The search experts know that Big Data has been around for years before the analytics bubble was blown over a year ago and Wired takes a retrospect as well as attempts to predict the future in, “Big Data: The World Wakes Up, Realizes Enterprise Information Matters.”   The article highlights that companies have had difficulty finding information for years and it has grown worse as technology advances.  The common idea surrounding Big Data is you gather the data, put it in a machine, and magic stuff happens.  Not really, magic but whatever the end user wants.

What is the problem, though?

While many new companies are springing up to take advantage of the Big Data craze what people seem to be missing is that the market is not looking for Big Data solutions. They don’t have a budget for Big Data, they have a budget for specific projects and infrastructure to help them streamline their business operations, minimize the risk inherent in their data, and reduce technical complexity. Clients need to manage and leverage their data so as to reduce risk (e.g. data leakage, data spoliation, data privacy) and streamline their business operations all while minimizing IT complexity.

Small big Data applications cannot do the trick.  A bigger tool that encompasses the project as a whole is needed to leverage the information and work with the IT structure.  The little applications cannot do the work, which is why an enterprise approach is needed to get the job done.  Enterprise platforms have the capability to  handle Big Data projects and are worth the investment, so long as they are deployed correctly.  When launching an enterprise project do not forget about the all important search function and that LucidWorks has a robust application for enterprise.

Whitney Grace, May 10, 2013

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While some have expressed doubt over whether enterprise software will have a place in the future, EWeek says the opposite, “Enterprise Software Growth Drive By Big Data, Cloud: IDC.”  IDC’s Worldwide Semiannual Software Tracker recorded that enterprise software was worth $342 billion in 2012.  Analytics and Big Data play into the social business software markets that are on top these days.  Contextual data is playing a big part in enterprise decision-making and data-driven customer experience solutions, i.e. the next generation of customer service.

IDC supports this growing trend:

’The global software market, comprised of a multi-layered collection of technologies and solutions, is growing more slowly in this period of economic uncertainty. Yet there is strong growth in selective areas,’ Henry D. Morris, senior vice president for worldwide software, services and executive advisory research at IDC, said in a statement. ‘The management and leveraging of information for competitive advantage is driving growth in markets associated with Big Data and analytics.’

While enterprise is showing steady growth, the IDC study recommends that these companies need to rethink some of the choices to maintain relevancy.  Primarily they must change in the face of mobile, Cloud, and social media, which have severely altered the entire sales process.  Enterprise platforms will probably be okay as they are quick to adapt.  Do not forget that Big Data needs big search and LucidWorks has the applications for the job.

Whitney Grace, May 8, 2013

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Once upon a time, Microsoft refused to acknowledge the importance and sustainability of open source technology, but last year Microsoft dedicated its Open Technologies subsidiary to the one strong-armed idea.  WinBeta announces that “Microsoft Celebrates One Year Anniversary Of Its Investment In Open Standards And Open Source” and since establishing the subsidiary have allowed openness for standards, interoperability, and, of course, open source.  Microsoft wants to bridge the gap between its proprietary software and open source.  Microsoft has done a lot in one year:

In just one year, MS Open Tech has shipped 51 important open source devices and services projects. There are also 25 active open source projects on CodePlex and GitHub. Microsoft is also an ongoing contributor to several other open source and open standards initiatives.

Microsoft has an eclectic team working for it, including engineers, technical evangelists, and standards professionals.  They also have many deals with many well-known organizations: jQuery, MongoDB, Eclipse, GitHub, WebKit, and Apache Qpid to name a few.  Microsoft’s contribution to open source proves that eventually everyone will be relying on it for many technical purposes.  The open source community already relies on LucidWorks for its search applications that power enterprise, Big Data, and the Cloud.

Whitney Grace, May 7, 2013

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