A Cloud Solution to the Big Data Challenge
Not long ago I read an article citing a large U.K.-based retailer that wanted to run a project in the cloud but felt it was too expensive compared to doing it on-premise.
Apparently, something was lost in translation during the sales cycle. Cloud is almost always the less expensive approach. There’s plenty of evidence—anecdotal and otherwise—that illustrates the cost benefits, including faster ROI by maintaining the same capabilities from in-memory storage without additional investment in hardware infrastructure, along with IT staffing cost savings, just to name a couple.
Of course, that was just one customer’s view. But there’s another, more widely held myth in the IT industry to debunk: that organizing, analyzing and drawing insights from big data is too expensive for small or midsize companies. It’s simply not the case. Big data analytics tools and solutions have matured enough to be attainable for a broader segment of the market at a continually lowering cost over time.
But what’s interesting here is the dance between big data and cloud. The cloud created many of our big data challenges. The proliferation of social media and other content sources (many generated by cloud) have overwhelmed traditional methods for making use of all the information. But, cloud is also helping companies solve those challenges, for less money than your customers may realize.
Cloud Levels the Big Data Playing Field
Case in point: Cloud combined with processing data on an in-memory platform can dramatically lower the barriers of entry for taming big data. At the risk of self-promotion, allow me to offer up SAP HANA Cloud as an example. You can address the customer’s big data problem at a lower TCO and higher ROI. Customers can make better decisions and complete faster transactions. And they’ll benefit from innovations in future applications that can only be achieved through processing data on an in-memory platform.
Late last year, IDC forecasted that only 40 percent of CIOs will “rise to the challenge of big data” by 2017, in part because of the business case surrounding the technology. But I actually think cloud will sway more CIOs to tackle big data.
The cloud has voided the argument that implementing big data tools and solutions takes too long, and soon the high-cost argument will be moot to even the thriftiest businesses. The benefits and ROI are simply becoming too much to argue against.
Last month, our CFO predicted that SAP’s cloud-delivered software will surpass on-premise software sales by 2020. Cloud is here and will continue to drive future innovation along with big data. Combined, each could serve as a true accelerant to the other, further entwining them as a means to help businesses run as efficiently as possible.
Software vendors providing solutions in this space, including SAP with the SAP HANA Cloud Platform, will absolutely count on their partners to lead the way. We encourage and support our partners to start the big data conversations with their customers now. Explain how their business can lower costs and improve productivity through new insights gained from advanced data analysis.
The longer you delay, the greater the chance that your competitors will start realizing the big data opportunity and pull business away from you. SAP offers the training, enablement and solutions to help you be successful in this growing space.
Big data may continue to be a challenge for many organizations. Yes, it is partly fueled by the cloud. But as it happens, it can also be brought under control by the cloud, for a lot less money. And you, as a partner, can profit in helping customers do so.
If a certain U.K.-based retailer wasn’t aware of the cost benefits of a cloud-based solution to big data, there’s a good chance some of your customers aren’t either. Now’s the time to find out if that’s the case.
About SAP
SAP offers partners a complete portfolio of end-to-end business solutions that include applications such as ERP as well as analytics and databases. All of these solutions can be powered by SAP HANA, the powerful real-time computing platform; are mobile-ready; and can be delivered via on-premise, cloud or through a hybrid model.
Learn more about partnership opportunities at: http://www.sap.com/partners/.
Ira Simon is vice president, Partner Marketing & Communications, at SAP. Monthly guest blogs such as this one are part of The VAR Guy’s annual sponsorship.
