FICO Snaps Up Big Data Firm Karmasphere

Predictive analytics software firm FICO has acquired big data technology company Karmasphere. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

FICO uses big data and mathematical algorithms to predict consumer behavior across multiple industries, allowing clients to manage risk and fight fraud, improve customer relations, optimize operations and meet government regulations. The acquisition includes Karmasphere's big data analytics software for query construction and collaboration using Hadoop data stores: as part of FICO's Analytics Cloud, this technology will draw insights from big data for both specialists and general business users.

As part of the deal, Karmasphere founder, Chairman and EVP Martin Hall and his team members have joined FICO to drive the Hadoop capabilities of its Analytic Cloud.

Doug Clare (pictured), VP of Product Management at FICO, comments: 'Our goal is to simplify the complexity of Hadoop and put the power of big data analytics into the hands of all of the people who can really use it. By embedding a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use interface for Hadoop data access into our platform, we're accelerating the democratization and wide-scale adoption of big data analytics by organizations of all sizes and across all industries.'

Web sites: www.fico.com and www.karmasphere.com .