Updated: Here’s the scoop on MapR’s layoffs, updates may follow

Updates in italics.

Big data platform maker MapR thinks that it can bring in deals with fewer salespeople, so it is moving to an indirect sales strategy. The company is aiming for “a more efficient go to market,” according to a statement MapR provided to Digitizing Polaris. That “more efficient go-to-market,” as of May 21, seems to be buying MapR products through a reseller. However, interested parties have to fill out a form and wait for the reseller to contact them.

Unfortunately for some, that translates to sales staff layoffs. CNBC’s Jordan Novet confirmed as much Friday evening.

There are no reports of this on The Layoff , as of yet, like there were when Cloudera and Hortonworks cut staff. But the LinkedIn profiles of some MapR employees confirm that they parted ways with the company in May.

Let’s be frank, anytime anyone loses a job it’s disruptive, but for this group of workers, at this time, it’s probably only for a short while. After all, they have high, in demand skills. Recruiters are already combing the web hoping to represent them. And with the unemployment rate as low as it is, former MapR’s should have their choice of employers throughout the world. These are highly skilled, talented people.

Differentiated from the start

As this happens, respected industry analysts like Tony Baer of dbInsight point out that MapR has a good product with some distinguishing features like its file system and Kubernetes engine. Constellation Research vice president and principal analyst Holger Mueller spotlights MapR’s design “from the storage layer up. All other traditional RDMBS use a third party for storage …MapR has a small footprint and replication capabilities — so it also makes sense for autonomous vehicle as a platform.” Anyone who has walked the trade show floor at Strata Data has seen MapR’s machine learning demo that features a self-driving miniature race car using the company’s big data platform.