It has become a known fact that big data has been hogging the limelight in many sectors in recent times. Such is the powerfulness of big data that 79% of executives feel that companies may lose their competitive position and might even end up in extinction if they do not embrace big data, according to a study by Accenture. 

When talking about the major drivers behind big data growth, Shaun Connolly talks about a simple equation n Horton Works that encompasses everything there is to say about big data. He says, “Big data = Transactions + Interactions + Observations”. By transactions, he refers to the ERP, CRM, and other transactional web applications; interactions refer to the way a user interacts with the system – log-ins, social media interactions, user-generated content, etc – and observations refer to the physical equipment that is used to help gather data like RFIP chips, sensors, GPS, etc.

All of these mentioned parameters that contribute to big data as a whole weren’t included in the technology of big data at the beginning. Gradually, developers found various ways by which big data can be integrated with other technologies and thus big data has become the single technology with the ability to revolutionize any sector. According to the Forrester report for 2018, big data has grown 14% from the previous year, and the entire big data market is said to be worth 31 billion dollars this year. A continuous improvement has been registered for big data since its inception.

The contribution of the open source platforms

A major driving force behind such developments in big data is the innovations that were contributed by open-source development platforms. Hadoop, one of the biggest big data analytics platforms, has a large number of distribution vendors who deliver based on open source. This enabled various developers to come up with their own innovative ideas and integrate them with big data.

Where it triumphs over traditional approaches

In the traditional way of approaches, one cannot expect the flexibility that one experiences with open-source platforms. When vendors purchase such traditional systems, the architecture on which their own system runs may not be compatible with the introduced system and this will pose a problem with integration which would further lead to more cost and less agility in the systems. 

If the vendor wants to retain their own system but still wants to integrate the newer approach, it may put them in a tricky situation. Though they have some of the best developers and resources at hand, they wouldn’t be able to work and get the new system customized according to their requirements. The traditional way of approaches makes it difficult for companies to adapt easily to the frameworks, thus bringing in more complications in the way of utilization. 

An open-source platform with a license will prove to be much more useful for vendors under such circumstances. The organizations can decide about the licenses and make a decision on whether they want to scale up or scale down their usage and get the new system integrated according to their needs and facilities. It provides an option for developers to develop it further, thus improving the total technology, and also provides flexibility to the vendors. 

Increasing the pace of innovations

One of the major factors why vendors prefer open source platforms is because of the cost-effectiveness they can bring with the system. Different vendors can come up with their own different product developments without being dependent on any external factors. 

While it is one of the good reasons for the vendors, if we consider big data technology as a whole, it brings a lot more to the table. When such different developers are working from various parts of the world on different aspects of the same technology, it quickens the progress of the product development and further opens more avenues for improvement which proves to be beneficial for all the vendors.

If you consider the latest Apache projects, many people are involved in its development bringing different perspectives together which helps to get a wholesome product out. This opens more scope for innovations and helps to get the work done fast too which wouldn’t be possible with the traditional approach where the product release takes up much time and are often prone to the possibility of missing out on one feature or the other that is expected by the vendors. 

On a final note

If there weren’t any scope of open-source platforms for big data, then their growth to being one of the top technologies in the world might have been slowed down. The open-source big data platform provides an avenue for the required people to work on it and employ it in a better way. Innovations are the driving force behind any development and big data isn’t any different and such innovations were made possible majorly due to the open-source platforms.

Also, Read  The Power of Big Data: Unleashing Insights for Business Growth