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Showing posts from February, 2018

You Need a Data Strategy More Than a Cloud Strategy

Check in with pretty much any IT decision maker at a large organization, and chances are that one of their big strategic priorities of the last few years has been crafting and executing a cloud strategy. From many perspectives, it makes sense. For one thing, managing infrastructure is hard. And pretty much everyone except Amazon, […] The post You Need a Data Strategy More Than a Cloud Strategy appeared first on Hortonworks .

Chatbot in Events: What’s in it for Event Managers

Chatbots have played a vital role in streamlining the processes like customer service support, sales, and marketing. Brands like American Express, Patron, and British Airways are utilizing the power of Artificial Intelligence to drive engagement and retention. Most of the businesses are planning to deploy AI Chatbots to automate the sales and service support to ensure customer engagement and seamless communication. To give an overview of how AI chatbots are helping businesses, have a look at some of the statistics. In 2016, the chatbot market was valued at $703 million. (Marketsandmarkets, 2017) By 2020, over 80% of businesses are expected to have some sort of chatbot automation implemented (Business Insider, 2016) Chatbots could save businesses up to £6 billion per year cross industries. (Juniper Research, 2017) 57% of consumers are interested in chatbots for their instantaneity. (HubSpot, 2017) 27% of consumers predict they would buy a basic item through a chatbot. (Drift, 2

How Blockchain can Impact Cyber Security and Why You Should Care

Blockchain technology is arguably one of the most important inventions in the information age, and it extends beyond the vestiges of cryptocurrencies. It has massive potential to solve problems, particularly inefficiencies in a number of information processing systems, like legal contracts, escrow services, and supply chain traceability. At its core, the blockchain is designed to serve as a “decentralised ledger” that eliminates friction and maximises efficiency in secure transactions. It is effectively immutable, thanks to the verification process that includes every single node or “block” ever created within the chain. Should hackers attempt to tamper with a blockchain’s data, they need to seize and change every other node as well. In other words, it is virtually impossible. However, it’s clear that the blockchain technology is still in its infancy, especially when it comes to its role in the cyber security space. But that didn’t stop a handful of innovators from taking blockchai

How Artificial Intelligence is Changing Contracts

Contracting forms one of the core competencies of any firm or organisation, but surprisingly given its significance, it rarely gets the importance due to it. As a result, at conservative estimates, firms often lose up to 40% of value on certain deals due to inefficient and ineffectual contracting procedures. A silver lining to this issue now is the advent of AI (Artificial Intelligence) that has helped businesses get over many of the hurdles to contracting, taking it to an altogether new level. What is the key challenge that firms face when it comes to contracting?  It is the sheer numbers of contracts generated which have to be kept track of from conception to the end of their life cycle. Hence it is a very hard task to manage, organise and update contracts which are made more difficult by the fact that there are no standard benchmarks on which contracts are based. Every contract is unique in its own way and hence a lot of trained manpower is needed to oversee the contracting pr

Artificial Intelligence Trends You Need to Know Before it’s Too Late!

Technology has already blown all of our minds. In this era of trends, falling behind is a nightmare for any tech-savvy millennial, or for anyone, really. An average person opens their eyes to the sound of a digital alarm, and the very first they look at is their phone. On the other end of the day, no matter how busy or slow it’s been, the last thing we see before going to be is a phone screen. The constant updates and changes have kept us glued to technology. While some are flat-out addicted to tech, the rest of us are always in awe of the latest inventions and think about how much the world has transformed in such a short span. According to research, an average charter internet user spends more time on their smartphones than sleeping. They spend eight hours and 41 minutes on their media devices, while the average sleep cycle is eight hours, 21 minutes. Another report claims that a typical cell phone user touches their smartphone about 2,617 times a day. Extreme cell phone users--the

Women in Tech: Part 5 – Customer Success Manager

I’m Raksha Jayaraj, an Engineer from Bangalore. I joined Hortonworks in early 2017 from another technology company called National Instruments. Being a technophile, I have always been keen on working with the impact that technology makes on everyday life. From selling cutting edge technology in Emerging Markets to working on retaining customers in a Developed […] The post Women in Tech: Part 5 – Customer Success Manager appeared first on Hortonworks .

