Big data is complicated, and so are data platforms. Splunk Inc., for example, is popular because it is so versatile, but all those possibilities can leave all but seasoned experts a little lost. But the rich possibilities are too good to pass on, so some customers opt for an intermediary to help them hurry up and get to value.

Even scouting employees with mastery of Splunk can be a challenge, so companies had better employ them to the last drop, according to J.R. Murray (pictured), vice president of technical services at Gemini Data Inc.

“They are generally very well payed, so it’s easy for them to find opportunities elsewhere,” he said. “You’ve invested a lot in these people. Your success is very critical, and they’re a critical part of it, and it’s important to keep those people around.”

Murray spoke with Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and Stu Miniman (@stu), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the Splunk .conf18 event in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. They discussed the trials and triumphs of using Splunk, as well as Splunk’s recent efforts to simplify the platform for business people. (* Disclosure below.)

In the kitchen with Splunk

Gemini offers a hardware appliance, as well as software that assists analysts with the use of various data platforms. The company also works with customers at varying levels of expertise in platforms like Splunk to make sure they are getting their money’s worth.

“It’s one thing to have the platform, the deployment, the data; but, in fact, if you’re not getting any value out of that, what good is it?” Murray asked.

Gemini’s technology assists with automation and orchestration of Splunk, Apache Hadoop, or whatever data platforms a company uses. For customers lacking skills, the company can come in and help implement Splunk for actual use cases. Splunk really shines in the area of individualized use cases, according to Murray, and fraud detection is one example.

“The tools in that space today are prohibitively expensive, very complex, and we come in with Splunk, we’re able to take in data from all sorts of places and technologies … and then we convert that into business value for the customer by means of services,” he said.

Fraud detection requirements are different for every business, so there isn’t much in the way of prefab solutions, Murray concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Splunk .conf18 event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Splunk .conf18. Neither Splunk Inc., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE