Splunk Targets SMBs With New Edition Of Its Machine Data Application

Splunk has developed a version of its log search and analysis software for companies with limited IT resources, a move that will expand its reach to small and midsize businesses.

The company this week also said it has struck a deal with solution provider CDW to carry the new Splunk Light product.

Splunk's software is used to collect "machine-generated" log data from IT systems, including hardware, software and networks, from call detail records and from industrial system sensors, among other devices. The data is analyzed in realtime to monitor system performance and quickly diagnose problems.

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Splunk, based in San Francisco, markets Spunk Enterprise, a version of the software designed for large businesses and organizations. But the vendor concluded there was a market for a slimmed-down edition of the product.

"There was this whole midmarket that could benefit from Splunk if it was packaged and priced right," said Marc Itzkowitz, Splunk product marketing director, in an interview.

Splunk is defining the midmarket as companies with between $50 million and $1 billion in annual revenue. Such companies often have small IT departments with limited resources, Itzkowitz said. But those companies have many of the same production monitoring and troubleshooting needs as big companies.

Customers in North America can download, install and configure the Splunk Light software and pay $75 a month, billed annually, with a data ingestion limit of 1 gigabyte per day. Companies can pay more on a sliding scale to process additional data up to 20 gigabytes, after which they would need to upgrade to Splunk Enterprise.

Splunk has struck a deal with CDW to sell the new Splunk Light through its website, Itzkowitz said. "CDW is a very important partner. We think they can make a huge impact," he said.

CDW did not respond to a request for comment. CDW, based in Vernon Hills, Ill., already sells the enterprise version of Splunk's software. Splunk itself also will sell Splunk Light directly from its own website. The company also offers a free version of its software with a limit of 500 Mbytes of data per day.

PUBLISHED MARCH 12, 2015