On this special episode of The Six Five Podcast - Insiders Edition hosts Patrick Moorhead and Daniel Newman welcome Anupam Singh, Chief Customer Officer for Cloudera to discuss the critical support Cloudera is providing customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Turning to Data in Times of Crisis

 

Cloudera works with clients across a variety of industries including banking, manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, and government agencies. Companies and organizations within these industries are facing unprecedented times and are critical for keeping people safe and healthy.

 

Healthcare is probably the most interesting use case during this crisis though. Anupam shared that healthcare companies and plans are turning to data dashboards that have thousands of electronic healthcare records and patient data that can help them plan for the next patient. The companies are able to analyze patient history and use a sophisticated data platform to determine what the next best step is for say a clinical trial or something else that could be helpful.

 

For transportation companies that provide transportation services for riders, should they have more cars on the road? How do they ensure driver safety? Should they just shut down? These are the questions that companies are asking, and they’re turning to data for the answers.

 

Logistics companies are also turning to data for answers. Think about the food supply at your local grocery store. We are all wondering when our stores will be stocked with bread or toilet paper again and there is an entire supply chain behind these items. Logistics companies are looking at the data to figure out how to restock the stores and get supplies to the customers who need it.

 

Open Source is Attractive

 

In a market saturated with data analytics platforms, Cloudera is able to be a little different with their open source offerings. Customers don’t want to be chained to one software platform; they don’t want the blackbox; they want transparency. Customers come for the interoperability, but then stay because of the scale of the data that the platform can handle. Think about how much data you generate on your phone just as one individual. For enterprise companies, that is exponentially larger and there is no other data platform that can handle that volume.

 

Privacy and Governance Matter to the End User

 

We generate a lot of data. Streaming, using our phones, our apps — in almost everything we do, we are generating data. And that data has to live somewhere. Some companies that collect data have multiple data centers and have to ensure security and governance everywhere. Anupam pointed out that it’s not the sexy part of the big data and cloud sharing, but this is the part that everyone is concerned about right now.

 

More and more people are questioning how a company uses their data. How do they know certain facts or pieces of information about me. How does Netflix know I like cake baking shows? Companies have to be aware of what their users think and being able to confidently say the data is secure no matter where it is, matters.

 

Where is Digital Transformation Going

 

It can be easy to think that due to the current climate that digital transformation might slow down. But Anupam disagrees. Right now, we are obsessed with the COVID-19 data. Every time you turn on a news channel there’s a graph about infection rates, active diseases, and the impact of social distancing. Companies are going to need more analytics to digest this data and apply it to their customer data.

 

We are creating new opportunities for data too. Video visits with healthcare providers will likely become normal after this crisis is over. There is an opportunity to analyze the data that creates.

 

As companies have been forced to work from home and transition quickly, they’ve realized where the flaws are. Where the weak spots are, and when this crisis ends it’s likely that companies are going to have to spend money to shore up the vulnerabilities or risk going extinct.

 

If you’d like to learn more about Cloudera, their offerings, and how they’re helping clients with digital transformation, check out their website and be sure to listen to the full episode. While you’re at it, make sure to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode.