Big Data has come to mean more than massive data loads. It has now come to encompass the ability to process multiple types of unstructured data and to link them to refine the company strategy. It is a complex challenge no question. Indeed, according to IDC, by 2020, the volume of data generated worldwide will have multiplied 10 times compared to 2013. And while an Opinion Way survey found that 75% of executives and business leaders are unable to clearly define Big Data, the explosion of information has led companies to make changes to address it.
The survey also found that 72% of respondents think Big Data is reserved only for major companies (and confined to certain departments like Marketing or e-commerce). However, the phenomenon also affects small companies. Indeed, companies of all sizes are collecting huge volumes of data which they must manage and optimize in order to respond to market needs. Now Big Data concerns all company layers and impacts database management across all industries and company sizes. For an online merchant, for example, data analysis helps to understand customers, improve user experience and thus be more competitive. But if data is collected but not analyzed and generating value, the company risks being less competitive. The management of large volumes of data involves an appropriate ecosystem, which will help firms in their Big Data projects.
Open source software has emerged as a valuable alternative to solutions at multiple points on the enterprise software stack. Now companies are seeking to use open source-based databases to develop new solutions as data volumes expand. Open source software represents a turnover of 4 billion euros in France. France is a leading market, evidenced by the Ayrault’s circular of 2012 in which the Prime Minister clearly encouraged government agencies to move to open source software. Performance, safety and low cost are all criteria that attract business leaders. Moreover it’s no longer unusual to see IT infrastructure in which open source and traditional software coexist as companies standardize on open source for new applications.
EDB Postgres Plus, which enhances the open source Community PostgreSQL with enterprise-class capabilities, is well positioned to support companies as they address emerging Big Data challenges. EDB Postgres Plus allows companies to lower their database management costs by 70% or more and divert budget to strategic, data-driven initiatives for customer engagement.
For companies that have not yet established a Big Data strategy, Postgres is the ideal database. Standards based, Postgres runs on commodity hardware and has NoSQL capabilities, such as document and key/value stores. These flexible data structures are schemaless data stores but can combine the data in structured, relational tables using the JSON data type when needed. And based on customers’ experience, it is needed more and more.
Nowadays, to be competitive and productive, it’s essential that Big Data is integrated into business strategies. Advances in Postgres to support Big Data have positioned the database as an ideal solution at the right time.
Mathieu Le Faucher is Sales Director, Southern Europe.