Consolidating an organization’s disparate data management systems into one centralized repository can theoretically ease processing, but the approach has proven difficult to implement in practice. One of the vendors trying to remedy the situation is a Massachusetts-based startup called Podium Data Inc. that raised $9.5 million today to fuel its work.

The funding was led by Malibu Ventures and saw the participation of several notable figures from the business world including Andrew and Alex Tisch, the co-chairs of multibillion-dollar conglomerate Loews Corporation. Podium Data will use the new capital to widen the adoption of its namesake analytics platform, which is designed to replace the numerous specialized tools that are required to support a large-scale Hadoop cluster. The startup says that the system can streamline maintenance operations and automate every major step of the analytics process, starting with the initial task of importing records for processing.

According to Podium Data’s website, its platform provides data loaders that make it possible to quickly pull information from an organizations’ internal systems, including historically inaccessible platforms like mainframes. Users can then convert the records into a standardized format and combine them using an automated preparation tool that the startup says is able to complete the task in as little as a few minutes. Then finally, the cleansed data is exposed through a graphical interface that provides the ability to look for useful information using point-and-click controls. Analysts can also share their findings with colleagues using built-in collaboration features and even deploy entire Hadoop applications without having to call on the help of the information technology department.

Added up, Podium Data estimates that its platform’s automation capabilities can reduce management expenses by upwards of 50 percent, which has the potential to amount to millions of dollars for a large organization. The startup’s value proposition has already won over several major enterprises including healthcare giant Cigna Corp., Citizens Financial Group Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. of Japan.

Today’s funding will enable Podium Data to expand its customer base even further. The startup plans to invest the capital in developing new features for its platform, expanding sales operations and stepping up its marketing efforts.

Image via Geralt