Crypto Regulations: How ICO Regulations Differ Across the Globe

For those of you who have been reading my recent articles, I have been focussing my attention on the necessity of regulations in the crypto world. The number of scams among ICOs seems to be growing and on a daily basis, I receive invitations to join another ICO as an ‘advisor'. I do not have to do anything, just give my name, and reputation, to this ‘startup' and they will list me as an advisor on their website. Most of the time, they do not have any code, no community, barely a team, a badly-written white paper, hardly any information on their token and why they need a token and if I ask them several critical questions, I never hear back from them. Still, many of these scams manage to raise millions, simply because the ‘investors’ in these ICOs do not care about the product, but simply want to make a quick buck. As may be clear, I do not believe in such ICOs and I certainly do not lend my name to these startups. Neither should anyone else, as it gives them a podium to raise

3 Ways Big Data Will Transform Marketing In 2018

The Big Data Market has been anticipated to cross $203 Billion by 2020, and the progress so far goes in complete sync with the prediction. While the enterprise of today is struggling hard to cement a stature in these highly competitive setups, emerging technologies have finally earned their due and are being unlatched to their potential. Marketing has always been a flexible area to experiment with newer practices, and the current hype of emerging technologies has its bets placed. Here are three ways marketing will be a changed process because of Big Data.  First Things First – Approaching Big Data Smartly Too much data is hard to analyze and software only approach is just a thing of the past. Every business no matter what scale and reach have entirely digitalized itself and a step forward, the best of breed applications are the differentiator between products and products that stand out. Enterprises are more than eager to invest in cutting-edge technology, save costs and boos

Insurance and Machine Learning: A Partnership That Offers a Competitive Advantage

Disruption is affecting insurance, and machine learning is both the cause of and the cure for that disruption. The post Insurance and Machine Learning: A Partnership That Offers a Competitive Advantage appeared first on Hortonworks .

How Blockchain is Making Data Predictions More Accessible

Thanks to developments in big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML), predictive analytics is starting to become highly reliable. It’s easy to notice how Google’s search suggestions or Amazon’s recommendations seem to be reading users’ minds. Such level of accuracy is made possible by developments in predictive technologies. These are reaching more organisations too. Prediction tools that used to be exclusive to tech companies and research labs are now being offered as-a-service. Enterprise solutions providers like IBM and Microsoft have business intelligence offerings that include prediction features. IBM’s Cognos and Watson Analytics, for example, offers both big data and AI functionalities that enable enterprise users to generate better predictions. The problem still is that these tools are mainly accessible to large enterprises who can invest in tools, time, and human resources. Effective predictions require well-trained data scientists who would work and

Why More Restaurants Are Turning to Big Data

Businesses are increasingly depending on big data to gain insights that would be too time-consuming or impossible to retrieve through other methods. It’s not surprising, then, that restaurant brands are following that lead. There are numerous reasons why they do so, and the following are some of the most prominent. Boost Customer Experiences Data gathered by the NPD Group warns of a two-percent decline in growth for full-service restaurants and no growth for quick-service restaurants. Another survey carried out by Reuters/Ipsos at the beginning of 2017 found that a third of adults in the United States said they were eating out less frequently than during the three months before the poll. In most cases, the change was due to price increases. Even if restaurants aren’t willing to make menu items cost less, they’re investing in big data that could make the overall experiences more pleasant for the people who choose to spend their hard-earned dollars dining out. Chomp, a Rhode Is

Hortonworks DataFlow (HDF) 3.1 blog series part 5: Introducing Apache NiFi-Atlas integration

Two weeks ago, we announced the GA of HDF 3.1, and to share more details about this milestone release we started the HDF 3.1 Blog Series. In this installment of the series, we’ll talk about a net new integration point between Apache NiFi and Apache Atlas. As the latest Data-in-Motion Platform offering from Hortonworks, HDF […] The post Hortonworks DataFlow (HDF) 3.1 blog series part 5: Introducing Apache NiFi-Atlas integration appeared first on Hortonworks .

5 Things that Keep Your CTO Up at Night

It is not easy being a CTO, especially considering all the threats from hackers coming from every possible direction, trying to get their hands on that priceless data. Perhaps what is most nerve-racking is that even one security breach can turn a respectable company into a laughingstock. Here are some of the reasons CTOs around the country are having trouble sleeping at night. 1. DevOps Data Breaches This past November, a massive data breach at a U.K recruiting agency exposed the personal information of 780,000 clients. Hackers were able to access the data located on the agency’s development server, which was used by the agency’s IT provider. The American College of Cardiology as well as parenting retailer Kiddicare had similar incidents last year. And most notably, the Equifax data breach, which disclosed the personal information of 143 million Americans could be the worst to date.  Read also: What’s Wrong with Big Data Such incidents have become more common and are giving CTO

Could You Fall In Love With A Robot?

