Back before storage became so affordable, cost was the primary factor in determining what data an IT department would store. As George Dyson (author and historian of technology) says, “Big data is what happened when the cost of storing information became less than the cost of making the decision to
North Carolina has over 300 miles of wide, flat Atlantic beaches as well as the highest mountain in the eastern United States, Mount Mitchell. The variety is impressive for a state that isn't even in the top half of the 50 states by size. One key reason is geometric: North Carolina
A recent survey by Capgemini found that 78% of insurance executive interviewed cited big data analytics as the disruptive force that will have the biggest impact on the insurance industry. That’s the good news. The bad news is that unfortunately traditional data management strategies do not scale to effectively govern
"The Role of Model Interpretability in Data Science" is a recent post on Medium.com by Carl Anderson, Director of Data Science at the fashion eyeware company Warby Parker. Anderson argues that data scientists should be willing to make small sacrifices in model quality in order to deliver a model that
Creating a strategy for the data in an organization is not a straightforward task. Not only does our business change – our software solutions also change before we can ever get done with a data strategy. So, I choose to understand that a strategy has a vision, and my vision may change
Last year at Mobile World Congress (MWC), we saw the reality of the IoT come to fruition. We saw leaders like AT&T showing their prototypes of connected cars, containers, agricultural sites, homes, etc. And it's got me wondering what we'll see at the 2016 MWC. In 2015, communications and media
This is the first of two articles looking at how to listen to what your customers are saying and act upon it – that is, how to understand the voice of the customer. Over the last few years, one of the big uses for SAS® Text Analytics has been to
I should have expected it! The end of January/beginning of February always seems to bring some kind of major snow event in the East. Here in Cary, NC we experienced only a couple of inches of snow, but that snow covered a solid inch of ice underneath. Several hundred miles
In my previous post, I discussed the characteristics of a strong data strategy, the first of which was that a formal, well-defined strategy exists within your organization. This post discusses how often (and why) your organization’s data strategy needs to be updated. While strategy encompasses and sets the overall direction for
You know when you visit Las Vegas you’ll have an experience you can only find in this one of a kind city. Where else can you gamble around the clock, get married in a drive-through, or see the Eiffel Tower without visiting Paris? So in the spirit of Vegas, SAS
How do you sample with replacement in SAS when the probability of choosing each observation varies? I was asked this question recently. The programmer thought he could use PROC SURVEYSELECT to generate the samples, but he wasn't sure which sampling technique he should use to sample with unequal probability. This
Did you know you could drive 74 million cars using the wasted natural gas that is flared from oil wells and refineries? Learn more details in this blog post! Flaring (burning) is commonly used to dispose of natural gas produced at oil and gas facilities that lack the infrastructure to capture it
In my two prior posts, I discussed the process of developing a business justification for a data strategy and for assessing an organization's level of maturity with key data management processes and operational procedures. The business justification phase can be used to speculate about the future state of data management required
Like most boys my age at that time, I wanted to be an astronaut. Fate, however, intervened, in the form of nearsightedness, so I had to find an alternative occupation. Coming to my rescue for the launch of Apollo 11 was my father, who presented me with a huge booklet that broke
Featuring a computer-savvy kid and Cold War intrigue, the 1980s movie War Games inspired more than one generation of STEM graduates. Sean Dyer is one Gen X’er who credits the movie for sending him on a path to where he is today as a cybersecurity data scientist. As the fog
Data virtualization simplifies increasingly complex data architectures Every few months, another vendor claims one environment will replace all others. We know better. What usually happens is an elongated state of coexistence between traditional technology and the newer, sometimes disruptive one. Eventually, one technology sinks into obsolescence, but it usually takes much longer than we expect. Think of
In the SAS/IML language, you can read data from a SAS data set into a set of vectors (each with their own name) or into a single matrix. Beginning programmers might wonder about the advantages of each approach. When should you read data into vectors? When should you read data
Love includes a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the highest virtue to the simplest pleasure. An example of such a wide range of meanings is the fact that the love of a mother is different from the love of a spouse, which, in turn, is
As many as 2,000 new users are registering each month to partake of -- and contribute to -- collective SAS wisdom in the SAS Support Communities. If you’re beginning your journey to learn SAS, make a habit of stopping by SAS Communities Library to tap a growing treasure trove of fascinating
Eating donuts, burning calories, and raising money for a good cause -- that's what the annual Krispy Kreme Challenge is all about. If this intrigues you, read on to find out more... But first, here's a picture of me eating a donut, preparing for a race. I bet you didn't
In my last post, we touched on the importance of data migration in an overall data strategy. The reason I wanted to do this is because so many organizations see the migration of data as a technical challenge that can be outsourced and largely ignored by their internal teams. I contend
Shocking headlines to start the new year: Paul DePodesta is leaving the New York Mets and Major League Baseball (MLB) to take a top office position at the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). Not so shocked? You don’t care? Who’s Paul De Podesta? Well for those of
TL;DR The next time that you find yourself writing a PROC SORT step, verify that you're working with the SAS Base engine and not a database. If your data is in a database, skip the SORT! The details: When to skip the PROC SORT step Many SAS procedures allow you
In my last post, I discussed some practical steps you can take to collect the right information for justifying why your business should design and implement a data strategy. Having identified weaknesses in your environment that could impede business success, your next step is to drill down deeper to determine where there may be
The World Health Organization recently declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency. This virus is spread by certain mosquitoes, and therefore if we know where those mosquitoes are located, then we've got a pretty good idea of where the virus might spread. Before we get to the numbers, here
Last week I showed how to use PROC EXPAND to compute moving averages and other rolling statistics in SAS. Unfortunately, PROC EXPAND is part of SAS/ETS software and not every SAS site has a license for SAS/ETS. For simple moving averages, you can write a DATA step program, as discussed
It is said that everything is big in Texas, and that includes big data. During my recent trip to Austin I had the privilege of being a judge in the final round of the Texata Big Data World Championship, a fantastic example of big data competitions. It felt fitting that
Groundhog Day is one of those quirky bits of Americana that add richness and flavor to life. Everyone likes Groundhog Day. It’s a fun, light-hearted way to cope with the cold, dark days of winter. Taxes, on the other hand, are not so fun and light-hearted. Mention the word “taxes”
With data now impacting nearly every business activity, there should no longer be any doubt that data needs to be managed as a strategic corporate asset. This post examines the top five characteristics of a strong data strategy. Existence As I previously blogged, in today’s fast-moving business world now often takes priority
I recently read an article about the major challenges electric utilities are facing in 2016, and I thought: "Wow, those challenges can be answered in so many ways..." Utilities are dealing with an onslaught of issues which can no longer be ignored or put off because they're all high priority and interrelated. But
