Big Data and the Internet of Things business cases make a number of unproven assumptions, but mostly they assume exponential growth. Sometimes there are lies, damn lies and technology marketing There’s no easier way to make a technology business case than to suggest that growth will be exponential. In other words, you suggest that the […]
How an Ancient Greek made the first Big Data decision and earned a fortune. Thales was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived around 600BC in Miletus which is in present day Turkey. He is enormously important in history because, before Thales, the only way to explain events was to tell stories about the Gods. Thunder? […]
Much continues to be made of the big data phenomenon, but I have always asked the question: “so what?” As people go about their lives and their work, simply talking at them about big data is foolhardy. In fact, it’s not about big data phenomenon or the internet of things phenomenon or whatever other jargon the […]
Exasol can work with more than just flat files – our latest video shows it happily working with XML files over a web service. So why is my latest instructional video all about how you connect the BBC News website to Exasol? I can’t think of a single reason anybody would actually want to do […]
The story of the “invention” of Big Data and a lesson from history. I’m currently writing my script for the Dataconomy event in London in two weeks’ time. Typically, I’ve assembled way more information than I need for a twenty minute talk, and so instead of talking really quickly and blitzing through all the slides, […]
Exasol has experienced extreme growth in 2014, and we are proud of it! Now and again, it’s always nice to stop what you are doing, review what has gone before and take stock. Indeed, I am reminded of a great poem by William Henry Davis called “Leisure” which summons us to do just that: What […]
Slow databases are SO 1990s I recently heard a remarkable sentence from a friend of mine. He was trying to analyse some data for his company, using a big database with a short famous name. His queries were constantly hanging and I asked him what he was intended to do about that. “Tonight I’ll get […]
In the world of fast databases and data analytics, businesses can get tangible value out of data that will help grow your business, be it through new revenue streams, increased customer satisfaction levels or distinct cost savings. Many of us will remember taking part in treasure hunts where we sought to crack a code or solve […]
A “360 degree customer view” is a well understood concept – so why are people now talking about a “720 degree customer view”? I have a problem. Some marketing jargon makes me literally Laugh Out Loud. All it takes is for some smooth consultant with good hair and an expensive suit to say “we can […]
A practical demonstration: ExaSolution versus Natural Language Processing I’d like to mark Thanksgiving by celebrating one of America’s greatest living poets, Shawn Carter, a.k.a. Jay-Z. The thing I like most about Jay-Z’s poetry is that there is no way I could have written it. His upbringing, working and social lives are radically different from mine, […]