Treasure Data Gets Funding for Cloud-Based Big Data Analytics

Big Data and cloud computing are closely related but distinct spheres. Treasure Data, however, is hoping to integrate them seamlessly with its data analytics platform, which runs in the cloud and is based on open source Hadoop. A few days ago, the company received $5 million in series A funding from Sierra Ventures to expand its operations globally.

Treasure Data's promise, in the company's own words, is to deliver "Hadoop in hours, not days." It does that by hosting a Big Data service directly in the cloud with analytics tools already integrated. That saves enterprises from having to build their own Big Data infrastructure and connect it to analytics solutions afterwards.

The company also touts its pricing, which it says costs 90 percent less than traditional data center storage. Combined with the scalability of the cloud, that feature positions Treasure Data to "become the cloud analytics hub for businesses to transform Big Data into immediate value," according to its website.

Treasure Data executives also hope the $5 million funding deal from Sierra, which they announced on July 23, will fast-track the platform to become a major disruptive offering in the Big Data world. Tim Guleri, the managing director at Sierra Ventures and the newest member of Treasure Data's board of directors, said, "Sierra has a history of making early investments in game-changing technologies in the information management market such as Teradata and Greenplum. Cloud-based, Big Data analytics solutions are what businesses are demanding, illustrated by Treasure Data's explosive growth over the past 12 months."

Treasure Data's analytics solution, which is offered as a subscription service, might raise questions at some enterprises about data privacy, compliance and business continuity. But at a time when the additional investment in infrastructure and IT talent required to create on-premise Big Data solutions can be imposing, integrating the cloud and data analytics into a single hub could prove very innovative. The channel will soon be able to decide for itself, as Treasure Data uses the financing from Sierra to extend its operations to a global scale.