Nine out of 10 Executives Happy with Big Data’s Outcomes

Four Steps to Ensure Your Big Data Investment Pays Off

Recent research by Accenture Analytics shows that nine out of 10 CXOs are happy with Big Data’s business outcome, with leaders at large companies being most satisfied.

Enterprises with annual revenues of over $10 billion said Big Data was “extremely important” and reported better results than other organizations. There are several likely reasons for this, writes Accenture Analytics Senior Managing Director Narendra Mulani. Large companies are more likely to have:

• Greater financial and talent resources to devote to Big Data.
• A better understanding of the value and scope of Big Data.
• A tighter focus on the practical applications and business outcomes.
• A deeper appreciation for Big Data’s disruptive power.

Still, companies of all sizes can learn from their experiences, Mulani writes in an Information Management column.

“Successful companies tended to start with small projects; Big Data initiatives were boosted by strong support from the CIO and the rest of the C-suite; and with value proven in one area, they rolled out big data technologies across the enterprise,” Mulani states. “Their mantra might be described ‘start local, think global.'”

SnapLogic Set for Growth After Securing Funding

SnapLogic, a cloud integration company, will use its $20 million Series D financing to grow field sales, marketing and operations, according to a press release. This initial closing brings the company’s total financing to $60 million.

SnapLogic’s Fall 2014 release includes major SnapReduce enhancements for Hadoop 2.0 deployments, the company said. It’s also certified by both Hortonworks and Cloudera. Future plans include adding native support for Apache Spark.

The company was co-founded by Gaurav Dhillon, who also co-founded Informatica, where he served as the CEO before leaving to start SnapLogic. Netflix, Cisco, Adobe, Target, Yelp and CapitalOne are among the cloud integrator’s clients.

Microsoft and IBM Partner to Grow Cloud Offerings

Here’s something you don’t see everyday: Two tech giants have agreed to host and integrate each other’s enterprise software on their respective clouds.

IBM and Microsoft announced Wednesday that each will host and integrate their cloud offerings. It’s pretty clear from the press release that this is aimed at Amazon’s hosted services: The stated goals are wider adoption of IBM’s software and cloud-hosting services and more business customers running on Microsoft’s Azure.

In terms of data and integration support, Robert LeBlanc, senior vice president of IBM’s software and cloud solutions group, said clients would gain “unprecedented access” to IBM middleware, according to this Register report.

Loraine Lawson is a veteran technology reporter and blogger. She currently writes the Integration blog for IT Business Edge, which covers all aspects of integration technology, including data governance and best practices. She has also covered IT/Business Alignment and IT Security for IT Business Edge. Before becoming a freelance writer, Lawson worked at TechRepublic as a site editor and writer, covering mobile, IT management, IT security and other technology trends. Previously, she was a webmaster at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and a newspaper journalist. Follow Lawson at Google+ and on Twitter.