MapR to offer cloud-based Hadoop with Microsoft Azure

MapR Technologies is working closely with Microsoft to offer the MapR Distribution including Apache Hadoop on Azure. Customers will be able to use high-performance, enterprise-grade Hadoop with the cost advantages of Azure's on-demand cloud services. MapR is architected to provide a scalable and agile Hadoop platform and NoSQL database for big and fast data applications. The MapR Distribution will also be integrated with the Azure Data Lake, enabling users to deploy tiered analytical and storage capabilities in the cloud.

"Azure simplifies the on-ramp to the cloud and is the perfect match with our production-ready Hadoop Distribution," said Steve Wooledge, vice president, product marketing, MapR Technologies. "Organisations use MapR to impact business 'as-it-happens' through automated processes that shorten data-to-action cycles - and we are now extending that value to Azure's customers."

Integration between MapR and Microsoft technologies enables organisations to optimally and efficiently use Hadoop on-demand, in the cloud. With the MapR Distribution, Azure customers will be able to:

* Deploy MapR directly from the Microsoft Azure Marketplace
* Transfer data between MapR and Microsoft SQL Server services within Azure
* Deploy MapR-DB<https://www.mapr.com/products/mapr-db-in-hadoop-nosql>, the MapR in-Hadoop NoSQL database, to support a wide variety of real-time use cases and deployment scenarios

As part of this agreement, MapR will fully support deployment of its top-ranked NoSQL database, MapR-DB on Azure. MapR-DB offers advanced operational features such as multi-master table replication, where business users can analyse data across geographic regions while maintaining low latency and automatic synchronisation with a centralized table for analytics and BI.

"Microsoft is committed to continuous innovation to make Azure the best cloud platform for running hyper-scale big data projects," said T.K. "Ranga" Rengarajan, corporate vice president, Data Platform at Microsoft. "The collaboration between Microsoft and MapR combines MapR's Hadoop Distribution with Microsoft Azure's powerful platform so customers can use the Hadoop distribution of their choice with the cloud benefits of Azure. Customers will be able to deploy MapR in Azure with a few clicks for valuable business insights."