloud to build applications and AI agents that combine relational, graph, spatial, JSON and vector data.
Is SAP HANA free?
SAP HANA is commercial software, but SAP offers a free express edition for development and productive use on systems with up to 32 GB of memory, as well as a trial of SAP HANA Cloud. Larger deployments require licenses bundled with SAP applications, full-use licenses or paid SAP HANA Cloud capacity.
When was SAP HANA released?
SAP shipped the first SAP HANA product in late November 2010, and the first customers went live in 2011. SAP made its Business Suite available on HANA in 2013, launched S/4HANA exclusively for HANA in 2015 and announced HANA 2 in 2016.
What does HANA stand for?
The name comes from the German compound HochleistungsANalyseAnwendung, which translates as high-performance analysis application. The capitalized letters in that word spell out HANA, a reminder that the product began as an in-memory engine for fast business analytics before becoming SAP’s main database.
Sources
- SAP HANA Cloud, SAP sap.com
- SAP HANA, express edition trial, SAP sap.com
- SAP history 2011 to 2020, SAP sap.com
- SAP to acquire Dremio, SAP News Center news.sap.com
- SAP HANA, Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org
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