Hortonworks to Bring Apache Hadoop to Millions of New Users

Contributions Focused on Extending Hadoop to Microsoft, JavaScript and ODBC Users

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Hortonworks, a leading commercial vendor promoting the development and support of Apache Hadoop, today announced that it is working with Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) to deliver upon its strategy to bring Apache Hadoop to Windows Server. The companies have collaborated on a series of software patches that have been contributed to the Apache Hadoop community to enable Hadoop to run effectively on Windows Server. Now, Microsoft and Hortonworks are expanding their technical collaboration to enable broader access to Hadoop by millions of business analysts, application developers and other IT professionals via an enhanced Hive ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) driver and a new JavaScript framework.

“Unleash Insights On All Data with Microsoft Big Data”

Last year, Microsoft teamed up with Hortonworks, which was named “the technology leader and ecosystem builder for the entire Hadoop industry” in a recent Forrester Research Inc. report, to bring the power of Apache Hadoop to Windows Server customers. A series of new patches have been submitted to the Apache Software Foundation that enables the use of the Apache Hadoop v1.0 stable branch with Windows Server. This work is expected to become part of future Apache Hadoop releases, including the Hadoop 0.23 branch, which features the next generation MapReduce and HDFS architectures.

At the Strata Conference, the companies are unveiling two new areas of open source collaboration: 1) a new JavaScript framework for Apache Hadoop that will enable millions of JavaScript developers to perform iterative prototyping and interactive exploration of Hadoop data, and 2) an enhanced Hive ODBC driver that will enable Hadoop data to be analyzed using familiar tools such as Microsoft Excel and business intelligence (BI) clients such as PowerPivot for Excel.

“Today’s news underscores both Microsoft’s and Hortonworks’ commitment to broadening the accessibility and usage of Apache Hadoop to users, developers and IT professionals,” said Herain Oberoi, director, product marketing, SQL Server, at Microsoft. “Now, the millions of JavaScript developers and Microsoft Excel users will be able to derive value from Hadoop in a way that is familiar to them.”

“As long-time contributors and supporters of Apache Hadoop, Hortonworks is proud to provide expert technical assistance and support that helps organizations such as Microsoft extend Hadoop to reach millions of new users,” said Rob Bearden, CEO, Hortonworks. “Seamlessly combining the power of Apache Hadoop with existing Windows-based applications enables organizations to conduct deeper analysis of big data and make more intelligent business decisions.”

Both Hortonworks and Microsoft are presenting at Strata, including the following Apache Hadoop-focused sessions:

“The Future of Hadoop: Becoming an Enterprise Standard”
Eric Baldeschwieler, CTO, Hortonworks
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 10:40 a.m.

“Unleash Insights On All Data with Microsoft Big Data”
Alexander Stojanovic, partner development manager, Azure Analytics, Microsoft
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 11:30 a.m.

“Hadoop + JavaScript: What We Learned”
Asad Khan, senior program manager, Microsoft
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 2:20 p.m.

“What's Next for Apache Hadoop”
Arun Murthy, co-founder, Hortonworks
Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 10:40 a.m.

Additional sessions include:

• “SQL and NoSQL Are Two Sides of the Same Coin” by Erik Meijer on Tuesday, February 28, 2012 at 9 a.m.;
• “Do We Have the Tools We Need to Navigate the New World of Data?” by Dave Campbell on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 9 a.m.;
• “Democratizing BI at Microsoft: 40,000 Users and Counting” by Kirkland Barrett on Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 10:40 a.m.; and
• “Data Marketplaces for Your Extended Enterprise” by Piyush Lumba on Thursday, March 1, 2012 at 2:20 p.m.

About Hortonworks

Hortonworks is the leading commercial vendor of Apache Hadoop, the preeminent open source platform for storing, managing, and analyzing large volumes of data. The Hortonworks Data Platform provides an open and stable foundation for enterprises and a growing ecosystem to build and deploy big data solutions. Together with the Apache community, Hortonworks is making Hadoop more robust and easier to install, manage, and use. Hortonworks provides unmatched technical support, training and certification programs for enterprises, systems integrators, and technology vendors. For more information, visit www.hortonworks.com.