Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2015. Read them in this VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed article by William Bain, CEO of ScaleOut Software
In-Memory Computing: Transforming Business Intelligence in 2015
In the past,
companies relied on business intelligence (BI) tools to drive strategy and
identify opportunities based on historical data. However, in today's
fast-paced, data-driven economy, traditional BI often moves too slowly.
Operational intelligence - the ability to analyze live, fast-changing data and
provide immediate feedback - takes business intelligence to the next level and
creates amazing new opportunities. We expect to see operational intelligence
become an essential business tool in 2015, catalyzed by the combination of
in-memory and cloud-based computing technologies.
Advances in
in-memory computing have made the promise of operational intelligence a
reality, allowing live, fast-changing
data to be stored, updated and analyzed continuously. By making elastic
resources instantly available on demand, cloud computing provides an ideal
platform for deploying this technology. In 2015, in-memory computing will
become ubiquitous across BI deployments for real-time analysis and for the
generation of immediate feedback to assist live systems. This technology
greatly reduces time-to-insight and complements traditional business
intelligence centered on batch processing. The benefits of operational
intelligence are far-reaching across a wide range of industries, including retail,
media, manufacturing, cable, and the Internet of Things.
In 2015, real-time
analysis using in-memory computing will enable new business opportunities that
traditional BI cannot handle. For example, retail customers can opt-in for a
more personalized shopping experience (both in-store and online) by using a
mobile phone to integrate their location and preferences with shopping history.
Using RFID tags, stores can track inventory with high efficiency and minimize the
stock that needs to be kept on hand. Sales associates can then make
personalized recommendations to their customers backed with continuous,
fine-grained tracking of inventory. By offering shoppers highly personalized
recommendations, operational intelligence provides brick and mortar retailers a
competitive edge against ever-encroaching online retailers while taking online
shopping to a new level of service.
Personalization is
also coming to pay-TV providers. Data from set-top
cable boxes and selection patterns from satellite TV subscriptions and online providers
create a new way for brands to reach and engage with consumers. Taking this
kind of data and using it to personalize entertainment recommendations and
track quality of service issues helps these providers maximize their value and
fend off competition. As more of these providers turn to operational
intelligence in the coming year, viewers will benefit from a significantly
enhanced viewing experience tailored to their individual tastes.
Over the
last few years, the manufacturing industry has begun to adopt operational
intelligence; outfitting machines on factory floors with sensors and networking
to monitor performance and
identify early indicators of problems, thereby preventing costly failure
scenarios. Rather than relying on routine inspections and component
replacements, manufacturers will deepen their use of operational intelligence, allowing
them to use live and historical data to improve processes and more efficiently
achieve operational goals.
The networked
factory floor is just a special case of the Internet of Things (IoT) - the
proliferation of networked, intelligent devices, ranging from thermostats to
wind turbines. In 2015, operational intelligence will add significant value to
IoT by enabling real-time analysis and immediate feedback to coordinate devices
and optimize operations. For example, it has the potential to steer bandwidth
among millions of cable boxes, detect temperature or power issues within an
office building, and fine tune a wind farm to optimize power distribution. The
applications for operational intelligence are endless, and we expect 2015 to be
the year in which this exciting technology begins to see broad adoption.
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About
the Author
ScaleOut
Software was founded in 2003 by Dr. William L. Bain. Bill has a Ph.D. (1978) in
electrical engineering / parallel computing from Rice University, and he has
worked at Bell Labs research, Intel and Microsoft. Bill founded and ran three
start-up companies prior to joining Microsoft. In the most recent company
(Valence Research), he developed a distributed Web load-balancing software
solution that was acquired by Microsoft and is now called Network Load
Balancing within the Windows Server operating system. Dr. Bain holds several
patents in computer architecture and distributed computing. As a member of the
screening committee for the Seattle-based Alliance of Angels, Dr. Bain is
actively involved in entrepreneurship and the angel community.