Special Report

CEO Guide to Hadoop

• Getting a Handle on Big Data with Hadoop

  The flood of information from social media and elsewhere is propelling companies' use of free and customizable software called Hadoop to manage it

• Slide Show: How Large Companies Tackle Big Data with Hadoop

  GE, Wal-Mart, and others use Hadoop software to process large amounts of Web data and gain a better understanding of their businesses, products, and customers

• Yahoo Spinoff Tries to Ride Data Tsunami

  Hortonworks is one of several startups offering services based on Hadoop, for handling "unstructured data" like Facebook and Twitter posts

• Video: Wal-Mart's Bet on Social Commerce

  Wal-Mart Stores, struggling to translate its success in brick-and-mortar outlets to the Web, is using Hadoop, free software named after a kid's stuffed elephant, to help it gain an edge on Amazon.com in the $165.4 billion e-commerce market

• Podcast: Getting a Computer to Play Jeopardy

  In February, Jeopardy champions Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter faced off against IBM's computer, Watson. The battle was man vs. Machine, and millions of people tuned in to see just how smart computers had become

• Archive: CEO Guide to Technology

  Browse past editions of this special report on emerging tech trends