There’s much more to the Hadoop ecosystem than just software. The market also boasts numerous professional services providers that focus on helping companies deploy and customize the analytics platform, a segment where Teradata Corp. has emerged as a frontrunner. The vendor cemented its position this morning by acquiring a UK-based consultancy called Big Data Partnership Ltd for an undisclosed amount.

The outfit was established in 2012 by three veterans of the professional services world to capitalize on the rising European demand for Hadoop and has since experienced “exponential growth”, according to its website. Big Data Partnership now does work in industries as diverse as telecommunications, online banking and media. The firm at one point even landed a contract to build an ACID-compliant Hadoop cluster for an unnamed British government agency, which presumably involved fairly sensitive information. Its impressive track record no doubt played a big part in Terdata’s decision to swoop in.

The press release in which the company announced the acquisition also praised the British boutique’s consulting practices and described them as complementary to its own. One of Big Data Partnership’s main selling points is that its experts can take on an analytics imitative at any stage of development, whether it’s a half-baked internal demo or a production Hadoop cluster in need of modernization. The firm can then provide support services and employee training to help organizations make the most use out of their infrastructure.

Teradata plans on integrating Big Data Partnership into its Think Big professional services division, which itself became part of the company through an acquisition last year. The unit will focus on generating new business in key European markets including its native UK, France, Germany and the Nordics. Teradata is also looking to establish a bigger presence in China, which has historically been difficult for Western technology vendors to enter but boasts a fast-growing analytics market that is more than worth the hassle.

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