What does "smart data access" enable in SAP HANA?

"Smart Data Access" in SAP HANA enables access to non-HANA database data, allowing users to perform queries on diverse data sources without needing to physically store that data within the HANA environment. This capability is crucial in scenarios where organizations have multiple data repositories, such as traditional databases, cloud services, or data lakes, and need a unified approach to analyze or fetch data across these platforms.

By leveraging Smart Data Access, businesses can enhance their data analytics by directly querying and integrating data from various sources in real-time. This eliminates data duplication and the overhead of maintaining separate datasets in HANA, promoting efficiency and reducing storage costs.

In contrast, the other options do not accurately represent the functionality of Smart Data Access. For instance, real-time data encryption isn't a feature specifically tied to data access but rather pertains to data security measures. Querying data across multiple HANA instances is handled through different mechanisms within HANA's architecture, not specifically through Smart Data Access. Lastly, automatic backup is unrelated to data access features; it pertains to data protection strategies.

Thus, option C encompasses the primary functionality of Smart Data Access, making it the correct answer.