Re: Big Data? Really?

On 2013-06-21 16:53:56 +0000, Arthur Ward said:

> Am I the only one wondering who is buying all the Big Data products and
> services?

Not sure why you're asking this in comp.databases.theory, but I'll give my opinion anyway. :-) Yes, you are not the only one, but in reports like Gartner's and McKinsey's this is fairly well describe. Indeed, not every SME will be having an immediate need for this, but you might just as well ask who of them needs a large datawarehouse? Not all, but enough to make it an interesting proposition. And as time goes by, these services will become easier and cheaper to deploy, even for smaller SMEs it might become interesting.

> I've seen a couple of vendor presentations where they talk
> like it's some kind of new gold rush but honest to god I'm not seeing
> anyting on hte ground. Thiry years ago if you knew anything about
> computers almost everyone you met wanted to know if you could build them
> a database. I've tried aksing some of my existing customers
> about big data requirements and I'm getting blank stares.

Agreed, but I've also seen the opposite: enthusiasm where I myself thought "Really?".

> I can safely forget about it right? Sure jet engines and MRI machines
> and telco switches are important but in the big shceme of things they
> don't sell like hotcakes do they? Big data products are the same. A
> few big ticket sales to a handful of customers maybe. Its not a new
> gold rush.

Depends on who you are and what your customer base is.

• Jan Hidders