Autonomy IDOL 10.5 Strengthens Ties With HP HAVEn Big Data Platform

HP Autonomy has released a new version of its IDOL analytics software, promising closer integration with other components of the HP HAVEn big data platform, along with a number of new features designed to make it easier to use in a bid to make big data more mainstream.

IDOL 10.5 boasts a number of improvements to the administration console, including a simplified interface, asynchronous query support and a more flexible back up system, while better monitoring, intelligent recovery from system failures and self-diagnosis should make it more reliable.

The new version has also been designed to work with cloud applications, something Fernando Luicini, CTO of HP Autonomy, tells TechWeekEurope was based on feedback from customers who are moving away from on-premises software.

Closer integration

“We needed more punch in a small package,” says Lucini, who explains Autonomy has even created its own cloud-based IDOL on demand developer application.

Customer feedback has also influenced the IDOL for Hadoop application, which allows users to take any kind of human information from Hadoop and analyse it. Improved Vertica support will also be available from mid-February via IDOL UDx apps on the Vertica marketplace, which will allow certain types of unstructured data, such as location information from social media to be analysed in Vertica.

There’s also closer integration with ArcSight, which monitors device logs to check for anomalies or security risks. IDOL 10.5 allows ArcSight to be able to understand what types of events it is logging, such as rogue emails being sent or excel files being printed. This means it can identify risks or suspicious activity more easily, such as the unauthorised disclosure of market sensitive data.

Industry focus

“We are one of the largest players in compliance supervision,” boasts Lucini, citing the banking and healthcare industries as “natural fits” for IDOL. But he says there has been increased use in engineering and telecoms as businesses want to be able to analyse date they’ve never looked at before because it was too difficult.

Size doesn’t matter either, he says, claiming that all businesses can benefit from such analysis.

“Any business that happens to have human information … is going to find a use for IDOL technology,” says Lucini, adding that although some of the biggest banks in the world are among its customers, they run very focussed applications that are important, but don’t deal with a lot of data.

“Our customers are a great mix,” he says, adding that the ability to integrate so closely with other analytics technologies is evidence that Autonomy is much better off being a part of HP and makes IDOL a more powerful platform.

HP legal concerns

HP is currently debating whether it wants to pursue legal action against former members of Autonomy’s management team, which HP accuses of inflating the $10.3 billion it paid for the British firm in 2011 through fraudulent accounting.

The company’s complaint dates back to November 2012, when it said the results of an internal investigation and forensic review of Autonomy’s historical financial results prior to the takeover, had revealed a number of practices designed to inflate the value of the company and mislead investors and potential buyers at the time of the acquisition.

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