How Zoomdata 2.4 Enhances Big Data Connectivity

Enhancing Big Data Connectivity with Zoomdata 2.4

At Zoomdata our mission is to provide the fastest visual analytics for big and streaming data. In order to do that we focus on providing the largest set of native connectors in the industry. With our 2.4 release we focused on connectivity: adding native connectivity to data sources and enhancing their scalability with microservices. For our customers, this release enables them to explore and operationalize at scale new data storage technologies without impacting their business users - to us that’s the essence of the modern BI practice.

Zoomdata Connector Services Architecture: The Old with the New

Over the past year or so, Zoomdata has connected to over 50 different cutting-edge, legacy and everything-in-between data stores. In the process, we have matured our Connector Services Architecture. It is this architecture that allows us to quickly add new native connectors  and support the “new kid on the block” data store, so our customers can try it out too.

Not all connectors are created equal. While BI and Analytics software vendors beat their chest with a long list of supported data connectors, at Zoomdata, we know that connecting is just half, or perhaps a tenth, of the battle. A fully functional and certified connector that takes advantage of data store specific query language and can fully leverage built-in optimizations requires considerable rigor and discipline, often skimped on by other vendors in the industry.

With that background, I am proud to say that 4 previously available connectors -- Apache Drill, Presto (w/ Cassandra), Teradata and Vertica -- have now graduated to general availability status. These connectors open up a range of use cases against several different backends that our customers can now leverage with Zoomdata in their Production environments.

The Sexiest Chart for Big Data

When we imagine big data use cases, a whole host of visualizations come to mind ranging from chord diagrams, network path flows and complicated maps. But, which visualization or chart type is by-far the most attractive (as in most in-demand) for analytical exploration?  The answer: A Table of Raw Data.

Surprised?  I was too. Of all the fancy visualization types that we get requests for, the one that surpassed them all was the need for a Raw Data Table. It makes sense. Whether it is a data analyst exploring a new dataset for the first time, or a business person wanting to drill into the lowest level of detail while investigating a trend or anomaly, the lowest record level detail is super important. And folks - you can have it now. With an endless scrolling, configurable raw data table in 2.4.

Microservices-Based, Self-Registering Big Data Connectors

Zoomdata connectors in 2.4 now run as individual microservices that can self-register and report status to the mothership. It’s a huge win for our customers interested in scalable, distributed deployment models whether on-prem or in the Cloud, as well as resource isolation and a ton of other benefits.

For more information on the Zoomdata 2.4 release, check out the release notes here.