Kind of a noob question: SAP HANA Cloud calls itself an in-memory cloud platform. What does that mean exactly? Is this because they use their in-memory database?
Yes. The SAP HANA Cloud Platform is the Platform as a Service offering from SAP based on the HANA In-Memory Technology. HANA has just been announced as the leader by Forester amongst In-Memory databases which really sets SAPs PaaS apart from the rest.
If you want to know more about HANA Cloud Platform, then please refer to this blog https://blogs.saphana.com/2014/03/05/saphcp-the-full-package/
If you want to try SAP HANA Cloud Platform, then please refer to https://account.hanatrial.ondemand.com/ - here you can create a free unlimited trial account.
If you would like to connect or learn more about SAP HANA or the HANA Cloud Platform, then please find me on twitter: @Arentoft