IBM Makes Hadoop Quick and Easy with BigInsight
July 22, 2013
The article titled InfoSphere BigInsights on IBM promotes the use of Apache Hadoop, an open source software framework, with IBM’s BigInsight. Not only is the product free to download, but IBM offers BigInsight to simplify Hadoop for users. To begin, visit the Quick Start Edition page, with video tutorials that walk you through each step toward collecting insights from Big Data. The article explains,
“InfoSphere BigInsights can help you increase operational efficiency by augmenting your data warehouse environment. It can be used as a query-able archive, allowing you to store and analyze large volumes of multi-structured data without straining the data warehouse. It can be used as a pre-processing hub, helping you to explore your data, determine what is the most valuable, and extract that data cost-effectively. It can also allow for ad hoc analysis, giving you the ability to perform analysis on all of your data.”
IBM has managed to turn Hadoop into something resembling user-friendly. The complexity of Big Data scares many people, but IBM hopes to change that bias by allowing users a hands-on learning experience without any data capacity or time limits. The ability to explore large data sets and how to extract information from them is enabled through features including Text analytics, BigSheets, Development Tools and Management Capabilities.
Chelsea Kerwin, July 22, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Kapow Reinforces It Is a Big Data Platform
July 21, 2013
Short honk: Data integration, like search, is expanding. We noted a news release called “Kapow Software Quarterly Revenue Rises as Newly Acquired Customer Bookings and Subscriptions Fuel Growth.” The news release explains that a privately held firm is growing. The important point for me was this phrase: “a leading Big Data solution provider.”
The news release explains:
The Kapow Enterprise Big Data Integration Platform enables companies to integrate any cloud or on-premise data source using Kapow Software’s patented, intelligent integration workflows and Synthetic APIs™. Once the critical data is found and surgically extracted, Kapow Enterprise 9.2 delivers timely information to the workforce in an easily consumable form called Kapow Kapplets™ through an enterprise app library offering called the Kapow KappZone™. KappZones can be easily branded and distributed for employees to discover and use on any computing device they choose.
The Kapow Web site points out that the company’s business includes:
- Content integration
- Content migration
- Legacy application integration
- Enterprise search.
The company also offers three aforementioned products: Katalyst, Kapplets, and KappZone. I find this semantic embrace fascinating and indicative of a trend in which vendors pretty much do anything related to information which is, it seems, Big Data.
Stephen E Arnold, July 21, 2013
Sponsored by Xenky
Rainstor Claims Hadoop Secure Even for Large Banks
July 20, 2013
The article titled RainStor Adds Enterprise-Grade Security, Search to Hadoop on ITWorld discusses the database specialist’s answer to the Big Data problem. What problem, you ask? When your clients number among the world’s largest banks, security and speedy search are of paramount importance. The article explains,
“When you put Hadoop into production, especially if you’re a telco or a large investment or retail bank, you suddenly have to think about the sensitivity and importance of the data,” says John Bantleman, CEO of RainStor. “If you lose a webclick, nobody cares. But if you allow unauthorized users access to high-value data … the requirements are just so much more rigorous. You need good authentication. You need to manage encryption keys and have an understanding around how the data is used.”
Rainstor’s data compression technology reduces the storage footprint by up to 97%, and they believe their enterprise-grade security and search for Hadoop will solve past problems. Data encryption, data masking, audit trail and tamper proofing are all new security features. The search aspect was also a priority (another search Hadoop play). Rainstor claims that its search capability performs at speeds 10 to 100 times faster than standard SQL by quickly dividing data into subsets, which analysts can further explore.
Chelsea Kerwin, July 20, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Big Data Might Not Be for All Businesses
July 16, 2013
Data professional and Connexica blogger Richard Lewis is beginning to suspect that small and medium companies are being swindled. In “Is Big Data All That?” he concludes that only large corporations really benefit from the trend, and that for everyone else it is a bunch of ballyhoo. Interesting assertion. Lewis explains:
“I find all of the current hype around big data and the promotion of technologies that require dozens of servers, armies of techies and even then professors of programming to get at the data a bit of a scam. At the end of the day it’s about making money, customer satisfaction and self-improvement so it’s not size that matters it’s being able to zero in on the facts… finding the information that matters. I am concentrating on finding out the facts and masking out the noise. With all this ‘big data’ we are creating a maelstrom where it’s increasingly difficult to see the facts through the mist. Big data is for the likes of Coca cola for McDonald’s for Walmart. For everyone else big data is noise. Concentrate on getting the most out of what we have before seeking solace from social chatter.”
