The big players are moving in for a piece of the big data action. IBM, EMC, and NetApp have stepped up their messaging, in part to prevent startup upstarts like Cloudera from cornering the Apache Hadoop distribution market. They are all elbowing one another to get closest to “pure Apache” while still “adding value.” Numerous other startups have emerged, with greater or lesser reliance on, and extensions or substitutions for, the core Apache distribution. Yahoo! has found a funding partner and spun its team out, forming a new firm called Hortonworks, whose claim to fame begins with an impressive roster responsible for most of the code in the core Hadoop projects. Think of the Doctor Seuss children’s book featuring that famous elephant, and you’ll understand the name.
While we’re talking about kids – ever watch young kids play soccer? Everyone surrounds the ball. It takes years to learn their position on the field and play accordingly. There are emerging alphas, a few stragglers on the sidelines hoping for a chance to play, community participants – and a clear need for governance. Tech markets can be like that, and with 1600 attendees packing late June’s Hadoop Summit event, all of those scenarios were playing out. Leaders, new entrants, and the big silents, like the absent Oracle and Microsoft.
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While Oracle quietly works away building connectors, and most likely some solution integration with Hadoop, much like one develops a Football club.
Microsoft completely shuns OSS, creates their own vision that will never mesh with the Hadoop ecosystem.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/cloud/2011/07/mapreduce-for-microsoft-azure.php
Thanks for the comment, Ryan – there is much more if you follow the link. I expect a lot more from Oracle soon. They have been quiet but will not remain so.