Sep 20 2017
Data Analytics

Splunk’s .Conf2017 Conference to Showcase the Power of Machine Data

Splunk’s annual conference will highlight how businesses can use machine-generated data to make their IT more efficient, get insights on customer behavior and more.

The world is swimming in more data all the time. According to Cisco Systems, in 2016, the annual run rate for global IP traffic was 1.2 zettabytes per year, or 96 exabytes per month. For your reference, one zettabyte equals 1 trillion gigabytes, or the contents of 20 trillion four-drawer file cabinets. By 2021, Cisco expects those figures to nearly triple.

So what are businesses to do with all of that data? Turn it into insights, especially if it comes from machines they control and monitor. That’s what executives from Splunk would say, and likely will say next week at the company's .conf2017 conference in Washington, D.C. Splunk, which specializes in analyzing machine data to deliver intelligence to businesses and government agencies, will use the conference, which runs from Sept. 26-28, to highlight how both business and government users can improve IT performance, gain real-time business insights, understand user behavior and reach new levels of security.

About 6,000 Splunk enthusiasts, partners and experts will take part in roughly 200 technical sessions, learn about the latest Splunk products and innovations, and experience dozens of customer presentations, the company says. The second day of the conference will be Public Sector and Education Day, which will focus on how government agencies and educational institutions are using data to drive their digital journeys, increase operational efficiency, reduce costs and increase security.

Highlights throughout the week are expected to include Splunk CEO Doug Merritt’s opening keynote on Sept. 26, in which he will likely reveal the company’s latest product innovations and discuss how the company’s customers and partners are relying on Splunk to power their digital transformation journeys. A technology keynote on Sept. 27 is expected to dive into the company’s IT innovations in greater depth. And Billy Beane, executive vice president of baseball operations for the Oakland A’s and the subject of Moneyball, will likely discuss the power of data analytics during his keynote.

The conference will have six tracks: Splunk foundations; security, compliance and fraud; IT operations; developing; the Internet of Things; and business analytics. The sessions are expected to touch on everything from analytics in the IoT realm to how Splunk can enhance cybersecurity.

BizTech will be covering Splunk’s .conf2017 from the show floor and interviewing industry executives and experts on the latest trends in data analytics and machine data, so keep this page bookmarked for stories from the BizTech team. Follow us on Twitter at @BizTechMagazine or the official conference Twitter account @Splunkconf and join the conversation using hashtag #splunkconf17.

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