As more companies shift their roadmaps to support the big data and cloud computing trends, industry leaders naturally arise based on specializations and core competencies. As these industry leaders continue to develop, companies are beginning to view each other as strategic partners that complement each other instead of competitors. The latest of these landmark partnerships was just announced between IBM Corp. and Hortonworks Inc.

“This is a recognition that … companies should do what they do best. We think we’re great at data science and machine learning; Hortonworks is the best at Hadoop. Combine those two things, and it’ll be great for clients,” said Rob Thomas, general manager of IBM Analytics at IBM.

Thomas spoke with Dave Vellante (@dvellante) and James Kobielus (@jameskobielus), co-hosts of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the IBM Fast Track Your Data event today in Germany. They discussed details of the new partnership and what it means for customers. (* Disclosure below.)

Complementary technologies enable new applications for big data

Two companies’ product offerings will come together to create a seamless experience for customers, according to Thomas.

“We are bringing data science and machine learning to the Hadoop community. IBM will be adopting HDP [Hortonworks Data Platform] as our distribution, and that’s how we will drive into the market from a Hadoop perspective. Hortonworks is adopting IBM Data Science Experience and IBM machine learning to be a core part of their Hadoop platform,” explained Thomas.

This new arrangement lets both companies expand their value proposition to customers, including a focus on governance, which has become a hot-button issue with the recent European Union General Data Protection Regulation announcement.

“We’re partnering closely with them around unified data governance, advancing Apache Atlas in the enterprise. … We are delivering the only platform for unified governance, and that’s what clients need to be GDPR compliant,” Thomas said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s independent editorial coverage of the IBM Fast Track Your Data event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for IBM Fast Track Your Data. Neither IBM nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE