Data-warehouse providers are quickly adding Hadoop distributions, or even their own versions of Hadoop, into their architecture, adding further cost advantages to collections of extremely large data sets. Finding the talent to manage this newly converged environment will not be easy, but it presents tremendous opportunity for companies willing to take some risk. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
In the tsunami of experimentation, investment, and deployment of systems that analyze big data, vendors have seemingly been trying approaches at two extremes—either embracing the Hadoop ecosystem or building increasingly sophisticated query capabilities into database management system (DBMS) engines.For some use cases, there appears to be room for a third approach that lies between the extremes and borrows from the best of each. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
“Social customer service” refers to those services that provide customer support via social media channels. Providing such services is no longer merely a niche or specialty sideline. Challengers, or disruptors who were early with the new technology, are working to expand and integrate their offerings into enterprise systems and processes. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Companies are rushing to embrace the promise of big data to understand both their businesses and the ways in which customers interact with them. But effective data-based decisions are not made in response to simplistic data reporting; they are made in response to considered and ongoing data analysis. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
After almost three years of operating in stealth mode, Think Big Analytics is stepping out to consult with and educate more companies on big data analytics. Read more »
The last quarter of 2012 saw the rise of cloud-based databases, the cloud awakening of software giants such as HP, and many cloud outages that have left question marks. Enterprises found more IT dollars, and they will focus on the cloud for much of that spending. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Helping to redefine this talent management is workforce analytics, a powerful combination of highly sophisticated computer algorithms and predictive models. Linking this market to business success can help HR professionals convince corporate bean counters to bankroll the crunching of human-capital data. Read more »
Besides the skyrocketing growth of data itself, there are several key technology trends we will be watching in 2013. That list includes a renaissance in the database market, next-generation SaaS-based BI and visualization tools, and data warehousing as a service. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
With investment souring on consumer-focused companies, 2013 will be more about the social enterprise, with a different set of companies driving innovation and perhaps a little disruption. Look for the likes of Salesforce.com, Jive Software, and other enterprise players to make headlines in the new year. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Swipely, a startup launched by former Tellme co-founder Angus Davis, has been through a couple of business models but it is now finding a sweet spot with its combination of card processing, data analytics and marketing and loyalty. Read more »
New York-based data analytics startup SumAll announced that it has raised $6 million in a Series A round led by Battery Ventures and including Wellington Partners. Launched last year, SumAll helps smaller businesses analyze and visualize a comprehensive set of their data. Read more »
The delivery of real-time query makes Hadoop accessible to more users — and by orders of magnitude. Its significance goes well beyond delivering a database management system (DBMS) kind of query engine that other products have had for decades. Rather, Hadoop as a platform now supports a whole new paradigm of analytics. With the introduction of real-time query, Hadoop has taken a major step toward unifying the majority of big data analytic applications onto one platform. This research paper targets information technology professionals who have in-depth experience with traditional RDBMS and seek to understand where the Hadoop ecosystem and big data analytics fit. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The usual suspects Amazon and VMware made significant announcements in cloud in the third quarter, while Hadoop remained the talk of the town in big data. Emerging trends in software-defined networking and flash storage stirred up lots of M&A and venture investment in the quarter. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Sumall, a New York data analytics startup targeting small and medium sized online stores, mined its data to determine how time on site translates into revenue, which it says can be a helpful indicator in e-commerce. Read more »
Listening platforms — or social media monitoring, analysis, and engagement tools — are bringing massive amounts of new information to businesses’ marketing departments. These tools are also leading the way in the growth of social media information and access throughout organizations so that customers’ wants and needs can be better understood and, presumably, satisfied. This report analyzes how the adoption of listening platforms is transforming marketing departments, their relationships with central IT, and the core systems that run the enterprise. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
In cloud and big data, the second quarter of 2012 featured several high-profile deals and product launches that could reshape the marketplace for everyone. Google and Microsoft launched Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings, software-defined networking took off, and all eyes stayed fixed on the continuing promise of data analytics. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
A major limitation of big data is that the technologies used to analyze it are not easy to learn. It doesn’t have to be that way, and technologies like data visualization and cloud-based tools target less-sophisticated users — from business users to receptionists to high school students. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Imagine that from a first date, you could predict how frequently a new beau might call you or what the warning signs of waning interest might be. That doesn’t exist yet for courtship, but Custora is trying to do something like it for commerce. Read more »
