The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has developed technical standards for big data. These standards are aimed at making sure big data service providers don't lock their users into particular tools for collection, analysis or visualization of big data.
This is a positive step although I note the point made by Gartner's Alan Duncan, who says interoperability has already emerged through the vendor community. It's not in vendors' interest to lock anybody in because no one vendor can hope to address every potential type or source of big data.
My instinct is naturally toward the use of standards. I think we also need to be aware of the forces for consolidation in the software business. Today there may be a great diversity of vendors with a shared willingness to promote – or at least not block – interoperability. Tomorrow could be different. ITU
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