SwiftStack Host First Ever Python Hack Event

With data analytics requiring the ability to rapidly increase computing capacity in a cost-efficient manner and the cloud providing effectively infinite scalability with a low barrier to entry, the two megatrends make for a match made in heaven. The last week has seen multiple vendors bring that combination deeper into the enterprise, starting with SwiftStack Inc., which raised $16 million from a group of top investors to help organizations ingest unstructured information in OpenStack.

The startup commercializes the Swift object storage component of the cloud operating system, which is designed to distribute large volumes of modern data workloads such as video and text across commodity drives. SwiftStack offers a proprietary edition of the technology that offers advanced management and automation features not available with the open-source version, such as the ability to to spread workloads across multiple data centers in different regions.

The firm said that it will use the funding, which includes contributions from ExactTarget Inc. backer OpenView Partners, Mayfield Fund and existing investors, to capture a bigger slice of the burgeoning data management market. Microsoft Corp. is aiming for the same goal with Azure Operational Insights, a new service for its infrastructure-as-a-service platform introduced shortly after SwiftStack announced its latest round that offers an alternative to Splunk Inc.’s hugely popular log analytics platform.

The offering was introduced at the software stalwart’s annual TechEd event alongside several other additions to Azure, including a hosted implementation of the technology Microsoft obtained when it acquired New Zealand’s Greenbutton Ltd. earlier this year. The solution makes it possible to move legacy applications into the cloud without having to change how they handles information, which greatly lowers the barrier to entry for traditional organizations.

The update continues the Redmond giant’s efforts to grow its lineup of data services, a goal it shares with IBM Corp., which also hit a milestone last week. Big Blue struck a partnership with Twitter Inc. that will see social activity incorporated into its core cloud-based data crunching offerings including the freemium Watson Analytics service it debuted back in December. The companies are promising that the integration will open up a whole new dimension to how marketers identify and respond to consumer trends while also create opportunities to improve customer care.

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