Earlier this week we teamed up with IBM to host and participate in the #ibmblu tweetchat. The main topic of conversation was speed of thought analytics, and specifically how IBM’s BLU Acceleration empowers it. Speed of consumption is changing our ability to read analytics. Also discussed was the integration of Cognos Cubes with BLU Acceleration, and the resulting “fast on fast” queries.

BLU Acceleration technology does three things: makes it simpler, more economical and faster to analyze massive amounts of data. BLU Acceleration on IBM’s DB2 database software enables users to have much faster access to key information. But faster doesn’t necessarily mean easier all-the-way-around. What are some key factors to reading analytics faster, what exactly in the analytics should we be reading? What departments run the reports and who is in charge of the data? BDaaS (Big Data as a service) is a new vertical for Big Data. On this tweetchat IBM experts dive into speed of thought analytics, focusing on the enterprise perspective.

Here is a recap of the #ibmblu tweetchat questions along with some top answers:

• How is #bigdata changing #analytics? #ibmblu

A1 the whole purpose of #bigdata is analytics – why collect the data if you don’t analyze it #ibmblu

— Craig Mullins (@craigmullins) July 24, 2013

• What new kinds of reporting are you asked for with #bigdata #ibmblu

A2 I hear “Our analytics today are 90% pre-authored reports / 10% ad hoc self-service – we want those numbers reversed”. #ibmblu will help

— Jason Tavoularis (@JasonTavoularis) July 24, 2013

• Are there new types of data you’re trying to analyze for the first time? #ibmblu

#ibmblu A3 For me types are things like text, numbers and keys. New sources introduce variations like video, social media etc…

— Craig Statchuk (@statchuk) July 24, 2013

• How can you speed up your reporting? #ibmblu

A4 DIM – Data in memory #ibmblu

— Dave Vellante (@dvellante) July 24, 2013

• How can #Cognos 10 take advantage of #ibmblu Acceleration?

A4 the speed of the reporting is great, but visualization and new questions (new ideas) are what gives #bi… #ibmblu http://t.co/cBIBhUpxKJ

— Stuart Miniman (@stu) July 24, 2013

• Who handles reporting requests in your org? #ibmblu

#ibmblu A6 Self-service BI is not a pipe-dream. It is essential to corporate life that analysts are both self-service and empowered

— David Floyer (@dfloyer) July 24, 2013

• Can a business user run reports directly, or does the #DBA need to be involved? #ibmblu

A7 Not for performance; DBA still owns the data but business users can explore as needed with fast response w #ibmblu

— jrockwood (@jrockwood) July 24, 2013

• Can you get fast response free-form exploring with reporting tools? #ibmblu

A8 Absolutely! Use Cognos Workspace Advanced (CWA) to explorer your data. #ibmblu makes interactive analysis in CWA faster

— Jason Tavoularis (@JasonTavoularis) July 24, 2013

The verdict is in, and it seems that IBM is tackling the speed of thought analysis head on with BLU Acceleration and Cognos Cubes. I’ll leave you with one little tidbit from Wikibon’s CTO and Founder David Floyer: “Speed of thought is measured in seconds – otherwise train of thought is lost. Short-term memory is about 7 seconds!!” For a collection of the entire recap, see the Storify below: