Hadoop will be in most advanced analytics products by 2015, Gartner says

IDG News Service - The Hadoop open source programming framework for large-scale data analysis is already one of the highest-profile technologies in the "big data" market, but users can expect it to become even more prevalent over the next couple of years, according to Gartner.

In fact, some 65% of "packaged analytic applications with advanced analytics" will have Hadoop embedded by 2015, according to a recent report by the analyst firm, which was announced Thursday.

"Even though special skills were needed to deploy Hadoop systems in 2012, organizations realize the strength that Hadoop-powered analysis brings to big data programs," according to the report. "This is especially true for analyzing poorly structured data, text, behavior analysis and time-based queries. While IT organizations conduct trials over the next few years, especially with Hadoop-enabled database management system (DBMS) products and appliances, application providers will go one step farther and embed purpose-built, Hadoop-based analysis functions within packaged applications."

This trend will have implications for various constituencies within IT shops, Gartner said.

Data management staffers should ensure their company's infrastructure is compatible with Hadoop, while BI (business intelligence) teams should "look for analytic functions adopted by business users, to identify internal Hadoop projects with high business value," according to the report.

Other evidence suggests Gartner's prediction for Hadoop has merit. On Thursday, a keyword search for Hadoop on the IT careers site Dice.com turned up nearly 1,000 jobs posted within the past month, many from software vendors.

But even as Hadoop becomes more prevalent, the technology is entering the "trough of disillusionment," one of the terms on Gartner's "Hype Cycle" scale, Gartner analyst Svetlana Sicular said in a blog post this week. The term refers to a period after an initial wave of interest in a technology peaks, and users lose interest after projects don't work out as expected. The trough is followed by the "slope of enlightenment" and the "plateau of productivity" as a technology matures, according to Gartner.

Gartner didn't just focus on Hadoop in its recent report on the analytics market.

It also predicts that by 2016, some 70% of analytics vendors will add natural language and vocal command capabilities to their products: "As mobile and tethered users continue to become more comfortable with and expect voice-enabled applications, the days of users tapping and clicking away at BI tools may not become a thing of the past, but will certainly become passA(c)."

Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris' email address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com