Key Takeaways from the Strata+Hadoop Conference

If you missed the Strata+Hadoop Conference in New York City last week, here’s a quick recap.

From September 26-29, 10,000 experts came together to share best practices, innovative technology news, and network with their contemporaries around all things data—data science, big data, and data in the enterprise. Sessions and keynote speeches focused on a wide array of topics. Members of the Attivio team had a few favorites, including:

• Data Science: A View from the White House featuring DJ Patil, the chief data scientist and deputy chief technology officer for data policy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
• The new dynamics of big data – Mike Olson, Chief Strategy Officer of Cloudera, says a renewed approach focused on where, who, and why can lead to cutting edge data solutions. “We’ve democratized access to data. But a real democracy isn’t just about business… it takes into account social good. It looks for ways to use data to make the planet a better place.”
• Business insights driven by speed – Todd Brannon, of the Computing Systems Group at Cisco, says the need for performance crosses the big data ecosystem—from the edge, to the server, to the analytics software. “We are technology optimists. We believe that the more we can connect the unconnected -- people, places, objects, data -- the better off the world’s going to be.”
• Modern Analytics with Dell EMC – During this session, Patricia Florissi, VP and Global Chief Technology Officer for Sales at Dell EMC, discussed the end game: how the efficient use of data and analytics lead to insights that help fight the outbreak of infectious diseases.

As a sponsor, Attivio had a booth in the Expo Hall where we met attendees, presenters, and, of course, our fellow vendors. Two themes emerged from our conversations.

The Business Value of the Data Lake

Most companies have moved beyond the practice of building out a data lake as an IT-centric initiative that centers on storage cost savings. The technological complexities of a hybrid data architecture and the process complexities of delivering data sets for analytics are combining to drive new approaches.

Increasingly, Chief Data Officers and Data Management leaders are designing the transition to the modern data architecture from a business value perspective, which translates to enabling analytics, in spite of the underlying complexities. Carey James of Dell EMC recommends a top-down approach that starts with analytics, then integration before even considering the infrastructure.

Data Catalog Buzz

To build out a strong analytics capability, you have to be able to find and understand your data – wherever it lives, and whatever the status of the transition to Hadoop.

When we talked to people at our booth about our Semantic Data Catalog to find, unify, and provision all enterprise data, inside or outside of Hadoop – the reaction was always enthusiastic. Which is saying a lot at a noisy, crowded trade show, where the smell of fresh baked cookies and the buzz of robots were competing for attention! Many attendees were already familiar with the concept of a data catalog, but were eager to see a demo.

There’s a real groundswell around the concept of a data catalog. The term was visible across the expo area. A year ago, this term wasn’t anywhere to be seen.

If you didn’t see a demo at our booth, reach out to us and we’ll set up a one-on-one. After all, doesn’t “connecting the unconnected” start with finding and understanding your data?