Here’s an interesting indicator of where the integration market is headed: Leading data integration company Informatica’s strongest revenue growth right now is in the cloud.
Informatica’s cloud business showed 40 percent revenue growth, according to a report by Raymond James & Associates analyst Michael Turits. That would make cloud the strongest performing division, reports Investors.com, with one caveat: It’s still too early to know how Big Data will impact the company. Turits writes:
“Despite opportunities around master data management, cloud integration and Big Data, we remain cautious on the prospects for large Informatica data integration projects being adopted in what remains the early stage of ‘Big Data.’”
Informatica’s year-over-year revenue growth fell from 24 percent to 6 percent over the past five quarters.
Top 2015 Priorities for Government IT Include Data Center Consolidation
MeriTalk, a site for government IT, published a list of trends that government IT professionals will be watching or deploying in 2015. The list isn’t that different from the private sector’s priorities, and includes a number of data-related deployments, such as:
- Data center consolidation (92 percent)
- Big Data (78 percent)
- Cloud (76 percent)
“Nearly half of Federal IT specialists say their IT infrastructure must change by the end of 2015 as a result of cyber security, data center consolidation, cloud initiatives, increased mobility, and Big Data,” writes Liz Powell of MeriTalk. “That’s double the rate of state and local agencies.”
The top applications headed to the cloud include CRM, logistics & HR/personnel, procurement and unified messaging, according to Powell.
Cisco Pushing Data Analysis at the Network Edge
One of the challenges with the Internet of Things is what to do with all the data. Some say it’s too much data to bring into the enterprise and suggest that the bulk of the data analysis needs to be handled outside the network. A couple of options are being bandied about, including having the things themselves do some of the work or sending the data to the cloud for analysis (which you can actually already do).
And then there’s Cisco’s plan: Let its routers handle it.
“The company already goes go customers to study their needs and craft a solution,” PC World reports. “Now some of the solutions it’s put together many times will also be available as packages that don’t require all the custom, on-site preparation.”
Cisco outlined its Cisco Connected Analytics, essentially a collection of tools and services for handling IoT data, last week. IT World Canada has a complete list of the services portfolio, but it includes:
- Retail, which leverages video camera feeds, operational data (such as inventory) and Wi-Fi data to help retailers better manage the shoppers’ experience.
- Service providers, which would ideally be used to help Netflix and my cable company offer me a better movie experience. (If you read IT World Canada’s coverage, you’ll see I’m only half kidding.)
- IT, to help align data management and data governance with business objectives. “For example, analytics can be applied to align implementation of new IT capabilities such as deploying collaboration technology in new branch offices or by understanding evolving security requirements in real time so organization can mitigate risk by improving cyber security,” IT World Canada reports.
- Contact Centers, which focuses on routing calls to the right level of services.
It’s a vision both impressive and frightening, frankly. It’s also positioning Cisco to make a lot more money: The company estimates that the IoT is a $19 trillion opportunity, with analytics representing as much as $7.3 trillion of that.
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.