I know I'm diping my toe in some history here, but is there a sense of how the patent situation is going to shake out? I think this general family of algorithm is very important.
Agreed -- personally I'm against offensive use of patents like this as well, and it's my understanding that Cloudera doesn't intend to use this patent offensively. If it did, I would be upset and would consider leaving the company - I know many other employees feel the same way. The reason I agree to help write patent applications as an engineer is that I've seen the distraction and damages caused by patent trolls (or even other companies) and the importance of having a defensive portfolio.
Disclaimer: Obviously I'm not speaking for the company or making any promises here :)