How to Prepare for Hadoop’s Uncertain Future

Hadoop, once heralded as the cornerstone of big data analytics, is facing an uncertain future as the industry shifts towards cloud-based solutions that offer more flexibility and cost-effectiveness. Initially popularized by tech giants and commercialized by companies like Cloudera, MapR, and Hortonworks, Hadoop faced vendor lock-in issues and was eventually overshadowed by cloud technologies that separate storage and compute, thereby reducing infrastructure overhead. Today, the cloud's rise has led enterprises to reconsider their Hadoop investments, with many transitioning to cloud or hybrid models to maintain data performance while minimizing costs. Starburst plays a significant role in this transition by providing a federated query engine that allows companies to access data seamlessly across Hadoop, the cloud, or hybrid environments. As organizations navigate these changes, tools like Starburst ensure continued data access and performance, even as they plan to move away from traditional Hadoop environments.