Big data has seen some of the hottest startups this year, and that trend looks to continue well into 2015. In fact, IDC expects the market to reach $32.4 billion by 2017.
Those numbers include startups of every shape and form, from the medical industry to the tech and innovation sphere. I’ve compiled a list of the coolest and most noteworthy startups so far in 2014:
10. Domo
Domo aims to simplify the process by which enterprises access their data. The service offers a cloud-based platform that can access many different data sources, and they are all visible from a single administrative dashboard.
According to Domo, the platform can piece together both structured and unstructured data from anywhere, including spreadsheets, databases, social media and more.
Even though the company was founded in 2011, they raised $125 million in Series C financing in February of this year.
9. Luminoso
Luminoso has set its sights on text-based analytics. Launched as a spin-off of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), the company offers "the world's first cloud-based, massively multilingual, scalable solution" for text analysis.
In June, the brand earned $6.5 million in Series A funding. Luminoso was also chosen by Sony to handle their "One Stadium Live" online platform for the World Cup, which pulled tons of content from social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus.
8. SumAll
There are so many social networks out there today that it's nearly impossible to compile data from each one separately - it would take months if not years to do so manually. SumAll allows customers to analyze data from 42 social media networks, and more are always being added.
The real benefit is users don't have to jump to each platform separately; they can simultaneously look at all data across networks like Facebook, Twitter, eBay, Instagram and more. It incorporates a bit of green engineering too, as it bundles all platforms into one - eliminating an increased dependency on energy and manpower.
Recently, SumAll rolled out a notification system that alerts customers when they receive social activity at a limit of their choosing.
7. Flatiron Health
Flatiron aims to use big data analytics techniques to help the medical industry gain insights into cancer. Yes, Flatiron is using big data to fight and treat cancer. That's pretty amazing.
It is currently developing a platform called the OncologyCloud, which will collect and analyze data taken directly from electronic medical records and billing systems. The end result is doctors and other users will be able to see a more complete depiction of a patient’s experience during oncology visits.
According to the company, just 4 percent of cancer patients in the US participate in clinical trials. That means the other 96 percent create a large blind spot, which the OncologyCloud should hopefully reduce.
The company was founded in 2012 by former employees of Google, Nat Turner and Zach Weinberg. They announced a $130 million round in funding was led by none other than Google Ventures.
6. Alpine Data Labs
Alpine Data Labs aims to bring the benefits of big data to the masses. Alpine's model allows users to launch queries using a drag and drop interface, simplifying the process for crowds who aren't normally invested in this sort of thing. It generates relevant data and works with both Hadoop and traditional data sources.
Even better, the Alpine platform includes collaboration features, which allow teams to work together while analyzing data. While Alpine Data Labs was founded in 2010, they raised $16 million in Series B venture funding in November.
5. Elasticsearch
Elasticsearch claims it has the "most advanced search and analytics engine" in the world. It uses several analytics tools to compile data, which then gets "scrubbed" or cleaned, allowing users to visualize it much better. Of course, the company has grown considerably over the past year and have garnered lots of attention for their ambitious move into big data.
In June, Elasticsearch closed a $70 million funding round.
4. Cloudera
Cloudera manages the open-source Hadoop platform through several means, including software add-ons, administrative tools and more. It's main goal is to make it easier for their customers to work with the platform, which can be a bit hairy at times on its own.
Cloudera closed a $900 million funding round in June. It also added Kim Stevenson to their board of directors, who migrated from corporate vice president and CIO at Intel.
3. Altiscale
Altiscale is one of the first brands in the industry to run and support Apache Hadoop, a platform for analyzing and managing big data. The company is also well known for their on-demand pay model that allows customers to pay only for what they use on a monthly basis. When it comes to big data, that's a promising pay model- the capex spending for such a thing has a way of growing.
2. Tamr
Tamr was formally launched this year, and is backed by several big names like Google Ventures and New Enterprise Associates. Tamr focuses on relationships between data sources, and helps customers make sense of their siloed data.
1. DataGravity
DataGravity will launch their first product sometime before the end of this year. It is billed as a tech platform that will churn and digest data, and then spit out usable information and analytics. All of that can be done with their upcoming platform without additional complex software. In other words, DataGravity looks to be an end-all be-all solution for most parties.
