HP Vertica and IDOL: Just Three Short Plus Years in the Making
March 31, 2015
I read an article from the outfit that relies on folks like Dave Schubmehl for expertise. The write up is “HP Links Vertica and IDOL Seeking Better Unstructured Data Analysis.” But I quite like the subtitle because it provides a timeline; to wit:
The company built a connector server for the products, which it acquired separately in 2011.
Let’s see that is just about three years plus a few months. The story reminded me of Rip Van Winkle who woke to a different world when he emerged from his slumber. The Sleepy Hollow could be a large technology company in the act of performing mitosis in order to generate [a] excitement, [b] money, and [c] the appearance of progress. I wonder if the digital Sleepy Hollow is located near Hanover Street? I will have to investigate that parallel.
What’s a few years of intellectual effort in a research “cave” when you are integrating software that is expected to generate billions of dollars in sales. Existing Vertica and Autonomy licensees are probably dancing in the streets.
The write up states:
Promising more thorough and timelier data analysis, Hewlett-Packard has released a software package that combines the company’s Vertica database with its IDOL data analysis platform. The HP Haven Connector Framework Server may allow organizations to study data sets that were too large or unwieldy to analyze before. The package provides “a mixture of statistical and contextual understanding,” of data, said Jeff Veis, HP vice president of marketing for big data. “You can pull in any form of data, and then do real-time high performance analysis.”
Hmm. “Promising” and “may allow” are interesting words and phrases. It seems as if the employer of Mr. Schubmehl is hedging on the HP assertions. I wonder, “Why?”
The idea is to put content into a columnar database. This requires what used to be called “transformation.” A dark art practiced for decades by many firms and anyone who tries to make use of some of the new data management systems.
The other piece of the HP puzzle is the $11 billion baby, Autonomy IDOL and its DRE (Digital Reasoning Engine). If the effort at HP seems redundant, it is because I just did not understand how Autonomy operated before HP acquired the company, lost its founder, and discovered litigation as an art form.
The payoff for this effort puts the customer in a “haven.” Get it? Safe “haven”.
The article reported:
The connector used to link IDOL with Vertica is one of 50 enhancements that the company has made to its Haven portfolio of data analysis software and services.
Whoa, Nellie!
What HP offers is a connector. Aren’t these available from Oracle (OutsideIn), Salesforce (Entropy Soft), Kapow Tech (I am not sure who owns this outfit now), and a number of other companies.
Connectors, I assume, are serious magic for HP. But in the report about Autonomy I wrote years ago, I described Autonomy’s connectors. These allow IDOL to ingest a range of content in a large number of file formats. For a free copy of this report, point your browser to www.xenky.com/vendor-profiles. No ads, no pop ups, and no hassles. Just a report.
I wonder if HP will be able to sell billions of dollars worth of this Vertica-IDOL mashup? A more difficult question is, “Will HP be able to generate sustainable revenues once it does close a deal?”
There are a number of options available from companies such as IBM (HP’s twin) to Amazon (the WalMart of online services) to the Google (online ads, balloons, and plans for the enterprise market). Oh, and there is open source. But remember, HP consumed three years immersed in deep, slogging work.
How long will it be for the competition to jump in? Bad question. The competition is already there. Rip Van Winkle had to adjust when he woke up. HP may need a course correction as well. There is that Headless Horseman association with the Ripster and Sleepy Hollow. Good words “sleepy” and “hollow.” Promises are often hollow. I need a nap.
Stephen E Arnold, March 31, 2015
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