MapR Technologies, Inc., provider of the MapR distribution for Apache Hadoop, has introduced new data connection options for Hadoop to enable a range of data ingress and egress alternatives for customers. These include direct file-based access using standard tools and file-based applications, direct database connectivity, Hadoop specific connectors via Sqoop, Flume and Hive; as well as direct access to popular data warehouses and applications using custom connectors.
Technology providers Pentaho and Talend are partnering with MapR to provide direct integration with MapR's distribution, and MapR has also entered into a partnership with data warehouse and business intelligence platform vendor Tableau Software to enable customers to benefit from MapR's data connection options. These announcements are in addition to a partnership between Informatica and MapR. In March, Informatica and MapR announced joint support for MapR's distribution for Hadoop with the Informatica Platform, as well as the availability of Informatica HParser Community Edition for free download as part of the MapR distribution from the MapR website. The MapR distribution is also available through the EMC Greenplum MR Edition and Cisco UCS.
In addition to specific connectors and partnerships, MapR includes a complete ODBC driver for wide support of applications for data analysis and reporting. Developed with Simba Technologies, an industry expert in ODBC, MapR enables ODBC-enabled applications to connect and access data within MapR's Hadoop/Hive implementation, with no special add-in or optimizations needed.
Hadoop is emerging as a strategic platform for organizations because it represents a central area to consolidate data from many different sources and then perform analysis, says Jack Norris, vice president of marketing for MapR. "It is really a different approach than any traditional analytic platform or data warehouse." In other approaches, Norris says, users must understand the analysis - the questions that they are going to ask - in advance in order to define schemas correctly. "With Hadoop, you can have all this disparate data - and then ask the questions."
With the new data connection options, Jack Norris, vice president of marketing for MapR, Norris notes, customers will benefit from the ability to easily integrate leading data warehousing and business intelligence platforms with Hadoop and the benefits of the MapR distribution.
To download the latest MapR Distribution for Apache Hadoop, visit www.mapr.com/products/download.