The Business Forecasting Deal
Exposing bad practices and offering practical solutions in business forecasting![Come on Irene: Time series cross-validation Foresight Cover](https://blogs.sas.com/content/forecasting/files/2017/02/BFD.png)
The hurricane didn't get me, but Monday night's thunderstorm sure played a dirty trick. After leaving my car windows cracked open over night, I drove to work Tuesday morning feeling a little soggier by the minute. Upon arrival at SAS, I was aghast to find the seat of my pants was soaked
![The New (BF) Deal Foresight Cover](https://blogs.sas.com/content/forecasting/files/2017/02/BFD.png)
We had a tornado in April, an earthquake on Tuesday, a drought all summer, and a hurricane arrives on Saturday. All I can figure is that Cary, NC has way too many sinners per capita. What's next -- pestilence? The BFD Makeover The BFD (and all SAS blogs) will now be
![Announcing: SAS Forecast Server 4.1 Foresight Cover](https://blogs.sas.com/content/forecasting/files/2017/02/BFD.png)
Tuesday's release of SAS 9.3 included the new SAS Forecast Server 4.1, which has several valuable enhancements: Combination (Ensemble) Models: A combination of forecasts using different forecasting techniques can outperform forecasts produced by using any single technique. Users can combine forecasts produced by many different models using several different combination
![FVA Rattling Bones in the Orthopaedic Devices Industry Foresight Cover](https://blogs.sas.com/content/forecasting/files/2017/02/BFD.png)
No, BONEZONE is not the website of wayward legislators. It is, however, a trade journal of the orthopaedic devices industry, and the Summer 2011 issue features a nice mention of Forecast Value Added (FVA) analysis in an article by Tom Wallace. In "Forecasting: It's Getting Better," Tom refers to FVA
![A Certain Forecast is Proven Foresight Cover](https://blogs.sas.com/content/forecasting/files/2017/02/BFD.png)
There is nothing the gambler, investor, forecaster, or Match.com dater likes as much as the sure thing. Don't we all? Back in April I stated what I claimed to be a sure thing forecast: In any group of 2 or more people, there is at least one pair of people
![FVA Analysis Reaching the Mainstream? Foresight Cover](https://blogs.sas.com/content/forecasting/files/2017/02/BFD.png)
As organizations confront the limits of forecasting, they finally realize the folly in a blind pursuit of unachievable levels of forecast accuracy. The best accuracy we can ever hope to achieve is limited by the nature -- the forecastability -- of what we are trying to forecast. Anything better than