The Challenge
The idea of the traditional data center being centered on relational database technology is quickly evolving. Many new data sources exist today that did not exist as little as 5 years ago. Devices such as active machine sensors on machinery, autos and aircraft, medical sensors, RFIDs, as well as social media and web click-through activity are creating tremendous volumes of mostly unstructured data, which cannot possibly be stored or analyzed in traditional RDMS’s.
These new data sources are pushing companies to explore the concepts of Big Data and Hadoop architecture, which is creating a new set of problems for corporate IT. Hadoop development and administration can be complicated and time-consuming. Developing the complex MapReduce programs to mine this data is a complicated and very specialized skill. Companies need to invest in training their existing personnel or hire people specializing in MapReduce programming and administration. This is the very reason many enterprises have been hesitant to invest in big data applications.
