Is Hadoop Adoption A Challenge For Your Company?

If your company wants to increase its data storage capabilities and processing power, then Hadoop may be the solution.

However, there are certain challenges that go along with adopting Hadoop technology.

With open-source adoption in mind, here are just a few challenges that go along with implementing and using Hadoop:

Small Data Complexity

Before your company decides to make the switch to Hadoop, you need to first consideration how much data your company actually handles.

Because Hadoop uses a high capacity framework, the software has trouble handling small batch files. This could cause issues if your company systematically handles smaller data quantities.

In addition, most Hadoop open-source software uses a triple replication process when storing data.

Replication isn't the same as backing up and archiving, which means there are more costs involved as well as greater storage complexity. This may not be worth the trouble if your company only handles small data amounts.

Transition Complications

As the following article looks at, when it comes to introducing Hadoop technology to your company, you're probably asking yourself what are the challenges related to Hadoop adoption?

Well, for starters, Hadoop isn't exactly user-friendly in the minds of some.

Although Hadoop framework is referred to as software, it doesn't come in a downloadable software package. This means adopting Hadoop into your current infrastructure is likely beyond anything your IT staff can handle.

Additionally, because Hadoop is open-source, there is no dedicated software support for the framework.

Hadoop vendors are responsible for managing the technology, but they aren't necessarily responsible for implementing into your existing system.

Warranty Issues

Most of the Hadoop software that's available is proprietary in nature, such as Apache Hadoop. However, there are certain elements of the Hadoop puzzle that aren't proprietary.

In other words, depending on the distributor, your company may not own certain parts of the open-source Hadoop software in which you download.

This means your Hadoop framework and all of the data it handles for your business may not be under warranty.

Not only does this leave your company financially responsible for any data issues that may come about, it also brings up a number of liability issues.

Unstable Operations

Open-source software is designed and built by multiple contributors.

Sure, this allows for the sharing of ideas and a community approach to software functionality, but it also leads to stability issues. This is the case with Hadoop's open-source mentality.

Although an open-source infrastructure makes room for continuous upgrades and improvements, it also lends itself to compatibility issues.

Improvements and additions to Hadoop that aren't thoroughly tested could result in making the entire framework unstable.

Hadoop is Still a Viable Option

Don't let the facts above scare you away from implementing Hadoop into your company. As long as you're aware of the possible drawbacks and your IT staff is well versed in the technology, Hadoop can offer many benefits.

Hadoop can handle massive amounts of data, which is an advantage if your company is growing and needs scalable software.

Likewise, Hadoop is more affordable than traditional database management systems, which makes it a viable option for companies with smaller IT budgets.

Before your company jumps on the Hadoop bandwagon, keep in mind the potential software drawbacks above.