Forget stealing your job... in the future, a robot may well steal your heart. Technology is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to the impact it is having on all aspects of modern life, including relationships. Long gone are the days of finding love in the traditional sense, with people opting to use apps like Tinder or websites like match.com, where algorithms work to pair you up with potential suitors given your personality data. No more is the spontaneity of meeting someone over coffee or through friends something that rouses excitement of the unknown, where you have to invest time in finding out what someone is really like. Thanks to social media, you can find out more about your potential partner, their history and more before even meeting them! Relationships have become more of a commodity than ever before. With a simple swipe left or right dictated by looks and a bio, many might be missing out on the real thing. But, we’re seeing the beginnings of an even more dramatic

3 Major Data Usage Cloud computing Trends For 2018

Just a couple of years back, cloud computing became one of the mainstream technologies in the world of business. One of the studies conducted by the Harvard Business School inferred that over 85% of companies were using cloud technology in one way or the other. However, the number of businesses that are making use of this technology is set to increase in 2018. The technological advancements which are popping up almost at breakneck speed are forcing business enterprises to adopt them to stay competitive or risk being kicked out of business. Cloud technology might be the trend that will take the business world of the 21st-century market economy by storm. Technologies that are related to the cloud such as DevOps, microservices architecture and think containers are set to change at a breakneck pace. Cloud computing enables the government database, and business enterprises to eliminate the need for having to store their information and sensitive data in the traditional storage devices suc

Why We Will Love AI More Than Our Pets

We will love Artificial Intelligence ... love as in ´bond emotionally´: an AI Love Affair. Yes ... and you will say that I am crazy. Well, maybe. Time will tell. But I'm dead serious. In a few years' time, many of us cannot live without AI anymore. Just like today, we cannot do without our smartphones. And not only that. We will love it, him, her. Yes, love. As in 'amore'. The first signs are here already. People are daydreaming about passionate romances with Siri and Alexa. People feel pain when they see robots hurt themselves. Dementing elderly tend to bond emotionally with social bots. Children play games and make jokes with Siri and Alexa as if they were friends. Young children easily become best friends with chatbots, often unaware that there is not a human inside. It is how our brain works Over time, smart AI assistants - think of Siri, Alexa, Jibo today - develop more and more complex behaviour, that we, in turn, will familiarise with. We get used to them

The Stellar Rise and Murky Future of the XRP

The recent boom of Bitcoin has brought cryptocurrencies into the limelight of media and business attention. Previously not that well-known token called XRP has taken the center stage and is now one of the front-runners. It represents a cryptocurrency that is linked to Ripple’s blockchain, which is marketed as a global, real-time settlement network. The increase in value was impressive in 2017, to say the least, and this rising tide has prompted some to claim that the sky is the limit for this altcoin. Others, however, see its Icarus-like downfall inevitable.   Two sides of the coin Bitcoin has paved the way for many other altcoins to enter the big game and it’s natural that people compare XRP to the top tog. Namely, it’s clear that Ripple’s market capitalization (it peaked at $148 billion) is playing catch-up with Bitcoin. However, putting them in the same pot can be misleading. Yes, both have undergone a surge and represent hot cryptocurrencies, but they don’t have that many

Women in Tech: Part 4 – Engineering Manager

I am a Software Engineer/Architect with over 20 years of experience providing end-to-end application and system solutions. I have a huge passion for data management and analytics, which is why I came to Hortonworks – to be directly involved in current technologies that support the overall Data Lifecycle.  Before Hortonworks, I worked in various industries […] The post Women in Tech: Part 4 – Engineering Manager appeared first on Hortonworks .

Why the Impact of Big Data Extends Further Than You Think

The impact of big data extends far beyond IT, touching many areas of business. The problem is that executives are not always aware of these projects. The post Why the Impact of Big Data Extends Further Than You Think appeared first on Hortonworks .

