ClearStory Data and Microsoft Collaborate to Deliver ClearStory's Spark-Powered Data Analysis Solution With Microsoft Azure SQL Database for Business-Ready, Fast-Cycle Analysis

MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwired - May 5, 2015) - ClearStory Data, the company bringing business-oriented Data Intelligence to everyone, today announced its collaboration with Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) to improve customers' ability to answer business questions by utilizing ClearStory's solution and Microsoft Data Platforms to automate diverse data analysis, data harmonization, and enable fast-cycle, business-ready insights.

By combining ClearStory's Spark-based analysis engine, built-in data harmonization capabilities, and intuitive, simple user model, businesses can now see fast-cycle insights across disparate data sources residing in data marts in Azure, Microsoft's flagship database-as-a-service offering, as well as on-premise platforms. The combination provides more data at faster speeds for everyone in business who needs to make quick data-driven decisions.

The new collaboration between ClearStory Data and Microsoft provides the fastest way to access, harmonize and blend, explore, and uncover business-ready insights through:

• Out-of-the-box fast data access and data prep - ClearStory provides highly scalable and fast Spark-powered access to data in Azure SQL Database. Upon accessing data from these sources, ClearStory's Data Inference Engine determines attributes in the source data to accelerate data prep and data harmonization, eliminating traditional, lengthy, complex data prep operations.
  
  
• Fast-cycle analysis - Users can select disparate data to be blended and harmonized. ClearStory's solution and built-in Intelligent Data Harmonization™ automates blending more sources and complex data to deliver immediate holistic, visual insights.
  
  
• Business consumption of insights via Interactive, Collaborative StoryBoards™ - Business users are empowered to be more self-reliant in asking new questions and iterating on answers quickly with Interactive, Collaborative StoryBoards™ that capture the latest insights. As data refreshes, users can more easily see, collaborate, and answer key business questions on a fast cycle. This enables consistent and faster data-driven decisions.