The 2014 Big Data 100

Businesses continue to struggle with exploding volumes of data, not just manage it to keep IT systems from being overwhelmed, but to find ways of deriving value from all that data and somehow use it for competitive advantage.

With that in mind, the CRN editorial team has created the second annual Big Data 100 list, identifying vendors that have demonstrated an ability to innovate in bringing to market products and services that help business work with big data.

This year's list is broken into three categories. The first category, Business Analytics, explores 50 companies that are bringing everything from simple-to-use reporting tools to highly sophisticated data analysis software to market.

The second category, Data Management, looks at 25 companies tackling the next-generation database systems space and providing advanced data integration technology tools for developing applications that take advantage of big data.

The third category, Big Data Infrastructure, Tools And Services, includes companies that offer everything from hardware servers to software platforms and applications to cloud-based services.

In addition to the three categories, this year's Big Data 100 list includes Emerging Vendors, highlighting 53 big data companies that have launched since 2008.