Table of Contents
- Summary
- Cloud
- IBM raises the bar on converged infrastructure
- SDN on a roll
- Cloud M&A and funding
- Big data
- Hadoop: What is it good for?
- Google launches BigQuery for public consumption
- Big-data M&A and funding
- Companies to watch
- Near-term outlook
- Key takeaways
- About Jo Maitland
- About GigaOm
- Copyright
1. Summary
In cloud and big data, the second quarter of 2012 featured several high-profile deals and product launches that could reshape the marketplace for everyone. Key highlights from the quarter include:
- Google and Microsoft launched Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) offerings. These services have been a long time coming for Microsoft and Google, and the market is anticipating they will provide much-needed competition to market leader Amazon Web Services.
- Converged infrastructure and software-defined networking (SDN) gained momentum. IBM took notice of the converged infrastructure trend and finally launched a product, PureSystems, to challenge Oracle, HP and VCE Company (VMware, Cisco and EMC). Meanwhile the emerging SDN field sees another new entrant, LineRate Systems.
- Big data and analytics continued to steam ahead. This quarter saw VMware join the Hadoop party with plans to virtualize the big-data platform. And Google opened up its BigQuery data analytics service for public consumption.
- Big-data startups were in demand. IBM went on a big-data-analytics buying spree in the quarter, acquiring Varicent Software, Vivisimo and Tealeaf Technology. Meanwhile VMware snapped up Cetas.
This quarterly wrap-up discusses these milestones and provides a near-term outlook for trends, technologies and companies to watch in the next 18 to 24 months.