Progress DataDirect Provides Scalable and Secure Access to Hadoop and the Cloud

Managing unstructured data is becoming a tough challenge for enterprises. Apache Hadoop is an open-source software project designed to address this challenge. Hadoop enables the distributed processing of large data sets across clusters of commodity servers.

Apache Hadoop and Apache Hive data warehouse are increasingly used for data summarization, query and analysis. However, data comes in many forms and organizations need the ability to perform additional analysis in real-time using their existing SQL-based business intelligence and data analytics tools. This means they need a highly flexible and solid connection to these tools.

In a key development to address big data challenges, Progress Software (News - Alert) Corporation announced the release of DataDirect Connect for ODBC 7.1 and DataDirect Connect XE for ODBC 7.1.

The new DataDirect solutions deliver highly secure and scalable connectivity for Apache Hive, a key big data source, helping companies better access their data whether on-premises or in the cloud. With this connectivity, analysts and decision makers can gain insights contained in the Hadoop-based data warehouse.

The DataDirect Connect ODBC driver for Apache will unlock reams of business intelligence and provide business analysts with the information businesses need to make accurate decisions quickly and easily, according to company officials.

With this connectivity, ISVs and OEMs can have one driver with DataDirect quality and performance to enable their applications to connect to all major distributions of Hadoop, including Apache Hadoop, MapR Apache Hadoop, Amazon EMR and Cloudera's distribution of Apache Hadoop.

The DataDirect Connect for ODBC 7.1 and DataDirect Connect XE for ODBC 7.1 drivers also offer expanded support for cloud databases. It can support Microsoft (News - Alert) SQL Azure, and additional premium features for an expanded spectrum of databases, including IBM DB2 10.1, IBM DB2 pureScale 9.8, Teradata 14, and Microsoft SQL Server 2012.

In addition to big data connectivity for Apache Hive, the newly released DataDirect Connect drivers include cloud database connectivity with support for the Microsoft SQL Azure database; expanded database coverage, with advanced support and certification; and expanded native database security for Oracle (News - Alert) Advanced Security (OAS), including support for ten additional encryption algorithms.

"A key focus at Progress is to enable enterprises to act on data in real-time. We are excited to provide our vast end user community with a solution to more effectively consume data with their existing BI and analytics platforms and to enable our OEM partners to support different distributions of Hadoop across all their supported platforms," said Michael Benedict, vice president and business line manager, Progress DataDirect, in a statement.

"There's a critical need for a premium driver that will support all major distributions of Apache Hadoop Hive cost effectively, and with this release we are addressing this need for our partners and customers," Benedict added.

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Edited by Rachel Ramsey