There are a lot of technologies out there which purport to solve the Big Data problem. But here is only one technology that really does the trick -it's called an Angle Grinder. Specificially, an Angle Grinder with a 4" diamond blade. Under $100 at your local home improvement store.
There are a slew of software technologies out there which all claim to be the cure for our Big Data ills - - Hadoop, columnar data stores, MapReduce, highly parallel algorithms leveraging multi-core, numerous technologies involving tightly coupled and loosely coupled parallelism, data manipulation and processing based on extended set mathematics, etc. - almost too many to mention.
But you can save yourself a lot of time and money by just buying an Angle Grinder.
Why do I make this ridiculous assertion? I want to make a point about the inappropriate use of otherwise worthwhile technology.
Some years ago, my dad decided to tile several rooms of his house. Rather than buy or rent the correct tool for the job (a "wet" tile saw with a diamond blade), he bought a $19 diamond blade for his angle grinder. He successfully tiled over 1,000 square feet worth of floor that way, much to my astonishment. He then spent a good part of the next few years telling everyone who would listen how he saved hundreds of dollars by not buying a dedicated tile saw, and how an Angle Grinder is not only the perfect tool for tiling a home, but will solve many other problems including world hunger.
The gist of this tale is that it's possible to solve a problem using completely the wrong tool - or even a bad tool, if you're good enough, clever enough or at least very persistent. I can (and have) removed screws with a saw, but a screwdriver is almost always a better solution.
Big Data is not a problem at all. It is an entire class of problems. Although proponents of the various Big Data-related technologies (and/or the companies developing commercial products based on these technologies) sometimes claim to be the solution to the Big Data problem, in reality, these technologies can be excellent at solving SOME Big Data problems, and completely inappropriate for solving other Big Data problems.
Like many solutions in life, any of the technologies provide varying levels of efficacy, depending on the nature of the problem. And like the angle grinder, just because a technology COULD be used for solving some particular problem, doesn't mean that it should be.
The moral of the story: minds work best when open. Pick the best tools for the job.
This past Father's Day, Dad showed me the tile saw he (finally) bought. And then commented on how much time he would have saved had he bought the right tool for the job years ago.
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