Derrick, this is a very important development, both for startups in the big data ecosystem but also for enterprises in the early stages of planning and deploying solutions. Digital Signals are expanding at an incredible rate, especially in mobile – their importance and an emerging stack are examined in a recent report (Tuning into Consumers’ Digital Signals, free download at http://bit.ly/vFhYHd).

Interviews with enterprises last year revealed considerable pentup interest in Big Data solutions – however, issues of ownership, data silos, understanding, technical expertise and procurement policies were slowing adoption and deployment. Accel’s fund could help remove some of these obstacles.

Dr. Phil Hendrix, immr and GigaOm Pro analyst