An analytic database has built-in features that enable data storage and retrieval for use with business analytics applications and services. These features include the ability to dynamically add columns and rows, modify schemas, search data through several attributes and conduct in-memory loading of data in a compressed format. An analytic database also provides faster query response times and is more scalable than standard databases.

Unlike a typical database, which stores data per transaction or process, an analytic database stores business metrics data. Several database applications use analytic database principles, including data warehouse appliance, columnar database, in-memory database, massively parallel processing (MPP) database and online analytical processing (OLAP) database.