Two cloud-based data specialists have announced a merger that will create what they claim is the leading next-gen data platform provider. The $5.2bn deal sees Cloudera and Hortonworks hook up, but very much looks like a sign of things to come – as the smaller players in a market team up to try and carve out a stake before the titans extinguish such hopes. In this sector, those colossuses are the likes of Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. These companies have enough cash to buy their way into any market they like, and the massive channels to make signing up customers a pretty straightforward process. To this end, the smaller players need to find niches where they can…