Enterprise Hadoop provider Hortonworks announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Onyara, the creator of and key contributor to Apache NiFi, a top-level open source project. The acquisition aims to provide customers automated and secure data flow technology. As a result of the acquisition, Hortonworks is introducing Hortonworks DataFlow powered by Apache NiFi as a compliment to their Hortonworks Data Platform.

A new data paradigm that includes data from machines, sensors, geo-location devices, social feeds, clickstreams, server logs and more is fueling the Internet of Things (IoT) and driving the need for trusted insights from data at the very edge to the data lake in real-time with full fidelity. Many IoT applications need two way connections and security from the edge to the datacenter. This results in a “jagged edge” that increases the need for security but also data protection, governance and provenance. These applications also need access to both data in-motion and data at-rest.

“Hortonworks is focused on doing everything possible to enable our customers to transform their business through data-driven insights and actions,” said Rob Bearden, chief executive officer at Hortonworks. “Onyara’s impressive work on security and simplicity in NiFi, combined with their commitment to open source makes for a perfect addition to our technology team.”

Apache NiFi was made available through the NSA Technology Transfer Program in the fall of 2014. Over the past eight years, Onyara’s engineers were the key contributors to the U.S. government software project that evolved into Apache NiFi. In July 2015, NiFi became a Top-Level Project, signifying that its community and technology have been successfully governed under the Apache Software Foundation.