This week features several notable updates, including SAP’s decision to roll out its HANA in-memory database to the cloud.

The BI giant launched the HANA Cloud portfolio this week, a set of different services for developers and enterprises that are all based on the analytics platform.

SAP’s new PaaS line-up covers app and databases services, including NetWeaver Cloud, an option tailored specifically for Java applications. What really stands out is the SAP HANA Cloud Platform, a scaled-down implementation that runs on Amazon and gives users 32GB to play with for a modest fee of $3.49 an hour.

The firm is promoting its big data technology very aggressively, and making it more viable for smaller projects is a very smart decision on SAP’s behalf.

Microsoft had a big update as well. The company unveiled a new cloud service that makes it easier for developers to manage the information that powers their data-driven mobile apps.

Windows Azure Mobile Services is the latest extension of the software maker’s PaaS offering, and can come in handy for a variety of different users. The platform can simplify a lot of things, including user authentication across multiple devices, e-mail distribution and notification management.

Also this week, Teradata unveiled a new Hadoop appliance that is powered by software from Aster, a competitor the firm acquired for over $260 million last year. The Teradata Aster Big Data Applianc supposedly packs x35 the performance and 19x the throughput as alternatives, although it wasn’t specified which.

Teradata released a free version of the MapReduce framework built into the appliance around the same time.

Another company that had a major product launch in the past few days is Hadapt. The second version of its Adaptive Analytical Platform is more open, meaning developers can create custom analytical capabilities on top of the solution, and is integrated with Tableau data visualization solutions.