Hortonworks DataFlow (HDF) 3.1 Blog Series Part 4: Unit Testing and Continuous Integration & Delivery of Streaming Analytics Apps

Last week, as part of the HDF 3.1 Blog Series, we talked about support for Apache Kafka 1.0 and the powerful HDF integrations including Apache NiFi’s Kafka processors, Apache Ambari for provisioning/management/monitoring and Ranger for access control policies and audit for Apache Kafka. Today, in this fourth part of the series, we discuss the innovations added […] The post Hortonworks DataFlow (HDF) 3.1 Blog Series Part 4: Unit Testing and Continuous Integration & Delivery of Streaming Analytics Apps appeared first on Hortonworks .

Why AI-Powered Fake News is Very Dangerous

We live in unprecedented times, where, unfortunately, increasingly things are not what they seem to be or what they should be. We only have been in this situation for less than 18 months, but it is rapidly affecting our lives on a daily basis. I am talking about fake news and how it has become one of the greatest threats to democracy, free debate and capitalism. Unfortunately, for many, fake news is not a problem at all. It is even Trump's favourite topic. But above all, there is disagreement about what constitutes as fake news, how big the problem is and what to do about it. And that is a very dangerous situation to be in. The reason for this week’s article, was an article I read on Monday about how Aviv Ovadya, Chief Technologist at the Center for Social Media Responsibility, fears the fake news crisis and how he is now worried about an information apocalypse. Unfortunately, the fake news crisis is a lot bigger than Russian propaganda during the US Elections, which in itself is

Is Real-Time Analytics A Money Pit?

Certainly, it is important to have analytics available in the timeframe needed for making decisions. For many years, it was too difficult and expensive to execute analytics anywhere near real-time and so everything was done using infrequent batch processes. As processing power has increased exponentially and costs have dropped to unprecedented levels, it is feasible to perform a wide array of enterprise analytics on a near real-time basis. However, many organizations today are vastly over-utilizing real-time analytics and are paying a price for it that, unfortunately, isn’t always recognized. Forget Real Time. Focus on Decision Time! Naturally, I am a proponent of ensuring that business decisions are made in a timely fashion. However, many decisions do not need to be made in anything approaching real- time. Just because something can be analyzed in real-time does not mean that it should be analyzed in real-time. Creating real-time processes where they aren’t needed leads to a lot o

Hortonworks Second Annual Data Heroes Awards – Nominations Now Open!

Submit your nominations now for DataWorks Summit Berlin and San Jose Is your organization hero material?  Well, we certainly think so!  We won’t ask anyone to fly through the air, protect your city or wear a cape & mask, but we will ask you to showcase your organization’s AWESOMENESS! Hortonworks supports more than 1,300 organizations […] The post Hortonworks Second Annual Data Heroes Awards – Nominations Now Open! appeared first on Hortonworks .

Virtual Reality and Future Of Gaming

Virtual reality (VR) is the new big thing in gaming, offering a totally immersive experience, along with high definition that gamers are not accustomed to. The saturation and functionality of VR have increased by leaps and bounds in the recent years. The introduction of virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and the PlayStation VR has created a huge interest in virtual reality’s potential. VR applications are evolving at a fast pace. They’re moving from education to healthcare to pure entertainment. Prior to what was previously believed, gaming is directly related to the social behaviours of a society and technological advancements. When all three come together to connect, we’re more capable of analysing, then transforming the way we behave and interact. Our minds are broadened and constantly challenged by the new techniques, allowing game developers to construct games with a better understanding of the gaming experience. Virtual reality is going to open new horiz

How Big Data Is Improving Temperature Control in the Food Industry

Traceability is one of the most important factors or elements in the food and beverage industry. From the time a product or good leaves the source and is transported to a distributor, it undergoes many processes and separate handlers. Because of that, it’s important that all involved parties can track and monitor an item or goods status. Why Is Monitoring Important? You see, food or beverages can be contaminated at any point of the supply chain. Being able to pinpoint who, what, how and why is crucial to fixing major health and contamination issues. More importantly, monitoring is vital to maintaining the quality and safety of those goods. Keeping foods at the appropriate temperature no matter where they are — or how they’re being transported and stored — is necessary. With conventional systems, however, it’s difficult to track this information especially when the goods are constantly on the move. That’s where big data can come in handy. When locations or goods are equipped wit

