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        Mark Smith's Analyst Perspectives

        Big data has become a big deal as the technology industry has invested tens of billions of dollars to create the next generation of databases and data processing. After the accompanying flood of new categories and marketing terminology from vendors, most in the IT community are now beginning to understand the potential of big data. Ventana Research thoroughly covered the evolving state of the big data and information optimization sector in 2014 and will continue this research in 2015 and...

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        Topics: Big Data, MapR, Predictive Analytics, SAP, Human Capital, Mulesoft, Operational Performance Management (OPM), Paxata, SnapLogic, Splunk, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Cloudera, Hortonworks, IBM, Informatica, Information Management, Operational Intelligence, Oracle, Business Performance Management (BPM), Customer Performance Management (CPM), Datawatch, Dell Boomi, Financial Performance Management (FPM), Information Management (IM), Information Optimization, Sales Performance Management (SPM), Savi, Sumo Logic, Supply Chain Performance Management (SCPM), Tamr, Trifacta, Strata+Hadoop

        Big data has great promise for many organizations today, but they also need technology to facilitate integration of various data stores, as I recently pointed out. Our big data integration benchmark research makes it clear that organizations are aware of the need to integrate big data, but most have yet to address it: In this area our Performance Index analysis, which assesses competency and maturity of organizations, concludes that only 13 percent reach the highest of four levels, Innovative....

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        Topics: Big Data, Operational Performance Management (OPM), Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, CIO, Cloud Computing, Data Integration, Business Performance Management (BPM), Information Applications (IA), Information Management (IM), Strata+Hadoop

        I had the pleasure of attending Cloudera’s recent analyst summit. Presenters reviewed the work the company has done since its founding six years ago and outlined its plans to use Hadoop to further empower big data technology to support what I call information optimization. Cloudera’s executive team has the co-founders of Hadoop who worked at Facebook, Oracle and Yahoo when they developed and used Hadoop. Last year they brought in CEO Tom Reilly, who led successful organizations at ArcSight, HP...

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        Topics: Big Data, Teradata, Zoomdata, Business Intelligence, Cloudera, Hortonworks, IBM, Location Intelligence, Operational Intelligence, Oracle, Hive, Impala, Information Applications (IA), Information Management (IM), IT Performance Management (ITPM), Strata+Hadoop

        Cisco Systems has announced its intent to acquire Composite Software, which provides data virtualization to help IT departments interconnect data and systems; the purchase is scheduled to complete in early August. Cisco of course is known for its ability to interconnect just about anything with its networking technology; this acquisition will help it connect data better across networks. Over the last decade Composite had been refining the science of virtualizing data but had reached the peak of...

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        Topics: Big Data, Networking, Operational Performance Management (OPM), Business Analytics, Cloud Computing, Data Management, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Information Management, Business Performance Management (BPM), Cisco, Composite Software, Data, Data Virtualization, Information Applications (IA), Information Management (IM), Information Optimization, Internet of Everything, IT Performance Management (ITPM), Strata+Hadoop

        Teradata recently gave me a technology update and a peek into the future of its portfolio for big data, information management and business analytics at its annual technology influencer summit. The company continues to innovate and build upon its Teradata 14 releases and its new processing technology. Since my last analysis of Teradata’s big data strategy, it has embraced technologies like Hadoop with its Teradata Aster Appliance, which won our 2012 Technology Innovation Award in Big Data....

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        Topics: Big Data, MicroStrategy, SAS, Tableau, Teradata, Customer Excellence, Operational Performance Management (OPM), Analytics, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, CIO, Cloud Computing, In-Memory Computing, Location Intelligence, Operational Intelligence, CMO, Customer Performance Management (CPM), Discovery, Information Applications (IA), Information Management (IM), Intelligent Memory, Teradata Aster, Strata+Hadoop

        I recently attended the annual Informatica analyst summit to get the latest on that company’s strategy and plans. The data integration provider offers a portfolio of information management software that supports today’s big data and information optimization needs. Informatica is busy making changes in its presentation to the market and its marketing and sales efforts. New executives, including new CMO Marge Breya, are working to communicate what is possible with Informatica’s product portfolio,...

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        Topics: Big Data, Data Quality, Master Data Management, Salesforce.com, MDM, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Data Governance, Data Integration, Data Management, Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), Informatica, Information Management, Location Intelligence, Operational Intelligence, CEP, Informatica Cloud, Information Management (IM), IT Performance Management (ITPM), Strata+Hadoop

        Data is a commodity in business. To become useful information, data must be put into a specific business context. Without information, today’s businesses can’t function. Without the right information, available to the right people at the right time, an organization cannot make the right decisions nor take the right actions, nor compete effectively and prosper. Information must be crafted and made available to employees, customers, suppliers, partners and consumers in the forms they want it at...

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        Topics: Big Data, Analytics, Business Analytics, Cloud Computing, In-Memory Computing, Information Management, Information Applications (IA), Information Management (IM), Information Optimization, Strata+Hadoop, Digital Technology

        The big-data landscape just got a little more interesting with the release of EMC’s Pivotal HD distribution of HadoopPivotal HD takes Apache Hadoop and extends it with a data loader and command center capabilities to configure, deploy, monitor and manage Hadoop. Pivotal HD, from EMC’s Pivotal Labs division, integrates with Greenplum Database, a massively parallel processing (MPP) database from EMC’s Greenplum division, and uses HDFS as the storage technology. The combination should help sites...

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        Topics: Big Data, EMC, MapR, HAWQ, HDFS, Pivotal HD, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Cloudera, Hortonworks, Location Intelligence, Cirro, Hive, Information Applications (IA), Information Management (IM), Tableau Software, Strata+Hadoop

        Business is starting to realize that taking advantage of big data is not just technically feasible but affordable by organizations of all sizes. However, as outlined in our agenda on big data and information optimization, the technology must be engineered to the information needs of business. Hortonworks has been steadily advancing its big data technology called Hadoop and contributing its developments back to the Apache Software Foundation for a range of projects. The company performs...

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        Topics: Big Data, Microsoft, Talend, Teradata, Simba, Strata Conference, Business Analytics, Cloud Computing, Hortonworks, Informatica, HDP, Hive, Information Applications (IA), Information Management (IM), Tez, Strata+Hadoop

        LucidWorks addresses the growing volume of information now being stored in the enterprise and in big data with two products aimed at the enterprise with search technology. Though you may not be familiar with LucidWorks (previously known as Lucid Imagination), the company has for many years contributed to Apache Lucene, an open source search project, and commercialized and supported for it for business.

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        Topics: Big Data, MapR, Business Analytics, Business Intelligence, Business Mobility, Cloud Computing, Cloudera, Hortonworks, Customer Performance Management (CPM), Information Management (IM), Sales Performance Management (SPM), Search, Workforce Performance Management (WPM), Strata+Hadoop
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