The Big Data-as-a-Service (BDaaS) market is one to definitely keep an eye on in the coming years. It’s been quickly growing as more and more companies understand the value that big data solutions can bring to their individual organizations. This is especially true among mid-size businesses which likely didn’t have the budget or resources to invest in things like constructing their own data centers or employing the best data scientists. With the rise of BDaaS, all of the potential found within big data is now at their fingertips in much the same way other cloud services have led to more opportunities and capabilities. While a company may want to work with a BDaaS provider, choosing one can prove to be difficult. The BDaaS market is changing, at time rapidly so, making the decision a challenging one. Though the market is evolving, there are a number of things you can look for when you’re considering a BDaaS provider.
The first thing you’ll want to do is evaluate your company’s needs. Since this will be different for each organization, it’s a good beginning step for determining a BDaaS provider. When you know the ways in which big data will help your business, you can make an educated decision over your choice for provider based on the specific services the provider offers. An early evaluation of your needs may even help you figure out that a BDaaS provider might not actually help with your organization’s goals. BDaaS usually works best with large unstructured data, the type found in sentiment analysis and intelligent video analytics. If your company’s data doesn’t fall within the unstructured category, using a BDaaS provider might not be necessary.
You’ll also want to look further into a provider’s offerings, specifically what their start-up costs are like. Many BDaaS providers give potential clients a free trial as a way to get their feet wet. This allows you to test the platform’s features and see if it works well with what you’re trying to accomplish. Cost free options are certainly appealing try things out a bit, but they also show confidence in the product on the provider’s part. If a BDaaS provider doesn’t offer a free or low cost trial period, that might be an early indication that it won’t be the best fit for your business.
Security is a concern for any business choosing to use a cloud service, and that should apply to you as well when picking a BDaaS provider. Using BDaaS by necessity means moving data to the cloud. Much of that data will likely be valuable and sensitive — definitely not the kind of information that you want to see stolen or leaked. When choosing a provider, investigate their security features and make sure they employ the latest in security technology. Know what steps they go to in order to protect your data. The last thing you want is to be deep into a partnership with a BDaaS provider and realize that security isn’t one of their priorities. You’ll also want to check to see what kind of backup solutions they provide, just in case some data is lost during data movement.
Get to know the various types of BDaaS that are available. Again, this is an evolving market with lots of options, so there are many types of services at your disposal. Some types are known as Core BDaaS, a type that works great with irregular workloads or for organizations that incorporate it into a bigger architecture. Amazon Web Services EMR is one example of this type. There’s also Feature BDaaS, a good fit for businesses that need some additional features that fall outside the typical offering of most Hadoop ecosystems. Many prefer this type in order to get big data solutions going as quickly as possible. Performance BDaaS is tailored to help companies optimize Hadoop performance while streamlining infrastructure. As you can see, with all the types of choose from, you’re bound to discover one that goes well with your organization.
Choosing a Big Data-as-a-Service provider is a crucial decision that could impact your organization tremendously over time. In other words, it’s not something to take lightly, especially with so many businesses taking advantage of big data solutions. With the above tips in mind, you’ll be able to make an informed choice that will benefit your company for many years to come.
