Abstract
In-memory computing helps make big-data analytics possible by keeping data in a server’s RAM rather than removing it to databases on separate disk drives. Keeping it at the cached layer means not only that it can be retained in its original format but also that it can be searched, found, retrieved, and processed at much higher rates than data kept on disks, particularly when dealing with large amounts of data. In-memory computing has been made possible by a combination of factors: an increase in computer processing speeds, alongside a decrease in prices for RAM memory storage.
This bulletin is one of a series of papers from ECAR working groups designed to help institutional leaders learn about and understand the implications of emerging technologies in higher education. These technologies have been identified as the “Top 10 Confusing Technologies” in the ECAR report Higher Education’s Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2015. Other papers and related resources are available at the research hub for Higher Education’s Top 10 Strategic Technologies for 2015.