Going to Las Vegas for IODIt is almost that time of the year when IBM Information Management customers and partners head to las Vegas to attend IBM IOD conference. Over the years it has become a very popular destination with record attendance and lots of really great sessions. I've presented at the IOD every year for as long as I can remember and this year will be no exception. I'd love to connect with the readers of this blog. So, if you are going, seek me out, come to one of the sessions or just drop by and say hello. On Sunday I will be

What do iPhone 5 maps debacle, cloud and big data hadoop have to do with each otherYou are probably scratching your head thinking that the title of this post is a random collection of words. I assure you nothing can be further from the truth; read on and the connection will become apparent. Let's start with two biggest news in consumer electronics of 2012 i.e. introduction of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6. One of the touted features of the iOS 6 is replacement of the Google Maps with the brand spanking new Maps app from Apple. Apple Maps turned out to be a major disappointment garnering lots of criticism and prompting Tim Cook, Apple CEO, to publicly apologize to

What is Big Data anyway?IT industry's penchant for trends is eclipsed only by that of the fashion industry. The latest IT fashion is big data. As with most trendy topics, there is no shortage of pundits who will espose their views on the subject. I happen to be curating a daily electronic paper called All About Big Data and I am overwhelmed with the volume of writing on the subject of big data. Unfortunately, much of this writing is nothing more than self serving chest beating by major IT vendors. Not a day goes by without someone asking me "so, what is so different about big data?" This is the first in a series of posts that will be focused on coming up with a non nonsense easy to understand by meere mortals explanation.

Developer Day for Hadoop and Big Data geeks in Silicon ValleyI am always envious of the people who live in Silicon Valley. It is not the California weather that I crave though it is nice. If you like technology there never seems to be a shortage of meetups, conferences and all around interesting events. There is just such a high concentration of talent that you can't help it but almost absorb this knowledge by osmosis. We in Toronto are trying to get Toronto Hadoop Usergroup meetups going (please join and spread the word) but it seem to be a bit harder than it is for the people in the valley.

How Big Data made Groupon refuse $6 billion from GoogleThe fact that Groupon, a two-year old startup, refused six billion offer from Google is the stuff of legends. For most people, myself included, this was just unfathomable. While we may never know the real reason for Groupon refusing to grab the Google money and run, there is an upcoming book Groupon's Biggest Deal Ever: The Inside Story of How One Insane Gamble, Tons of Unbelievable Hype, and Millions of Wild Deals Made Billions for One Ballsy Joker by Frank Sennett that suggests that big data analytics had something to do with it. According to early reviewers of the

Happy Mother’s Day to Big Data and Cloud MamasWith the Mothers Day upon us and with many of my blog followers having mothers (my big data analytics software estimates this to be at close to 100%) or mothers themselves, I thought I'd post this infographic just as a reminder to do something nice for all the mothers out there. Not Yo Mama's Mama -- a Digital Mom Infographic by Internet Exposure

DB2 Express-C v10: An even better database, still free of chargeToday is a really great day for those who like IBM DB2 and especially those who like to get it free of charge. Earlier today we released DB2 Express-C, the free version of the IBM DB2 DBMS, to the world. We made it available for immediate download and we also made it available on the cloud in the RightScale MultiCloud Marketplace. Don't get scared by the word "Marketplace". DB2 Express-C is still free of charge and just as before it can be used to run production applications and even be embedded in to your own solutions. Why get DB2

Where Does Big Data Come From?In 1999, there were 38 million broadband Internet users worldwide. Today, there are 1.2 billion people getting broadband Internet access on their phones. Yes, one out of every seven on our planet now has broadband connectivity on their mobile phone.

DB2, Big Data and Cloud Computing WebinarCool stuff Update: Replay of the webinar is at http://channelbigdata.com/video/clouds-for-small-and-big-data The coolest part of my job is the opportunity to work with hottest technologies. I've been lucky over the years to be able to pick an emerging technology that I thought was going to make an impact on IT and immerse myself in it. Right now I find myself torn between two areas that I am convinced are the game changers. When I can't decide what to pick I do both. Cloud computing is redefining the way IT resources are provisioned. It is a fundamental change in the way

The Legacy of Steve Jobs?I, along with hundreds of thousands of others, am reading a book about Steve Jobs. This post is not a book review. It is a great book and if you have any time over the holidays to dedicate to reading, this is the one to pick. Steve Jobs was a remarkable individual. His legacy is in profound transformation of seven industries: personal computers, animated movies, music retailing, mobile phone, computer tablets, digital publishing, and retail stores. While these are big words and the book provides a riveting account of his life, it is videos like these that really make the