Launched in November by former Squarespace CEO Dane Atkinson, data analytics startup SumAll gives small- to medium-sized online businesses a much-needed leg up in understanding the real-time metrics that are having the biggest impact on their bottom line. Read more »
The quantified-self movement is a community of individuals deploying mobile health applications, fitness trackers and social media platforms to share information on their health behaviors. It’s an important movement to watch, as its growth has huge potential implications for the health care sector’s future evolution. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
There are now more than half a dozen commercial Hadoop distributions in the market, and almost every enterprise with big data challenges is tinkering with the Apache Foundation-licensed software. A new report examines the key disruptive trends shaping the Hadoop platform market. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
If your organization doesn’t have a strategy for big data now, you will need one in the future. Here we discuss the difference between big data and traditional business intelligence, as well as the considerations executives should take into account as they plan their big data strategies. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Five key technology sectors are enabling the smart city: smart grids, smart transport, smart water and waste management, smart building systems, and the enabling ICT platforms for the smart city. Key players like IT companies, telcos and utilities must learn how to harness those technologies, and quickly. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Key to understanding big data is to move beyond simply examining the technology for data storage and analytics engines. Organizations preparing for a data-centric economy should also examine the roles of data quality, data obesity and data markets in the future of modern enterprises. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
One solution to the big data skills shortage has been consulting firms that specialize in deploying big data systems companies need to make sense of their information. These companies will continue to play a vital role in helping us make sense of the the data deluge. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Big data now touches everything from enterprises to smart-meter startups, while Hadoop is fast becoming the leading tool to analyze that data, and debates around privacy abound. GigaOM Pro analysts offer insights on what to consider when it comes to big data decisions for your business. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The emergence of the big data phenomenon is fundamentally changing everything from the way companies operate to the way people interact to how the world deals with outbreaks of infectious diseases. Here we highlight 10 case studies illustrating how big data is changing the world. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
RSA says the way to handle security threats is by harnessing big data, but the tools aren’t out there yet for mainstream business ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
This report outlines the myriad issues at play in Facebook’s move, from examining how CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants to rewire the world to understanding the company’s infrastructure dependency. But from every angle, it’s clear the effects will ripple throughout the startup and tech communities. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
As utility industry trade show DistribuTECH wrapped up last Thursday, attendees got a peek at not only new product offerings — from smart thermostats to software platforms that manage smart meter data — but also the potential for what a utility of the future might look ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
If you’re like many of us, you’re already thinking over some New Year’s resolutions that will make you a better “you” in 2012. But how are the tech industries’ thought leaders approaching the new year? We asked 12 of them for their resolutions. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
How does the cloud market for the next year look? There will be no silver linings or lemonade. This research note, part of GigaOM Pro’s outlook for 2012, examines startups’ chances to challenge traditional enterprise IT practices, cloud pricing models, the true state of federated clouds, and how IT jobs will change in the coming months. Expect plenty of defensive M&A, cloud lock-in, phantom data discovery, outages, availability headaches, pricing confusion and job displacement over the next 12 months. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The smart grid industry’s focus is now shifting to the true purpose of the smart grid movement: applications that will improve the efficiency, reliability and versatility of the electric grid. This report analyzes six key smart grid application trends that will help shape the industry landscape in the years to come: distribution automation, data analytics, demand response, carbon management, home energy management and electric vehicles. The applications that prevail in this new arena will define the smart grid experience for industrial, commercial and residential customers. Along the way, new business opportunities that arise from these applications will become available for the providers of software, systems, devices and services, and enhance customer awareness and control of energy consumption. Companies mentioned in this report include Echelon, Google, EnerNOC, ZigBee and Microsoft. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
More sustainability software services have emerged in recent years than online dating sites, but the next trend for these companies is to turn to next-generation analytics tools to manage the massive of influx of real-time data emerging around ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
In a world of billion-dollar web companies and VC-backed startups trying to forever change human interaction via software, IBM tends to look a little staid. But don’t let its deliberate pace, legacy-software-mongering ways and suited executives fool you. If you pull back the covers, you’ll find ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
