Splunk
Introduction
Splunk Inc. is an American multinational corporation that produces software for searching, monitoring, and analyzing machine-generated big data, via a web-style interface. Splunk's software helps organizations with operational intelligence, log management, and real-time analytics.
History
Splunk was founded in 2003 by Michael Baum, Rob Das, and Erik Swan. The company was named after the term "spelunking", a hobby or practice of exploring caves. The name was chosen because the founders believed it represented what the software would do - explore and investigate the caves of big data.
Products and Services
Splunk's primary product is an operational intelligence platform that allows individuals and companies to search, analyze and visualize the machine-generated data gathered from the websites, applications, servers, and mobile devices that people use every day. The platform is available in a standard version, as well as a premium version which offers additional features.
Splunk Enterprise
Splunk Enterprise is the flagship product of the company. It collects and analyzes high volumes of machine-generated data. It is a platform for operational intelligence. The software can identify data patterns, provide metrics, diagnose problems, and provide intelligence for business operations. Splunk Enterprise is a horizontal technology used for application management, security and compliance, as well as business and web analytics.
Splunk Cloud
Splunk Cloud is the cloud-based version of the Splunk Enterprise. It provides the same features as the Splunk Enterprise but in a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model.
Splunk Light
Splunk Light is a lighter version of Splunk Enterprise, designed for smaller IT and business operations. It has many of the same features as Splunk Enterprise, but is designed for ease of use and rapid time to value.
Use Cases
Splunk software is used in various domains including IT operations, security, internet of things (IoT), application analytics and business analytics. Major uses include capturing, indexing, and correlating real-time data in a searchable repository from which it can generate graphs, reports, alerts, dashboards, and visualizations.
Reception and Criticism
While Splunk's products have been well received in the market, the company has also faced criticism. Some users have cited the high cost of the software and the complexity of its proprietary Search Processing Language (SPL) as barriers to entry. However, Splunk has been recognized for its innovation and industry leadership in the IT operations and security markets.