Opinion

Opinion

• GDPR privacy concerns still brewing on law's first birthday

  The first year of the much-debated EU data protection rule was subdued. High-profile fines for privacy breaches have yet to come, but regulators are starting to take action.  Continue Reading

• 5 trends driving the big data evolution

  The speedy evolution of big data technologies is connected to five trends, including practical applications of machine learning and cheap, abundantly available compute resources.  Continue Reading

• GDPR compliance requirements drive new winds of data privacy

  Hello, GDPR. May 25 is the witching hour for enforcement of the EU's much-discussed GDPR compliance requirements -- and it's a harbinger of more changes to come.  Continue Reading

• U.S. data protection laws fall short in the age of big data

  Data breaches and a history of data abuse led the EU to adopt GDPR, but it might take massive scale data security crises for the U.S. to legislate similar data protection laws.  Continue Reading

• IoT, edge computing spawn new security issues

  As real-time big data increasingly hitches up to internet of things, edge computing power and fog nodes, a whole new layer of security threats emerges.  Continue Reading

• Data managers should study up on GPU deep learning

  As GPU deep learning becomes more common, data managers will have to navigate several new layers of complexity in their quest to build or buy suitable data infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Machine learning, IoT bring big changes to data management systems

  Companies are using big data systems, deep learning and machine learning techniques to drive software advances. To go even further, their data management systems must also evolve.  Continue Reading

• From all the data chaos emerges big data value

  Businesses spend millions of dollars to collect, mine, prep and analyze data to gain an edge in the marketplace. Yet, they have a hard time determining big data's actual value.  Continue Reading

• A strong metadata management process eases big data woes

  Big data often comes with big data management problems. Clean, well-defined metadata can make the difference in analyzing big data and delivering actionable business intelligence.  Continue Reading

• Digital disruption shapes big data infrastructure, data engineering

  In the face of burgeoning digital disruption, startups and established companies alike are responding with changes to their big data architectures and data engineering processes.  Continue Reading

• Making connections: Big data algorithms walk a thin line

  Big data algorithms are at the heart of some travel snafus of late. Increasingly, data analytics teams need to look deeper into how algorithms work and the data on which they feed.  Continue Reading

• Look for advances in serving the Hadoop data scientist

  To date, the Hadoop data scientist has had to be a superhero, with a mix of data engineering, administration and analysis skills. Self-service tools will change that, but not overnight.  Continue Reading

• Don't wait until it's too late to build a data governance model

  As companies amass data from multiple sources, they lose control over data quality and accuracy. Like it or not, it's time to halt the data free-for-all and apply data governance.  Continue Reading

• Data managers apply data governance principles on the sly

  Data needs to be governed, but data management teams increasingly are approaching governance in subtle ways to avoid being seen by business users as the data police.  Continue Reading

• BI data governance can take lessons from public sector practices

  When it comes to governance of business intelligence data, the private sector can learn valuable lessons from the public sector's data management practices.  Continue Reading

• Database bottlenecks put applications at risk if left untreated

  Slowdowns in database processing can put a big crimp in business applications -- a corporate malady that database performance management tools are designed to help remedy.  Continue Reading

• Data engineering needs DevOps to navigate big data ecosystem

  For an open source strategy to work, applications based on big data ecosystem components must be hardened to run in production. DevOps could be an important part of that.  Continue Reading

• Amazon Web Services history set the stage for cloud data grab

  Seeing the future is hard, as a look into Amazon Web Services history can show. Now, though, it's clear that the cloud leader seems ready to take a bigger piece of the data management pie.  Continue Reading

• Big data pipeline drives change in Hadoop architecture, development

  A move to fast data analytics and real-time processing could bring change to the big data pipeline. Microservices are edging into a mostly monolithic Hadoop domain.  Continue Reading

• Hadoop architectures propel wider move to data-driven analytics

  With Hadoop reaching several 10-year milestones, proponents laud the big data framework for making organizations more data-driven. And there's some merit in what they're saying.  Continue Reading

• Big data and analytics meet the year of unpredictability

  This year has come up short on predictability. That's the backdrop as a KPMG study shows CEOs seeking more trust in big data and analytics.  Continue Reading

• Systems infrastructure for deep learning software in flux

  New approaches to hardware infrastructure are being put forward to address the challenges of running deep learning algorithms and other heavy-duty artificial intelligence applications.  Continue Reading

• MapReduce(d) in the eyes of many Hadoop systems users

  New technologies are augmenting -- and in some cases replacing -- the core components of Hadoop. Welcome to the new, not-so-settled reality of the big data era.  Continue Reading

• The Weather Co. buy boosts IBM big data analytics push

  IBM's planned purchase of The Weather Co.'s data operations may be a bellwether event from which data professionals can learn.  Continue Reading

• Negotiating your way through the big data BI gauntlet

  Big data analytics tools are more accessible and easier to use now than ever before, but factors such as product performance and corporate culture still enter into the decision-making process.  Continue Reading

• Big data applications to drive Walmart reboot

  We may have outlived the era of killer apps in some part defined by Walmart, but Hadoop big data applications may help the giant's quest for more growth.  Continue Reading

