

There are various ways Apache Hadoop is used in a Big Data Project. +Hortonworks latest report
Apache Hadoop Patterns of Use: Refine, Enrich and ... - Hortonworks categorizes it into
- Data Refinery Pattern
- Data Exploratory Pattern
- Application Enrichment Pattern
In Data Exploration pattern - data is analysed in Hadoop environment, using Hive etc. and the results are shared with the Applications. There are many Big Data Visualization Tools that provide good reports. There are some Open Source tools like Pentaho Business Intelligence Studio that offers Big Data Visualization and Reports

These are some broad classification of the use of +Apache Hadoop