When Hadoop made its entry into the big data picture 13 years ago, it offered a necessary platform for big data management while the cloud was still a mere speck on the enterprise horizon. Now, the largest three Hadoop players — Cloudera Inc., Hortonworks Inc. and MapR Technologies Inc. — have big data workloads running in the cloud, a trend that is likely to grow over time.

“None of them at the time had a cloud strategy,” said Dave Vellante (@dvellante), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the kickoff discussion at theCUBE NYC event, as he recalled the evolution of the three largest Hadoop incumbents. “Today, that’s all they’re talking about, cloud and hybrid cloud.”

Vellante was joined at the event by co-host John Furrier (@furrier), and they discussed the merging of workload needs with cloud infrastructure and the role of artificial intelligence in the big data competitive landscape.

Hybrid initiative for Hortonworks

Vellante’s point was further reinforced on Monday when Hortonworks announced an Open Hybrid Architecture Initiative with IBM Cloud and Red Hat Inc. to enable big data workloads in hybrid environments.

“You’re starting to see data and workloads being tossed into the same conversation,” Furrier said. “That’s a cloud conversation that is all about multicloud.”

Where does AI fit into the evolving cloud and big data picture? On Wednesday, Cloudera released its Enterprise 6.0 platform for data warehousing and machine learning, continuing the company’s move into intelligence tools for the hybrid cloud.

“Cloud will drive more action,” Furrier said. “AI is a software layer substrate that will be underpinned by the cloud. Cloud subsumes AI; that’s the story, and that’s going to be the big trend.”

The use of AI and other key business tools inside the cloud infrastructure could also play a major role in the overall competitive technology landscape. With the emergence of tech industry leaders, such as Google, Apple and Amazon, other companies will be looking for ways to compete and narrow the advantage.

In this scenario, AI becomes part of an automation strategy as well. “The way they close the gap is to buy technologies that have AI infused in it,” said Vellante, who described AI, blockchain and other services as an automation layer on top of the cloud. “That’s going to be the big tailwind for innovation over the next decade.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of theCUBE NYC event.

Photo: opencirrus.org