Blockchain and the Internet of Things: A Winning Combination

Blockchain, the distributed ledger that eliminates any need for a central authority, has been gaining momentum since the last year. From being a technology that backed a cryptocurrency to becoming mainstream for a secure and robust recording of transactions, Blockchain has come a long way. Blockchain technology is changing all aspects of doing a digital business. Another technology that has been altering business operations and giving birth to newer opportunities is the Internet of Things buzz. Connecting all devices, or things to the Internet and deriving knowledge from them, or building practical applications on them, is a trend that organisations have well embraced. The billions of smart things getting connected with each other and with humans can transform cities, homes, and lives. But, this immense interconnection also brings us to the same old worry about the security of big data and information. Imagine a botnet attack a group of these devices. What are we to do then? To t

Recapping the Fourth Quarter 2017 Earnings Call

Last Thursday, Hortonworks announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2017. These are exciting times at the company, as our CEO Rob Bearden announced another quarter of record breaking growth! Q4 revenue was up 44 percent compared to the prior year, and yearly growth clocked in at 42 percent. Hortonworks has […] The post Recapping the Fourth Quarter 2017 Earnings Call appeared first on Hortonworks .

Are We Smart Enough For Smart Machines

Since the invention of the wheel, humans have developed tools to make work easier. The last centuries, we focused on making physical labour lighter and less time-consuming. With the invention of the computer, we have started to let smart machines do our ‘thinking labour’ as well. Who will be skilled enough to operate the future generation of smart machines? Spreadsheets on our PC's do calculations, navigation apps on our smartphones tell us how to get to where we want to go. Today’s wave of artificial intelligence (AI) will bring this a giant step further. In the not so far future, cars will do most of the driving. Intelligent machines will do most of the medical diagnosis, bookkeeping, journalism and legal work, to name just a few examples. It is often said that artificial intelligence — and robots, for that matter — will take away our jobs. I don’t believe so. I do believe that AI and smart machines will change the content of our work dramatically. It always starts with s

Women in Tech: Part 3 – Technical Support Engineer

I am Vani Subramanian, born and brought up in Kerala, India. I have an engineering degree in Computer Science from College of Engineering, Trivandrum and have completed my Executive General Management Program from IIM, Bangalore. I believe the future is all about how we extract information from data, how we understand it, and how companies […] The post Women in Tech: Part 3 – Technical Support Engineer appeared first on Hortonworks .

HDF 3.1 Blog Series Part 3: Kafka 1.0 Support with Powerful HDF Integrations

Last week, we announced the HDF 3.1 Release and commenced the HDF 3.1 Blog series. Earlier this week, in part 2 of the blog series, we introduced the new HDF component called Apache Nifi Registry which allows developers to version control flow artifacts to meet their SDLC enterprise requirements. Today, in this third part of […] The post HDF 3.1 Blog Series Part 3: Kafka 1.0 Support with Powerful HDF Integrations appeared first on Hortonworks .

How Hadoop 3 Adds Value Over Hadoop 2

Thank you to Vinod Vavilapalli and Saumitra Buragohain for contributing to this blog. Everyone is asking – What is the difference between Hadoop 3 versus Hadoop 2. What’s all this commotion and ruckus mean?  What is Hadoop 3 paving the way towards? Where to start!  Hadoop 3 combines the efforts of hundreds of contributors over […] The post How Hadoop 3 Adds Value Over Hadoop 2 appeared first on Hortonworks .

Why the Current Crash in the Crypto Market is Good for Cryptocurrencies

On October 8, 2017, the total market cap of the cryptocurrency market was $148 billion. Three months later, on January 8, 2018, the market cap reached its highest point of $ 813 billion. A staggering increase of 449% in just three months. However, one month later, as of February 6, 2018, the market cap dropped to $308 billion, a drop of 62% in just one month. It is clear that current cryptocurrency market is a bubble and we have only started to drop back to normal figures. In a classic bull market, there are four phases: stealth phase, awareness phase, mania phase and blow off phase. In the first years of cryptocurrencies, it clearly was a stealth phase. Let’s say from the beginning in 2009 until the start of 2017, when the total market cap of cryptocurrencies increased from $ 0 to $ 18 billion. Then the awareness phase started, with increasingly cryptocurrencies getting more attention in the media. This awareness phase typically ends with the first bear trap and this bear trap sta

