Five ways to deliver the event experience to employees back at the office

Karen Lee
Karen Lee|May 23, 2013

You had to be there … well, maybe you didn’t!

Major industry events – conventions, trade shows, etc. – are the rock concerts of the corporate world. And similar to rock concerts, attendees get a memorable shared experience while their friends back home get, at best, a decent description or, at worst, something to the effect of, “Oh it was great, you should have been there!”

Unfortunately, most employees of companies that participate or sponsor major industry events don’t get to attend; so, as internal communicators, it’s incumbent on us to try to share the experience as much as possible with the employees back at the office.

Does your company participate in any major events? If so, here are five ways to bring the experience back to your employees who held down the fort back home: Read More »

Post a Comment

Big data knows, even if you don't!

Alison Bolen
Alison Bolen|May 22, 2013

What does big data know that you don't? It could be a new source of revenue, a budding consumer trend or . . .something sinister! Find out what big data knows in this funny but telling video spot:

Look familiar? Do you know that guy? Share this funny big data video with your colleagues and ask them what they're ignoring.

Post a Comment

How an NBA team flexed its analytics muscles – and won

Scott Batchelor
Scott Batchelor|May 22, 2013

Billy Beane talks sports and analytics at a SAS event

Two years ago, Brad Pitt starred in Moneyball, an Academy Award-nominated story about Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane bringing the power of advanced analytics to the sport. Beane wasn’t the first to use statistical analytics to build a successful team and keep its payroll in check.

Baseball and political data guru Nate Silver, Chicago Cubs GM Theo Epstein and Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey have all embraced data as an indicator of future success in sports. Their approaches are in sharp contrast to other general managers of teams that rely on gut instincts and big salaries.

With the NBA Playoffs entering the conference finals, it reminds me of a skit on Sesame Street I used to watch when I was a kid: “One of these things is not like the others.” Of the four teams that are still in the NBA playoffs, the Memphis Grizzlies don’t look like the others, in terms of payroll at least.

Read More »

Post a Comment

SAS blogger on statistics, big data and simplicity

Alison Bolen
Alison Bolen|May 21, 2013

Rick Wicklin, SAS

Popular SAS blogger Rick Wicklin was recently interviewed by the Portuguese statistics site, estatisti.co about his new book, his background in mathematics, his advice for programmers and his dedication to blogging. Wicklin's answers are conveniently translated into English on the site, so you can read these - and other gems by checking out the full interview.

Wicklin on big data:

Everyone is talking about Big Data, but I think that the fundamental principles of data analysis are relevant regardless of the data size.  With big data you have to be computationally efficient, but SAS software has always excelled at efficiency. More data is not always better data. However, for people who have to analyze massive amounts of data, SAS has developed computational techniques that scale with the number of available processors.

Read More »

Post a Comment

Analytics, the ultimate renewable resource

David Pope
David Pope|May 20, 2013

The value of analytics to solve multiple business problems really makes analytics the ultimate reusable business investment, or as they say in the energy industry, it may be called a renewable resource.

As I've commented before, organizations send billions of dollars on storing data, and unless you happen to be a storage vendor, storing data isn't what keeps your company in business.  In a similar manner, the three V's of Big Data - volume, variety  and velocity -  have more to do with handling and storing data than with providing business value.  The value of data comes when it gets transformed into information or insights, and that insight leads to the right decision maker who can use it to make a more informed decision. 

Read More »

Post a Comment

Discovering statistics resources

Georgia Mariani
Georgia Mariani|May 16, 2013

Get ready statistics lovers. As part of my new role, I’ve been researching and discovering all the resources that SAS has for statistics – and I’m eager to share what I’ve found. Here are just a few things I discovered that you might find helpful.

That should keep you busy for awhile. I’ll be back soon with more great resources and stories to share with you about statistics.

Post a Comment

Do you see what I see: a real-world data visualization

Jennifer Marchi
Jennifer Marchi|May 15, 2013

What do you see when you look at the picture to the right?

Like you, I see a busy dad with his daughter trying to maneuver a shopping cart full of groceries!

But the real question:  is there more?

What do you really see?

In a business setting, depending on the “hat” that you wear in the business – you might see something different in the picture.  As a matter of fact, you are likely to see something that exemplifies your perspective based on who you are and what you do for your company.

Read More »

Post a Comment

Big data is back ... and he has a mail cart

Alison Bolen
Alison Bolen|May 14, 2013

A few weeks ago, we asked, "What would big data say if it could talk?"

Today, we might ask, "What if big data had a mail cart?!"

It's a fun metaphor that shows how overwhelming big data can be without a strategy for managing it. Watch the short video below to see what I mean: Read More »

Post a Comment

Beyond the lobby doors: 4 ways SAS is like Stark Industries

Shannon Heath
Shannon Heath|May 13, 2013

It seems like only yesterday that the SAS Executive Briefing Center (EBC) parking lot was filled with Craft Services tents, high-end luxury cars, movie cameras and, oh, a few celebrities.  But, it’s been nearly a year since SAS became Stark Industries for a day when parts of Iron Man 3 were filmed on SAS campus.

Surely many of you have by now seen the movie, and hopefully recognized that the beautiful lobby and glass doors of Stark Industries looked like the SAS Executive Briefing Center (EBC) lobby.

SAS LEED-certified Executive Briefing Center served as part of Stark Industries in Iron Man 3

As I watched Happy Hogan walking through the SAS lobby on the big screen, and later Pepper Potts and Aldrich Killian saying their goodbye in front of the beautiful glass doors of the EBC, I started thinking - clearly there must be other similarities between our two companies besides our lobbies.

For example, both companies are eco-friendly workplaces.  Stark Tower is powered by its own arc reactor, capable of sustaining the tower for a year at no cost to the city.  The SAS EBC is LEED-certified, which boasts many self-sustaining features, including water and energy conservation, a green roof, rainwater repurposing, electric car charging stations and more. Read More »

Post a Comment

Discovering and celebrating statistics

Georgia Mariani
Georgia Mariani|May 10, 2013

In the past, I’ve contributed to this blog with posts about the use of analytics and statistics in the education industry. I haven’t written in a while because I’ve been transitioning to a new role as the product marketing manager for statistics. I’ll give you three reasons why I’m excited about this new role:

Did you catch that last one? Or have you already heard about the International Year of Statistics? How are you celebrating? SAS, of course, has a ton of things going on to celebrate.  Here are some of my favorites:

Read More »

Post a Comment