An Update on Platfora: Great capability for enhancing clarity, agility, user self service and mission support from Big Data

By Bob Gourley

We have been tracking Platfora for quite a while. They have long been our on Disruptive IT list, we knew long ago these guys would change the world. Now with their announcement that their flagship capability is available for widespread use (see: Platfora, Now Available, Cuts Through Big Data Hype and Delivers Business Value on Hadoop), we can all dive a bit deeper in their capabilities.

My first recommendation is to think through use cases before getting into their approach. It can really help get your mind around its importance to take that customer-focused view first. One easy way to do that is by watching the video here:

Did that get your attention? Clearly Platfora is onto something. Here is how they describe what they do at their website:

HARNESS THE POWER OF APACHE HADOOP

Platfora drives Hadoop like a work engine, leveraging its near-linear scalability to perform the heavy lifting to make access to big data fast. Adaptive Job Synthesis™ generates MapReduce jobs without developer or IT intervention, efficiently adapts work based on previous output, and monitors job progress to completion.

SINGLE VIEW INTO ALL THE DATA

Datasets in Hadoop are cataloged and searchable in the Platfora Data Catalog. IT teams can maintain standard and commonly used datasets and end users can import their own to join into the data model.

READS RAW DATA IN HADOOP

Platfora natively processes standard file types and structures typically used in big data. Log files, delimited files, even structured files in formats like JSON are easily interpreted and elements are extracted into order. Platfora will even interface with a Hive metastore to import metadata. Platfora’s architecture supports the rapid extension of file types by Platfora and from third parties.

NO ETL

Each dataset can be enriched through a complete expression language. Normalizing data, adding columns, building aggregates and computed fields are all completed through a straightforward interface. Data integration is an agile process and can be changed as requirements change or new data arrives.

SOLID SECURITY, SIMPLE SHARING

Platfora allows you to control your sensitive data and ensures it does not fall into the wrong hands. Independent data access and object access controls puts data security first, and makes sure users can not accidentally share data without permission. Platfora integrates with your LDAP or Active Directory server for user and group authentication.

In the coming weeks we will provide more information on their technology, use cases and incredibly virtuous return on investment. For now, learn more here: http://www.platfora.com/

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