Lewis is not the first to question the push for all companies to embrace big data. Surely there are some smaller entities for which the technology is helpful, but perhaps more for which it is a waste of resources. Are businesses harming themselves by jumping on the bandwagon without a clear idea of what they expect to gain? Does data extracted from social media really hold valuable insights for every organization?
Maybe companies that have not yet taken the big data plunge would do well to step back, and closely consider their unique needs before going forward.
Cynthia Murrell, July 16, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Big Data Startup Parade Begins with These 14 Companies
July 14, 2013
Business Insider posted an article titled 14 Big Data Startups You’re Going to be Hearing A Lot More About on June 4, 2013. The article explores the big data companies teetering on the edge of wild success and fame. The companies named include WibiData, Hadapt, Sqrrl, Precog, Datameer, HStreaming, Alpine Data Labs and Kontagent. The article claims,
“Google, Facebook, Amazon and other web giants have harnessed big data to solve some of their biggest tech challenges. Now many of these engineers are setting out on their own with startups. Some are focused on analytics. Some are working on in-memory databases, which do all their work on data stored in memory instead of hard drives. Others are casting their lot with NoSQL, a new kind of database that spreads processing and storage across multiple servers and storage systems.”
For example, Data Gravity, founded in 2012 with headquarters in Nashua, NH and star Paula Long, makes big data more affordable by embedding the tech into storage systems. The implications posed by these startups for IBM SPSS, SAS, Palantir and Digital Reasoning are as yet unclear. VC’s certainly seem optimistic, with almost all of the startups mentioned raking in millions of dollars from various backers.
Chelsea Kerwin, July 14, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Hootsuite and Attensity Integration Promises Customer Service Breakthroughs
July 12, 2013
The article on Hootsource titled Why Having a “Big Data Strategy is a Bad Idea by Catherine H Van Zuylen, a VP at Attensity, addresses Hootsuite’s launching a new integration with Attensity. The article claims that the combination of the two will create the ultimate customer service machine. Companies can basically eavesdrop on their customers on social media and learn where the conversation is going before it gets there. The article explains,
“For example, you may hear about someone complaining that your new device got so hot in someone’s hand that they claim to have been burned. This information should immediately be routed to legal (for determination of veracity and risk), to engineering (to alert them to start testing for and diagnosing the issue) and to customer service… It might also be time for marketing to pull that “The hottest phone this summer” marketing campaign.”
Another article, Hootsuite Launches Attensity Integration to Automate Enterprise Customer Service on Market Wired, explains the potential windfall of marketing intelligence now possible. Ryan Homes, a CEO of Hootsuite, stated that the partnership will enable “the world’s largest brands to cut through the noice on social media to engage with their customers.” The integration is certainly an interesting way to boost Attensity’s impact as competition increases.
Chelsea Kerwin, July 12, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
The Future of Data Analysis Platforms
July 11, 2013
Large consulting and accounting firm Information Management expresses its views on analytics in, “Big Data: Rethinking the Platform.” Writer Narendra Mulani sketches out a common problem for today’s companies: incorporating new analysis technologies into existing infrastructures. Some try to forgo the new by translating all data into a structured format before analysis but, he explains, that frustrating path just ends up wasting time and money. It is better to accept from the beginning that your system will need an overhaul to make the most of the big data trend.
