Big data is one of those rare opportunities that, from a channel perspective, can be a gift that keeps on giving. For many solution providers, however, the cost of entry into that opportunity has been so high that many potential customers have yet to do anything more than build a pilot application.

Looking to alter big data economics in a way that favors the channel, Splunk, a provider of big data indexing engine, has created Splunk Light, a version of its software that customers can get started with for $75 per month. Customers still have to sign up for an annual license, but Shay Mowlem, vice president of Product Marketing at Splunk, said Splunk Light represents an effort to expand the overall size of what Splunk describes as an operational intelligence platform.

Splunk is used most often inside IT departments to analyze log files to discover the source of a particular issue or security threat. But it’s also starting to be used in a wide variety of emerging Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios. By creating a lower point of entry, Mowlem said that Splunk expects that many of those customers will migrate up to the enterprise-class versions of Splunk down the road.

The folks at Arrow Electronics apparently agree. Splunk and Arrow this week inked a distribution agreement through which Arrow will provide solution providers in North America access to Splunk software.

Shannon McWilliams, senior director of Enterprise Software Sales for North America at Arrow, said that while big data clearly represents a major opportunity for the channel, the cost of such projects more often than not will require some financing help from a distributor.

In general, McWilliams said, the type of partners that succeed with Splunk projects in particular tend to have a fair amount of experience in security and managing IT infrastructure.

In its most recent fourth quarter, Splunk racked up total revenues of $147.4 million, a 48 percent year-over-year increase. Total revenues for the year were $450.9 million. While still operating at a loss, the company already has more than 900 customers.

For most solution providers Splunk and other big data applications are a means to a larger end. The amount of IT infrastructure these applications tend to consume creates all kinds of downstream revenue opportunities for the channel. But before any of that can occur solution providers need to first find a way to master the big data fundamentals.