We asked our partners at the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research to poll the research faculty at the Hotel School to understand their guidance about what to expect in 2015. We were also able to get a preview of what the faculty will be working on in terms of research
Over my last two posts, I suggested that our expectations for data quality morph over the duration of business processes, and it is only at a point that the process has completed that we can demand that all statically-applied data quality rules be observed. However, over the duration of the
A SAS/IML programmer asked a question on a discussion forum, which I paraphrase below: I've written a SAS/IML function that takes several arguments. Some of the arguments have default values. When the module is called, I want to compute some quantity, but I only want to compute it for the
Google recently announced that they will be adding Google Fiber high speed network and TV to my area. This was great news, because it will give us more choices ... and a little competition among providers tends to make them all 'try harder' to please the customer. :-) I was curious what other
It's an exciting time for reality! We've been technologically enhancing reality for a long time -- eye glasses, telescopes, binoculars, microscopes, photography, moving pictures, live streaming video over the Internet, etc. But whether it's augmented reality, virtual reality or somewhere in between, a new wave of eye wear technology is
This week’s author tip is from Robert Virgile and his book “SAS Macro Language Magic: Discovering Advanced Techniques”. Virgile chose this tip because discovering and developing this technique will help you make the most of MACROS. We hope you find this tip useful. You can also read an excerpt from
This week, I finally ate some liver, for the first time in over 20 years - and I realized it's a lot like prepping data (which I'll explain in this blog post). Here are a few of the similarities: They're both good for you. Thinking about them makes you go
This year the American Statistical Association Conference on Statistical Practice (CSP) has some weighty themes including Big Data Prediction and Analysis and all of its exciting applications. But just as important is the theme Communication and Impact. Everyone knows that if you have a great idea or discovery but you
In my book Simulating Data with SAS, I discuss a relationship between the skewness and kurtosis of probability distributions that might not be familiar to some statistical programmers. Namely, the skewness and kurtosis of a probability distribution are not independent. If κ is the full kurtosis of a distribution and
SAS Programming Professionals, Are you doing things SAS backwards? Yea; we have all been there. A manager, or a user, or a client, asks you to perform an analysis or create a data set and gives you a sketchy description of what they want. Maybe they say "It's like that
We asked our partners at the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research to comment on what they are seeing in terms of trends that will impact the hospitality industry in 2015. Cathy Enz, full professor in strategy and The Lewis G. Schaeneman Jr. Professor of Innovation and Dynamic Management at the
One of the significant problems data quality leaders face is changing people's perception of data quality. For example, one common misconception is that data quality represents just another data processing activity. If you have a data warehouse, you will almost certainly have some form of data processing in the form
The Internet of Things is going to be driven by innovative business models as much as by innovative technology. In order to ground the following discussion, I found it helpful to create this visual depiction of the IoT that defines and distinguishes the key elements that enter into these business models.
Have you ever thought about retiring in another country, where your money might go further? Well here's some quantitative data to help you make an informed decision! ... First, to get you in the mood, here's a picture of my friend Erik checking out the prices at a pedal-powered food
Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with James Haight of Blue Hill Research regarding the Internet of Things and how it is and will impact manufacturers. We also dipped our toes into other topics, including text analytics and the interesting combination of all these trends. The conversation was captured
By now, we have all heard about the Internet of Things (IoT), or the Industrial Internet. Across industries, organizations are attempting to instrument and measure all critical business systems and assets in an effort to drive improved production and service delivery. It is estimated that by 2020, companies will spend
You’ve heard about the smart grid, but what is it that makes the grid smart? I’ve been working on a project with Duke Energy and NC State University doing time-series analysis on data from Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) that illustrates the intelligence in the grid as well as an interesting
In my last post, I pointed out that we data quality practitioners want to apply data quality assertions to data instances to validate data in process, but the dynamic nature of data must be contrasted with our assumptions about how quality measures are applied to static records. In practice, the
Was nun - Big Data oder Smart Data? Die Antwort: beides – denn das eine bedingt das andere. Die Kunst ist, aus einer riesigen Datenmenge den wesentlichen Teil zu extrahieren. Die Energiewende basiert zum einen auf dem verstärkten Einsatz regenerativer Energien, zum anderen soll die produzierte Energie effektiver eingesetzt werden. Dies
Back in the day when the prison system forced inmates to perform "hard labor", folks would say (of someone in prison): "He's busy making little ones out of big ones." This evokes the cliché image of inmates who are chained together, forced to swing a chisel to break large rocks
In the SAS DATA step, all variables are scalar quantities. Consequently, an IF-THEN/ELSE statement that evaluates a logical expression is unambiguous. For example, the following DATA step statements print "c=5 is TRUE" to the log if the variable c is equal to 5: if c=5 then put "c=5 is TRUE";
Why do people steal ATMs? Because that's where the money is!!! While the old "smash-n-grab" remains a favorite modus operandi of would-be ATM thieves, the biggest brains on the planet typically aren't engaged in such endeavors (see Thieves Steal Empty ATM, Chain Breaks Dragging Stolen ATM, An A for Effort). And of
Since the launch of Communities on SAS, hundreds of SAS employees have been among you. Some SAS employees made themselves known by selecting a telling user name (such as Cynthia@SAS), but others remained camouflaged or incognito, keeping their secret identities like the SAS superheroes they are. That's about to change.
Utilizing big data analytics is currently one of the most promising strategies for businesses to gain competitive advantage and ensure future growth. But as we saw with “small data analytics,” the success of “big data analytics” relies heavily on the quality of its source data. In fact, when combining “small” and “big” data
Have you ever wondered whether the area where you live is a good location for producing solar power? Let's create a SAS map to help find out! To get you in the right frame of mind, here is an awesome picture of some Arizona sunshine, that my good friend Eva
At the beginning of my book Statistical Programming with SAS/IML Software I give the following programming tip (p. 25): Do not confuse an empty matrix with a matrix that contains missing values or with a zero matrix. An empty matrix has no rows and no columns. A matrix that contains
In my previous post, I talked about how the Internet of Things promises new ways to use sensor and machine data by creating a highly efficient world that demands constant analysis and evaluation of the state of events across everything that surrounds us. I have also explained why it is
According to analyst firms, consulting companies and various other research, customer experience is the primary priority for insurance companies. But is customer experience overrated? Let’s start by considering the primary interactions between an insurance company and its customers: new business, billing, renewals and claims. Ask any insurance executive, especially property
@philsimon on the need to recognize DQ differences.
Data simulation is a fundamental technique in statistical programming and research. My book Simulating Data with SAS is an accessible how-to book that describes the most useful algorithms and the best programming techniques for efficient data simulation in SAS. Here are five lessons you can learn by reading it: Learn strategies
