Strata 2013 is just around the corner. The Big Data gathering will be held next week in the Santa Clara Convention Center from February 26 through the 28^th, the same location and date as last year. The only thing different is the list of topics, now that we’re able to look at the Big Data industry from the implementation perspective, rather than the exploratory view.

There’s a few themes that could make a big splash at this year’s upcoming convention, but based on last year’s Strata event, we can make an educated guess as to which of these trends will be most relevant this year.  Let’s start with a recap of what we did learn at Strata 2012.

Last year we learned of the many innovative frameworks comprising Big Data technology for today’s market, preparing for this year’s trend towards applied use cases.  We’re really going to look at ways in which Big Data deployments are up to snuff as companies grow anxious to apply more analytics to their business decision-making processes, as well as the operational aspects of rolling out a Big Data solution cost-effectively.

SiliconANGLE was present at Strata 2012, and the crew had the chance to sit down with many of the industry insiders who attended the event.  Here’s a recap of Strata 2012 highlights:

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Strata 2012 Recap

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New infrastructure needs

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One of the more insightful interviews was a session with two Infineta executives: founding CTO KVS Ramarao and VP of products Haseeb Budhani. They talked extensively about their company and its offering, WAN optimization software that reduce latency in data-intensive environments. According to the two execs, their big edge over the competition is that their solutions don’t take a toll on the network: they offer real, quantifiable results that don’t add to the problem, something that they claim cannot be said for rivaling products.

Budding Big Data community

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Kaggle president and chief scientist Jeremy Howard also hopped into theCube at Strata last year to explain his firm’s role in the Big Data universe. Kaggle operates a crowdsourcing platform that challenges the world’s brightest minds to develop predictive analytics algorithms for high profile clients such as NASA, in exchange for recognition and – handsome compensation.

Selling the Service

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Among the other attendees we interviewed at Strata last year was Sandy Steiner, the CEO of 1010data. His company, which he founded together with a colleague years before big data became a thing,  sells data warehousing software that turns piles of complex information into easily digestible spreadsheets.

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What to expect for Strata 2013

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This year we’ll be looking at Big Data deployments, now that the industry has had a few years to toy around with frameworks like Hadoop.  Now that play time is over, the enterprise is looking for the best way to roll out a true Big Data solution, so looking at the real-world implications of these deployments will be a key study during the Strata conference.

That means we’ll be drilling down into the specifics of Big Data deployments, at the operational level.  What’s it mean for your business’ cloud strategy?  What’s the most cost-effective way to go about Big Data?  How can Big Data be secured, and what should you look for in a data scientist?

SiliconANGLE will be attending Strata next week, so check back regularly for ongoing analysis and live broadcasts from the event.  Check our YouTube channel for onsite interviews with top executives and thought leaders, and you’ll find our archived event coverage here.