Splunk.conf2013 has wrapped this week, and one thing is clear -- Splunk has positioned itself well to transition beyond machine log data. Looking to make its solution more broadly known for its ability to support generalized Big Data needs, Splunk is becoming more applicable for the enterprise. Customers use Splunk's platform for marketing-related data and sales data, showcasing all the right partners to prove its ecosystem worthy. How Cloud and SaaS Power Ping Identity's Growth #splunkconf theCUBE hosts John Furrier and Dave Vellante welcomed Beau Christensen, Manager, Infrastructure Operations at Ping. The three discuss security, Ping Identity's growth, and its recent Boundary app. Ping Identity's focus remains at the application level. The company enables customers to leverage IT to maintain control over different SaaS applications. When asked about Boundary, Christensen describes it as "A real-time Cisco net-flow type system." He adds, "Because we're hybrid cloud deployment, we don't have the ability to look into Cisco gear based on AWS." Christensen also says there is a conversation exploring how to use different monitoring systems including Boundary and Splunk. Why Customers Say "Splunk Allows Me to Dream" #splunkconf Clint Sharp, Director of Product Management, Big Data and Operational Intelligence at Splunk business analytics stopped by theCUBE to discuss why Splunk is having so much success with its customers: how it understands data. Splunk is certainly changing the traditional analytics scenario for customers. According to Sharp, typically 60 to 70 percent of time invested in business intelligent projects goes into processes like building rows and columns, ETL, and designing data. Splunk: Where ROI Pays for Itself on Day One #splunkconf Furrier and Vellante welcomed Bill Gaylord, Senior Vice President of Business Development for Splunk to theCUBE. The topic of conversation is search options and Splunk's emphasis on user experience. Gaylord is quick to explain that Splunk is not constrained by data storage. Large and chaotic data makes it natural for customers to default to the search bar. And, Splunk, he suggests, "is a very intuitive easy way to interact with that data." Vellante notes that initially, "search was like a blunt instrument, [but] now it's a fundamental component of applications." Splunk is Tailoring New Trends in Retail | #splunkconf Aleem Cummins, Release Manager with John Lewis, joined our hosts on theCUBE, during day two of the Splunk.conf13 in Las Vegas, to discuss usage. He described how, John Lewis, a huge UK department store with a major online presence, benefits from using the data management platform. It is no secret that retail business is going through some massive transformations, especially with mobile commerce. "Mobile is now a massive, massive part of our business," detailed Cummins. "We have to adapt to that, we have to be ahead of the curve. It's really an exciting place to be." Building Apps on Splunk to Solve Customer Woes | #splunkconf A great interview on theCUBE was Gary Burghett, Deployment Architect at CQ Cloud, and Peter Chang, CTO with N3N, to talk about their companies and their partnerships with Splunk, detailing what exactly each brings to the table. Addressing customers' challenges on the operations side, not so much traditional IT customers, proves to be big for both companies. @thecube #theCUBE #Splunk #SplunkConf #SiliconANGLE @Splunk