Virtualization and Cloud executives share their predictions for 2017.  Read them in this 9th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Contributed by Executive Team Members of Alation

2017: All about the data

Big data steps aside for self-service analytics, data lake independence, data autonomy and management

Satyen Sangani, CEO of Alation:

• Big data wanes - Big data will continue to wane as a term. The focus now turns from infrastructure to applications with specific purposes. Companies will look to applications and new business models for concrete value, rather than the more general idea that data can be useful at scale.
• Resume must-have: Data analysis - The ability to understand data will become the key marker in the emerging divide between the middle class and the managerial class. Where once a college degree might have been a clear divider, now those who continue to favor and profit from investment in analytical skills, science and technology will see their value increase in demand.
  

Venky Ganti, CTO of Alation:

• Data lake independence: Data lakes have enabled us to push all source data into one place and then try to organize and transform it into analyzable datasets later. This will change with the increasing adoption of technologies (e.g., Presto) that enable analysis of data at the source, without having to pull them all into a common store upfront.
• Managing the sprawl: Self-service analytics technologies have put analysis into the hands of more users and as a byproduct, led to the creation of derivative artifacts: additional datasets and reports, think Tableau workbooks and Excel spreadsheets. These artifacts have taken on a life of their own. In 2017, we will see a set of technologies begin to emerge to help organize these self-service data sets and manage data sprawl. These technologies will combine automation and encourage organic understanding, guided by well thought-out, but broadly applicable policies.
  

Aaron Kalb, head of product at Alation:

• Self-service analytics rises: Self-service analytics will increasingly become a must-have, and analytical organizations will have to demonstrate their value by disintermediating the process of decision-makers accessing data, rather than trying to show they are useful by always being in the middle.
  

David Crawford, engineer at Alation:

• Data autonomy and management play nice: Autonomy and order have traditionally been opposing forces in data management. In 2017, the tension will be relieved as the end-users of the data gain the ability to self-organize and collaborate, essentially bringing the best of both worlds.