5 Myths about The World’s Most Favourite Cryptocurrencies Today

When you hear the words cryptocurrency or blockchain chances are the first thing that comes to mind is Bitcoin. Bitcoin is actually one of well over 700 different cryptocurrencies in the marketplace. It is also the most popular and the oldest one available. All other cryptocurrencies owe their existence to Bitcoin and the blockchain technology that was developed along with it. So it is only natural that something this popular would become a target of some kind. But what about the other stuff you hear about related to Bitcoin and the world of alternative pay platforms? Here’s a look at the top 5 myths about Bitcoin. 1. Bitcoin Is A Fad Well, that’s just plain wrong. When you measure the overall volume of Bitcoin over the past few years you discover that if anything, the cryptocurrency has actually gained in popularity. For example, in late 2013 there was about $154-million in Bitcoins moving per day. While that in itself is a pretty impressive rate, the volume in September 2017 was

Successfully Transitioning your Team from Data Warehousing to Big Data

You are planning to complement your traditional data warehouse architecture with big data technologies. Now what? Should you upskill your existing data warehouse team? Or do Big Data technologies require a completely different set of skills? What do we mean by big data technologies anyway? For the purpose of this article, I define big data as any distributed technology that is not a relational database. According to this definition, a distributed relational database (MPP) such as Redshift, Vertica, Teradata etc. is not a big data technology. I know. Other definitions for big data exist, e.g. any data volume that we can’t easily fit on a single server. Tackling big data projects with a data warehouse mindset? Your company already has a data warehouse built on traditional data warehouse architecture. Either a Kimball collection of conformed data marts or a Corporate Information Factory built on Inmon. Great! You already have a lot of experience running data projects successfully.

Announcing the 2017 Global Partner Award Winners

In case you missed it, yesterday Hortonworks announced the 2017 winners of the company’s second annual Global Partner Awards. These awards are part of the Partnerworks program, a global program to support and enable partners selling, implementing, and innovating with Hortonworks to deliver integrated customer solutions for the datacenter and in the cloud. The program […] The post Announcing the 2017 Global Partner Award Winners appeared first on Hortonworks .

HDF 3.1 blog series part 2: Introducing the NiFi registry

Last week, we announced the GA of HDF 3.1, and to share more details about this milestone release we started the HDF 3.1 Blog Series. In this installment of the series, we’ll talk about a net new enterprise service we added to HDF: the Nifi Registry, powered by Apache NiFi registry. With the interactive command […] The post HDF 3.1 blog series part 2: Introducing the NiFi registry appeared first on Hortonworks .

How Big Data Is Changing Banking, Finance, and Credit

Like most other businesses, banking and financial services organizations are fighting to adapt in this new, disruptive, digital world — and like most other businesses, big data analytics is at the top of the list of solutions to reign in. While those with the proper expertise and knowledge are finding great opportunity via big data analysis, unfortunately, not everybody is necessarily ready to deploy these solutions. Here’s how big data is changing the banking, finance, and credit industry. Identity Theft, Credit Fraud, and Data Breaches Beginning around 2014 or 2015, the world began to understand just how badly malicious actors wanted to profit from data breaches — as well as just how far these actors would go. According to the experts at University of Illinois Chicago, “more than 750 data breaches occurred in 2015, the top seven of which opened over 193 million personal records to fraud and identity theft.” While this first spate of cyberattacks generally targeted healthcare da

Improving Your Company’s Efficiency with Internal Data

Business owners and managers are always on the hunt to help both their employees and company become more efficient. It makes sense. Getting more work done for less money means you can do things like pay employees more, hire new workers, get better perks, and have less stress. So, what do people do? They look to external sources for advice and guidance. They hunt online and in leadership magazines on tips for getting the most out of employees. Claims like “having meetings where everybody stands the whole time will make them 80 percent shorter” are found, and suddenly all meetings are done standing up. It’s not bad to do outside research, but often managers and business owners fail to look at a more important source of guidance: instead of looking at what other people in the world are doing, they need to start by looking at the data their own business is producing for ways to improve. Quantifying All Tasks Before you can start analysing your business's data, you need to be ab

The Biggest Challenges for Big Data Analytics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

