As my colleagues and I attend 3 major data and technology industry events in New York City this coming week – ML Ops, Finovate, and the granddaddy of them all, Strata Data Conference – it is interesting to note how far we have come in a few short decades. It may be hard to imagine today, but there was a time not too very long ago when data analysts, with a few notable exceptions, were relegated to the hidden recesses of most corporations. Better to toil away in the bowels than to be shown the light of day. For many decades, even as information technology (IT) emerged as a critical business function, data was viewed more as something that firms filed away in vaults for the mandatory seven years to comply with regulators, and not a business asset that could be mined to unlock critical business insights. Data was perceived as the purview of those who were sometimes derisively referred to as data geeks or "propeller heads". This was long before Silicon Valley, or Wall Street, embraced the term "geek".

Big Data and AI are now near-universally accepted as important pillars of business growth. They have managed to capture the attention and imagination of senior business decision-makers, grabbing a seat at the Board and C-Suite levels. It is difficult to imagine today, but there was a time a few years back when data analysts were relegated to the hidden recesses of most corporations. Before information technology (IT) emerged as a critical business function, data was considered something that firms filed away in vaults to comply with regulators and not a business asset that must be mined to unlock critical business insights. Firms perceived data as the purview of those who were sometimes derisively referred to as data geeks or "propeller heads."

It may be hard to imagine today, but there was a time not too very long ago when data analysts, with a few notable exceptions, were relegated to the hidden recesses of most corporations. Better to toil away in the bowels than to be shown the light of day. For many decades, even as information technology (IT) emerged as a critical business function, data was viewed more as something that firms filed away in vaults for the mandatory seven years to comply with regulators, and not a business asset that could be mined to unlock critical business insights. Data was perceived as the purview of those who were sometimes derisively referred to as data geeks or "propeller heads". This was long before Silicon Valley, or Wall Street, embraced the term "geek".

As my colleagues and I attend 3 major data and technology industry events in New York City this coming week – ML Ops, Finovate, and the granddaddy of them all, Strata Data Conference – it is interesting to note how far we have come in a few short decades. It may be hard to imagine today, but there was a time not too very long ago when data analysts, with a few notable exceptions, were relegated to the hidden recesses of most corporations. Better to toil away in the bowels than to be shown the light of day. For many decades, even as information technology (IT) emerged as a critical business function, data was viewed more as something that firms filed away in vaults for the mandatory seven years to comply with regulators, and not a business asset that could be mined to unlock critical business insights. Data was perceived as the purview of those who were sometimes derisively referred to as data geeks or "propeller heads". This was long before Silicon Valley, or Wall Street, embraced the term "geek".

Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquired the business assets of MapR Technologies, Inc., in data platform for AI and analytics applications powered by scale-out, multi-cloud and multi-protocol file system technology. This transaction includes MapR's technology, IP, and domain expertise in AI and ML and analytics data management. HPE welcomes MapR customers and partners and plans to support existing deployments along with ongoing renewals. "The explosion of data is creating a new era of intelligence where the winners will be the ones who harness the power of data, wherever it lives," said Antonio Neri, president and CEO, HPE. "MapR's file system technology enables HPE to offer a complete portfolio of products to drive AI and analytics applications and strengthens our ability to help customers manage their data assets end to end, from edge to cloud."