Companies can approach their redesign a number of ways, stresses the write-up. Virtualized and consolidated data centers have become popular, but Mulani suspects another model might supplant that approach. He writes:
“In particular, a platform consisting of large numbers of smaller, commodity servers handling storage locally is highly scalable. To expand capacity, the business just adds more of these smaller servers, which are relatively inexpensive, rather than having to upgrade enterprise services and storage equipment at great cost. . . . In practice, in order to deliver the most value to the business, chief technology officers and their teams will need to operate with both [old and new] models, while ensuring their data flows to the right places at the right time. This hybrid model will enable businesses to capture the benefits of new big data platforms without giving up their existing architectures. Indeed, some of the technologies that power the new will also be used to invigorate what is already in place.”
The article goes on to enumerate some things to consider with such a hybrid approach, and notes that what works for one organization will not meet the needs of others. Designing a system requires a balance between development costs and potential benefits for each company. For Mulani, one central principle guides the process: “IT should be an enabler of business results.” It is a simple concept that nevertheless eludes some decision makers.
Cynthia Murrell, July 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Another Big Data Startup With Big Money
July 7, 2013
How many times have we heard about big data startups getting a massive funding investment in the past year? The number is so high it almost reaches the amount of funding these companies are received. Taking a look at the Wall Street Journal Digits Blog we have another one, “Stealth Data Startup RelateIQ Raises $29 Million.” After a cunning pun about being hidden for two years, the article explains how RelateIQ is becoming a big name in big data:
“The startup, which is now valued at $100 million, is backed by Accel Partners, an early investor in Facebook, Allen & Co., Battery Ventures, and others part of Facebook’s network, including co-founder Dustin Moskovitz. It also is being advised by technology gurus including Bill Campbell, the former executive coach of Steve Jobs, and DJ Patil, the former chief scientist of LinkedIn.”
RelateIQ is part of the new wave of big data startups that specialize in enterprise companies. Enterprise companies are interested in managing the data from old storage towers to social networks with the hopes for better business relationships. RelateIQ’s funding is a major leap for a small startup. Just wait for more money to poor in less well-funded outfits.
Whitney Grace, July 07, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
LucidWorks Offers Enterprise Analytics Webinar
July 5, 2013
LucidWorks is offering an exciting series of webinars this July as part of their commitment to training and service. Check out their next webinar, “Operationalize Enterprise Analytics – Similarity Search at Any Scale.”
The introduction to the upcoming session begins:
“How do you introduce big data analytics into your daily business, foster rapid adoption, and ensure a return on your investment? Similarity Search provides a foundation for enterprise analytics that can be operationalized by delivering advanced, automated data exploration capability. Learn how Similarity Search can significantly increase productivity across a broad spectrum of data search use cases.”
A dream team of experts is collaborating including Grant Ingersoll of LucidWorks, Christine Connors of Knowledgent, and Ted Dunning of MapR. These solutions have formed recent partnerships and collaborations in order to further the case of open source search across the enterprise. Fill out the simple form to register for this free session and instructions will be sent via email for viewing. Keep an eye on LucidWorks and their training hub, SearchHub.org for ongoing training opportunities.
Emily Rae Aldridge, July 5, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
HPs Big Data Blend
July 2, 2013
HP leverages several analytics acquisitions in one fell swoop, ZDNet reports in, “HP Launches Big Data Platform, Integrates Acquired Analytics Parts.” The company revealed the new platform, HAVEn, at its recent Discover conference in Las Vegas. The write-up states:
“HAVEn combines technologies from HP Autonomy, Vertica, ArcSight and Operations Management along with Hadoop. Most of those parts were acquired by HP in recent years. HP is betting that more than 700 connectors to HAVEn will help customers avoid lock-in via an open architecture. HP also has support for multiple virtualization technologies and optimized hardware. In other words, HP is selling you a big data stack from one vendor with the ability to integrate other analytical tools.
“The first big data effort built on HAVEn is HP Operations Analytics, which is a combination of IT operational data from tools from ArcSight and the company’s business service management products. Third party data sources will also be ingested. HP is rounding out the effort with analytics services.”
It sounds like HAVEn might be more than the sum of its parts; kudos to the company for a strategy well played. HP is giving potential customers a free taste with the Vertica Community Edition, which will analyze one terabyte of data gratis before entreating you to upgrade. It may well be worth checking out.
Cynthia Murrell, July 02, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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