• NoSQL technology still prepping for wide enterprise entry

  NoSQL database technology is built for processing speed and data flexibility. But it needs a fuller feature set and more skilled workers to make it big in enterprise applications.  Continue Reading

• Take on cloud-to-cloud integration, and enjoy the results

  Getting business and IT systems to communicate is no easy task -- throw in cloud apps, and it gets harder still. But sharing data today is not an option.  Continue Reading

• SQL-on-Hadoop roots expose myth of 'DevOps Genius at work'

  This editor has waxed poetic on the idea of the 'DevOps Genius' enough. However, a look at the history of SQL-on-Hadoop in big data analytics gives the lie to that notion.  Continue Reading

• With database management tools, never settle

  They're the heart of it all, pumping data to applications and business processes. But the sheer number of products on the market can boggle any mind.  Continue Reading

• Are your business applications in the cloud?

  The crystal ball says business applications will be in the cloud -- someday. That may be. But not all organizations are ready to put them there.  Continue Reading

• Apache Spark meets the PDP-11 -- in the end, it's just processing

  At times, it seems a Hadoop usurper, but the open source Spark processing engine is best viewed as another step on the long road of computing technology.  Continue Reading

• Tailor your big data strategy with role-specific analytics

  Organizations will try to supercharge their mobile systems with big data -- but giving users access to that much info won't work. For a powerful big data strategy, they need to get specific.  Continue Reading

• Data management plan with integration focus drives healthy analytics

  Don't let the buzz around analytics fool you. Solid data management capabilities are required to enable advanced analytics, as an example from the healthcare sector attests.  Continue Reading

• Facebook experiment points to data ethics hurdles in digital research

  A controversial Facebook research study that came to light this year provides fodder for discussions on the ethical issues involved in digital experimentation efforts.  Continue Reading

• Find your way with big data and the cloud

  Companies are trying to pinpoint where on their cloud business maps to put their ever-growing data sets -- but they need to first locate a business purpose.  Continue Reading

• MapReduce redux, or How Hadoop spent its summer vacation

  Hadoop buzz dimmed down during summer's dog days. Its old pal MapReduce is somewhat to blame.  Continue Reading

• Is a second machine age on the way, driven by big data?

  MIT's Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee see elements that may betoken another machine age, including big data and advances in predictive analytics. And it might not be a mirage.  Continue Reading

• Big data cloud is changing familiar database tech tune

  New cloud database applications that increasingly fall into the "big-data-intensive" category are shaking up the usual build-or-buy soliloquy.  Continue Reading

• NoSQL database system, no problem?

  The slew of databases designed to handle the reams of data being produced today hold an allure, for sure. But the IT problem you’re trying to solve comes first -- or you could be in for it.  Continue Reading

• Access vs. privacy: Information ethics issues confront data pros

  Questions about data ethics have come more to the fore for frontline practitioners in the wake of the NSA data-collection revelations and other news.  Continue Reading

• For IBM Watson, no easy answers on commercial cognitive computing

  When IBM's Watson analytics system bested 'Jeopardy!' champs in 2011, the world cheered. Now IBM must up its game to make Watson a commercial success.  Continue Reading

• Slew of disparate NoSQL databases vie to displace RDBMSs, fit by fit

  There's a wide variety of products in the NoSQL ranks, many built to fit specific purposes. That makes comparing and sorting them a daunting task for prospective users.  Continue Reading

• Security services company uses MapR HBase to calm data downpour

  Solutionary Inc. deployed a system based on Hadoop and its companion HBase database to help manage large amounts of log data for detecting network security threats.  Continue Reading

• Hadoop role eyed in mainframe modernization -- and migration

  Hadoop clusters threaten the data warehousing status quo. Signs show that they may also bring a new twist to mainframe modernization and migration.  Continue Reading

• Google's big data infrastructure: Don't try this at home?

  Google's Jeromy Carriere spoke about the search engine giant's big data infrastructure at a recent TDWI meeting. Should it influence other efforts?  Continue Reading

• Lucene search meets Hadoop: Surfacing the 'unknown unknowns'

  Software vendors increasingly are pairing up Hadoop systems and Lucene search technology as users seek better data searchability to aid in the big data analytics process.  Continue Reading

• Deploying big data software calls for more than idle talk

  There's real value to be gained from big data projects, if organizations can get past all the hype and look at big data tools with a realistic eye.  Continue Reading

• Storm-on-YARN points to a growing dichotomy on Hadoop applications

  Yahoo's Storm-on-YARN is an interesting technology. But it highlights the gap between enterprise Hadoop needs and those of top-rung Web companies.  Continue Reading

• Increase big data business value with a strong BI team

  As big data technologies make it big, the BI and data warehousing teams that deliver insight are taking a backseat in making business decisions.  Continue Reading

• Stars of the next IT revolution: People

  Big data has turned the IT world upside down, starting an IT revolution. Once technology was the only answer; now the right people is another.  Continue Reading

• Marketing, advertising set the tone for big data cloud agenda

  The merger of ad agencies Omnicom and Publicis, and marketing tools from Teradata and Kognitio, point to a growing focus on big data in the cloud.  Continue Reading