In a sign of the continued explosive integration occurring within the Big Data channel, Talend, which develops an open source data integration platform, has announced significant growth in its partner program. Here’s the scoop, and what it says about the bigger picture.

Talend, which we’ve covered frequently here on The VAR Guy, focuses on delivering user-friendly tools for managing large sets of data based on Apache Hadoop. The company’s main product strategy is centered on allowing administrators to interact with Hadoop without having to become versed in the low-level language of the platform.

Building Partnerships

From the start, executives at Talend have been aware of the importance of engagement with the channel — especially the open source ecosystem — to the platform’s success. And as Talend’s product line has expanded and gained new features, its partner base has also grown, as the company highlighted recently in an announcement which pointed to a number of system integrators that have endorsed Talend’s solutions.

The major names mentioned include Caserta Concepts, Impetus Technologies, Think Big Analytics and Zaloni. They all form part of Talend’s official partner network, which it calls its Alliance Program.

While the announcement this week isn’t about any new specific product or initiative, it is reflective of the impressive momentum of the Big Data channel, and of Hadoop’s key importance in integrated solutions for addressing Big Data challenges.

Yet more importantly, Talend’s endorsement by major systems integrators highlights the demand for user-friendly Big Data solutions. Hadoop is great, and offers a huge amount of power. But many customers want data management products that don’t require IT staff to learn a complex new technical platform. Talend helps smooth over that obstacle to Hadoop adoption.

And last but not least, the popularity Talend enjoys within integrated Big Data solutions also underlines the significance of open source software within this niche. Partners and users appear keen to adopt non-proprietary solutions that won’t lock them in — an approach that only makes sense, after all, given that the underlying Hadoop technology is also open source.

Going forward, we’ll keep our eyes open for Talend’s Connect event in San Francisco in November, which will bring together various members of the Big Data channel interested in Talend’s offerings. And we’ll also continue to keep a close watch on the Big Data channel as it evolves.