It’s been a huge decade for big data and artificial intelligence (AI), two of the biggest tech trends we’ve seen this century. From data-driven manufacturing to self-driving cars, we’ve witnessed dozens of jaw-dropping, previously unimaginable feats, all thanks to advances in big data analytics and AI.   Not so long ago, businesses across industries often sat on tons of useful, game-changing data, unsure about the many ways they could put it to use to gain competitive advantage. But as methods in machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing became more advanced while computing power went up, seemingly useless data suddenly began to make sense. For instance, businesses could use customer data to analyze demographic profiles, shopping habits, and other behaviors, which helped improve marketing campaigns and overall customer experience. Still, despite all the good that comes with AI, its growth presents a myriad of challenges for big data, especially when you con

Combat Modern Cybersecurity Challenges with Big Data and Machine Learning

“With great power comes great responsibility.” – Voltaire¹ As organizations harness the power in data to grow their business through initiatives like IoT, predictive analytics, single view of customers and more, now is the time for them to further exercise their corporate responsibility. This means that organizations need to safeguard data to protect their business […] The post Combat Modern Cybersecurity Challenges with Big Data and Machine Learning appeared first on Hortonworks .

What Digital Asset Investors Can Learn from the Recent Coincheck Hack

Whether it’s Bitcoin, Ethereum, or a slew of industry peer competitors in between, the main appeal of cryptocurrency is that it’s unregulated by the government or central banking system. On the one hand, that makes it highly attractive, as it’s less affected by the ebb and flow of the economy and transactions can be made quicker. On the other, it raises a security and regulatory issue that until recently, has flown somewhat under the radar. With so much data stored on the internet, cryptocurrencies are inherently vulnerable to hacker attacks. At their core, they’re designed to be accessed by those with the computer knowledge to professionally and ethically crack the “code” protecting the assets, gaining access to the units. If you can solve the incredibly complex computational code, you’re rewarded with a cleared transaction equal to its worth. Though there has been some pushback and controversy surrounding this approach, with some critics claiming that the rich are the only ones who

How Virtualisation Can Protect Your Data

Data security is a growing concern for business owners, with several prominent breaches affecting the market in recent years. Alongside other data security measures, your business is likely already taking such as password-enabled tiered user access and two-step authentication, there's another step you can take to enhance the security and privacy of your sensitive financial information: network and system virtualisation. Creating virtual networks and firewalls can exponentially increase the security of your data and protect your business and clients from breaches and leaks of sensitive payment and business information. How Virtualization Can Protect Your Data Virtualization has its place in both, terminal machines and networking. Using a virtual machine on your desktop and laptop computers can protect the core system from malicious code and vulnerabilities, as the virtual operating system doesn't have access to your containing system. This level of security is achieved by us

Women in Tech: Part 2 – Global Customer Success Manager

I started my career in inside sales back in 2010. Being in sales taught me the importance of hardwork, practice, and perseverance. It also taught me the importance of loving what you do and having fun while you do it. In 2014 I had the opportunity to start the customer success program at my previous […] The post Women in Tech: Part 2 – Global Customer Success Manager appeared first on Hortonworks .

Announcing the General Availability of Hortonworks DataFlow 3.1

We are thrilled to announce the general availability of Hortonworks DataFlow (HDF) version 3.1 – introducing powerful new data-in-motion capabilities for edge analytics, flow management and streaming analytics, all powered and managed by a set of enterprise management services for governance, security and monitoring. The governing vision of HDF is to be the industry leading […] The post Announcing the General Availability of Hortonworks DataFlow 3.1 appeared first on Hortonworks .

What Telegram’s Upcoming ICO Could Mean for the Crypto World

A few weeks ago, the Telegram white paper leaked. The white paper discusses Telegram’s plans to build a decentralised ecosystem, launch a variety of Blockchain services and, of course, the Telegram Open Network (TON) comes with their own cryptocurrency called Gram. There are various rumours that Telegram is looking to raise at least $500 million in a pre-ICO sale and another $500 million in the actual ICO. As such, it could become the largest crypto raise to date and have a significant impact. However, it all depends on how Telegram will approach their ICO. After all, the current trend within the crypto market is to run an ICO with simply a white paper and raise millions to build the vision presented in that whitepaper. More of than not, these ICOs are a scam as we saw last week when Ethereum startup Prodeum disappeared after having raised $11 million. Apart from scamming investors, they also performed identity theft, as the ‘founders’ of Prodeum claim they were not aware that their