The market for big data platforms could be in for a strong 2014, as a growing number of enterprises look to deploy applications and services that make increased use of analytics and automation. Leading vendors in the space such as DataStax, MongoDB and Basho, a Seagate Cloud Builder Alliance partner, have teamed up with the open data services provider GoGrid to capitalize on growing business demand and ensure that customers get the uptime and reliability that they require.
Big data market on track for strong growth
The market for big data products and services topped $18 billion in 2013, according to the recent Wikibon report "Big Data Vendor Revenue and Market Forecast 2013-2017." Services and hardware each accounted for roughly 40 percent of vendor revenue, with the remainder coming from software. Overall, the market was up nearly 60 percent year-over-year. Growth is expected to slow this year, to 53 percent, but all big data services, hardware and software could total more than $50 billion by 2017.
What's driving enterprise uptake of analytics? Privacy and security have gotten better, while services such as Yet Another Resource Negotiator have made it easier for companies to move beyond simple batch processing and tap into more advanced Hadoop features. While the first version of Hadoop was beset by technical issues and limitations, the updated framework may be ready to make significant inroads in the enterprise.
Organizations now have more options for big data managed services pertaining to infrastructure-as-a-service and networking, delivered through Hadoop platforms. The open source nature of Hadoop has also enabled numerous contributions and ongoing technical refinements, suggesting that similar projects such as OpenStack could eventually reach a similar level of acceptance.
"With technical enhancements in v2, Hadoop has transitioned from a batch-processing model to a multi-use platform for crunching data in many more ways, making it ready for real-time big data applications," explained CenturyLink Technology Solutions senior director Milan Vaclavik in a column for Forbes.
At the same time, better marketing from vendors and a rise in partnerships and reseller agreements have given buyers a wider range of options. Technical features are important, but enterprises need easier ways to find solutions that fit their specific requirements.
GoGrid partners with Basho, other leading database vendors to tackle big data
For example, GoGrid recently announced partnerships with a number of leading vendors in the database/big data space. Customers will gain access to the 1-Button Deploy orchestration process so that they can easily evaluate leading technologies such as Basho Riak.
GoGrid's ODS ecosystem provides a flexible, open alternative to proprietary platform-as-a-service offerings. Users can find an optimal solution and enjoy high performance and lower costs. The streamlined deployment reduces a process that once took days weeks to just a few minutes. Vendors such as Basho have expressed optimism that GoGrid's platform will alert enterprises to scalable yet intuitive architectures that enable them to get the best return on investment with big data projects.
"Unlike traditional database models, Basho's distributed Riak system meets the needs of today's flexible, data-driven enterprises," stated Bobby Patrick, executive vice president and CMO at Basho. "By working with progressive, open-community partners like GoGrid, we can collectively push the envelope to balance highly scalable infrastructures with operational simplicity – a must for large enterprise customers with revenue critical applications, as well as for fast growing Web, mobile and social businesses that depend on 100 percent availability."
GoGrid currently has more than 15,000 customers and 600,000 deployed virtual machines. In addition to Basho, it is working with MongoDB and DataStax in giving enterprises the widest range of big data platform options.
