Simplifying queries is a top priority for Hadoop vendors, and MapR is no exception. The company is leading the charge with its M7 distribution, which wraps a distributed file system around HBase, an open source NoSQL database that runs atop the HDFS storage layer, to make it easier for users to consume information.

MapR announced on Wednesday that it has enhanced M7 to deliver four to ten times greater throughput while eliminating latency spikes. The company claims that its software now maintains less than 20 milliseconds of latency “across various workloads,” most notably traditional enterprise apps that have historically utilized relational databases.

“Our customers are moving Hadoop from pilot adoption and project use to mainstream enterprise deployments,” stated John Schroeder, the co-founder and chief executive officer of MapR. “MapR customers are experiencing the same reliability and enterprise-level performance with our distribution as they have seen with the Oracle platform at a fraction of the cost.”

Hadapt, an emerging provider of SQL-on-Hadoop technology, also updated its solution this week to make Hadoop more accessible for mainstream enterprises. The latest version of the startup’s software packs a new schema that adds support for multi-structured data such as documents and key-value pairs. The architecture empowers analysts to query structured and non-relational data from a single unified interface.

Hadapt and MapR are both competing with Cloudera, which is diversifying its Big Data lineup with security software and real-time querying capabilities. MapR is trying to catch up with an aggressive growth strategy that places an emphasis on overseas expansion.

Last month, the company hired industry veteran Patrik Svanström to head its new Stockholm office. Svanström had previously coordinated sales for Hewlett Packard’s General Western Europe division and served as the managing director for EMC in Sweden.