+Alison Bolen is an editor at SAS, where she writes and edits content about analytics and emerging topics. Since starting at SAS in 1999, Alison has edited print publications, Web sites, e-newsletters, customer success stories and blogs. She has a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from Ohio University and a master’s degree in technical writing from North Carolina State University.
What does “big data” really mean? If you ask Zubin Dowlaty, he will tell you it’s a metaphor for disruption. “I have never experienced anything like what we are experiencing in the industry right now,” he says. Dowlaty is VP and Head of Innovation & Development at Mu-Sigma Inc. In the past he has
What were we blogging about last year at this time? Some of our bloggers were attending a leadership conference in Singapore and others were attending an analytics conference at Disney. It may surprise you to know we were already talking about high-performance analytics. In fact, we were talking about high-performance
Here's what usually happens: You attend a conference and decide to live blog a session or two. You might even pre-draft or pre-research a small portion of the post to include the names of the speakers and some background information about them. Typically, you start the post like this: I
We have experimented with Twitter chats here at SAS, including a lively #statchat that we hosted two years ago for World Statistics Day. Likewise, our publications team has hosted a few fun Twitter chats with SAS book authors. Outside of SAS sponsored chats, I've also participated in and really enjoyed watching
What's new about the current emphasis on big data? How does it differ from the large data volumes of the past? Paul Kent, VP of Big Data at SAS answers these - and many more questions in the video below. He starts with an explanation of Moore's law and continues
Big data. It’s a popular term used to describe the exponential growth, availability and use of information, both structured and unstructured. Of course, the term big data is relative; it applies whenever an organization’s ability to handle, store and analyze data exceeds its current capacity. And the real issue is not
Certain things are just hard to squeeze into your day. For some of us, it's exercise or doing laundry. For others, it's blogging. You want to do it almost every day, but you can't seem to find the time. If you're one of the bloggers or would-be bloggers trying (and
In the video below, you'll hear a great explanation from SAS CTO Keith Collins about the benefits of high-performance analytics, and why it's not just about getting answers faster. He also tells interviewer Karin Reed which SAS procedures are being optimized for high-performance analytics and provides up dates about big
Retail is one of the most time-sensitive industries. Find out how mega-chain Family Dollar Stores Inc., which operates more than 7,400 stores in 45 states, relies on high-performance analytics to shrink data processing windows from days to less than an hour and speed decision making. Scott Zucker, Vice President of
Macy's Inc. is one of the nation’s largest and most well-known retailers, with a loyal base of customers who shop at its stores and online. The company’s e-commerce division, Macys.com, is relying on big data and high-performance analytics software from SAS to better understand its customers and help increase overall
If you're interested in more white board art and more discussions about high-performance analytics, I have a good list of links for you here. SAS' roving reporter Anna Brown was in San Francisco last week at Predictive Analytics World, and she found a lot of people to talk to about
What is the solution for patient-centric healthcare? Big data, says SAS expert Alice Swearington in the post, Treat patients with big data insights. "Service providers throughout the healthcare continuum that become patient centric first will win the patient," she explains, citing the industry tends toward insurance exchanges and retail insurance
How can big data coupled with high-performance analytics (HPA) help retail companies tailor their offerings in a way that is beneficial to both the company’s bottom line – and the consumer? Eric Williams, recently retired Chief Information Officer at Catalina Marketing, explains in this interview. Alison Bolen: How do you define
In the last week, I have interviewed four retail executives about their predictions for big data and high-performance analytics in the retail industry. I hope to publish their thoughts here in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, here are six concrete benefits that big data can bring to retailers, if
Everyone around SAS seems to be buzzing about big data and high-performance analytics (HPA). As we're preparing for conferences, product launches and customer engagements, it's the main idea on almost everyone's mind. Along with that excitement and buzz, however, it's worthwhile to step back and look at how we got here, and
The volatile financial markets leave no wiggle room for risk. Or second thoughts. We need the right answers to some tough questions, and we need them now. There is zero tolerance for errors. And no time for delays. Samsung Securities gets it. That's why they've boosted their SAS solution for enterprise risk management
I just had a great conversation about big data and high-performance analytics with Eric Williams, retired CIO of Catalina Marketing, and I hope to publish some of what he had to say here in the next few weeks. In the meantime, you can learn a lot about how big data
Back in my day-one post of this "HPA once a day project," I promised a post about Twitter as "big data." I know some of you are already moaning about the noise on Twitter and the "what I ate for breakfast" type of commentary that's prevalent there. So I'm going to
Bank Systems & Technology just published a special issue focused on "big data" - and how high-performance analytics helps solve the big data problem. Clicking on the cover image will take you to the ebook, so you can flip through 24 pages full of information about the benefits of big data for banking.
I'm not a fan of obscure acronyms in blog post titles, but by the end of this month I'm hoping HPA won't be obscure to anyone who reads this blog. It stands for high-performance analytics, and I'm challenging myself to blog about it once a day for the next month.
The tools for analytics are getting more sophisticated as data becomes more voluminous, says Jim Sterne, President of Target Marketing, in the video below. The real magic still comes from human ingenuity, explains Sterne, but it helps to give analysts the tools they need to make that magic happen. Hear
Without fail, at every social media conference I attend, someone will approach the microphone during the Q&A portion of a presentation and ask the speaker or the panelsts, "How are you measuring influence for your blogger outreach programs?" Or, "How can we replicate what you're doing to decide whether certain
Let's start with a true/false quiz: True or False: Nobody comments on B2B blog posts. True or False: Quality blog posts will always generate comments on their own without promotion. True or False: Using your personal contact list to draw commenters to your blog is cheating. True or False: The only
SAS CEO Jim Goodnight is passionate about education reform. The fruits of that passion are evident in SAS' philanthropic efforts and in the many public speeches Dr. Goodnight gives on the topic. Earlier this month, we covered his visit to the Kelley School of Business. Last week, he was the
Most bloggers start thinking about blog editorial calendars from a planning perspective. You want to make sure you have enough content to keep the blog updated somewhat regularly, and you want to make sure you are publishing content that your audience needs, without overlooking any of your prioritized topic areas
In 27 years at SAS, Keith Collins says his whole career has been about scaling to the enterprise. He wonders, "Why now do we call it big data? What will the next generation call it? Bigger data?" Keith led a panel of business leaders at the Premier Business Leadership Series
Big data problems are not new, says Vijitha Kaduwela, founder and CEO of Kavi Associates, an analytic consulting firm. The first case in point that Vijitha referenced in his talk yesterday at Analytics 2011 is a revenue generation model that he developed for United Airlines when he worked there 15 years ago.
"Unless you understand the data aspects of the problem, you're not going to be able to solve it." ~ Thornton May, IT futurist and author of The New Know. In this brief video interview excerpt, Thornton suggests four tips for solving problems analytically: Focus on the pressing issues of
Before I can even talk about blog strategy, I have to admit that I am not naturally a strategic thinker. I am rumored to be organized and slightly more analytical than your average writer, but I am first and foremost a creative, right-brained thinker. This means my immediate reaction when
At the end of Todd Wheatland's presentation, "Transforming a large organization into a content machine," at Content Marketing World, he offered a top ten list of tips for creating corporate content. I've pulled a few tips from his list and added in others from earlier in his talk that resonated
