In a previous article, I discussed various ways to solve a least-square linear regression model. I discussed the SWEEP operator (used by many SAS regression routines), the LU-based methods (SOLVE and INV in SAS/IML), and the QR decomposition (CALL QR in SAS/IML). Each method computes the estimates for the regression
Following is Editor Len Tashman's preview of the new issue of Foresight: The International Journal of Applied Forecasting. Preview of Foresight #62 (2021:Q3) This 62nd issue of Foresight has been heavily “infected” by the COVID pandemic. Stephan Kolassa’s book review of Resurrecting Retail by Doug Stephens raises the question of whether the
Understanding the problem Working with character data of different encodings across different systems can occasionally result in failures to translate or transcode that data from its source format to a destination format. When using a SAS/ACCESS LIBNAME engine to query DBMS data, this scenario can end up causing errors when
In computational statistics, there are often several ways to solve the same problem. For example, there are many ways to solve for the least-squares solution of a linear regression model. A SAS programmer recently mentioned that some open-source software uses the QR algorithm to solve least-squares regression problems and asked
How do I stack up in terms of digital maturity against my manufacturing peers? This is a question that I have been asked many times. The fear of missing out creates unbearable pain. Trade wars and the COVID-19 pandemic exposed some of the manufacturing wounds: tight margins, supply chain risks,
I hope you're all doing well, in this year of plagues and locusts! I'm sure I don't even need to mention which plague I'm talking about. But what about the locusts? Are you up on your entomological studies? Follow along, and see if you really know what locusts are... Locusts
One of the lesser-known effects of COVID-19 has been on analytical risk models. Around the world, the pandemic has created a new reality. The situation became so unpredictable that financial institutions’ risk models lost their ability to make accurate predictions. Past performance, it turned out, was very definitely not a
Foot pain, no matter what you like to do for exercise, is a super bummer and, when you head to a medical professional to get it checked out, the answer is often the dreaded "stop exercising." Foot pain can often be prevented with regular “maintenance”. Always warm up and cool
In general, it is hard to simulate multivariate data that has a specified correlation structure. Copulas make that task easier for continuous distributions. A previous article presented the geometry behind a copula and explained copulas in an intuitive way. Although I strongly believe that statistical practitioners should be familiar with
This is the second post in a series covering parallel processing in SAS Viya. The first post served as an introduction to parallel processing. It covered parallel processing uses in data science and the SAS Viya products that facilitate it. There are countless opportunities for using parallel processing within data
Our key workers deserve more than just a round of applause — so why do we still expect the people who have the least to pay the most for banking services? To most people, social justice and the banking sector probably seem like strange bedfellows. Over the past couple of
Having the ability to know what the best decision is in any given scenario sounds like a superpower. What may surprise you is that this “superpower” already exists. SAS calls it intelligent decisioning. Decisioning is a powerful tool in the business world. It is useful to both the company and
SAS' Leonid Batkhan reveals how to use versatile iterative DO loops with index variable pertaining to SAS DATA steps.
Assisto Consulting is a management consulting firm delivering analytical and operational solutions for banks and multiple other sectors with a strong focus on financial technology and delivering its tailor-made business solutions. Its partners are all experienced banking professionals with skills in risk management, finance, business development, and marketing, and of
To successfully adapt and reinvent business decisions amid the uncertainty of the past year, organizations have leaned on support from their partner ecosystems. Together, SAS and its SAS Partner community have collaborated to find new answers to customers' toughest challenges and to drive innovation and digital transformation. In honor of this,
Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine.” For food vendors, this advice could be communicated another way: Stock more fresh fruit, protein and vegetables. The periphery of the grocery store has led in the expansion of revenues – namely within produce, but also spanning seafood, bakery products and ready-to-eat
How do you manage your energy and productivity throughout your day? Wanna know my secret? I take movement breaks often and eat lunch! According to the Center for Disease Control, more than 156 million full-time workers in the United States spend at least one-third of their day at the workplace.
A recent article about how to estimate a two-dimensional distribution function in SAS inspired me to think about a related computation: a 2-D cumulative sum. Suppose you have numbers in a matrix, X. A 2-D cumulative sum is a second matrix, C, such that the C[p,q] gives the sum of
“We live in disruptive times… where the only constant is a change” – this statement seems very accurate to the situation we face today. The funny thing is that this is a quote from an ancient philosopher Heraclitus of Efez, who had said it almost 2500 years ago! The “new
This is part two of a two-part series on digital transformation for manufacturers, where we explore the real risk of not digitally transforming and the journey that manufacturers are undertaking to capitalize on the opportunity to increase revenue, profit, and operational effectiveness. You can read more in my first blog
In a world increasingly characterized by digital economies and disruption, every market disturbance exponentially widens the business agility gap between the less digitally evolved and those companies that have demonstrated innovation leadership through digital transformation. For those that are not transforming with urgency, the negative consequences will become compounded to
SAS System Engineer Sophia Rowland reveals how to embed decision flows into webpages and applications using APIs for a better customer experience.
Over the past year, it’s become normal for me to order my groceries online, make telehealth appointments for my family and attend dozens of virtual meetings every week. And I am not alone. Last year not only brought an increase in the use of digital technologies. It also brought with
SAS Viya 2020.1.4 introduced support for Kerberos delegation. As a result, Kerberos delegation will be available with the Long Term Support release 2021.1. This series starts with an overview and continues into authentication processing in detail, Kerberos delegation configuration, and requirements for SAS/ACCESS to Hadoop. Part 1 - SAS Viya
This article shows how to estimate and visualize a two-dimensional cumulative distribution function (CDF) in SAS. SAS has built-in support for this computation. Although the bivariate CDF is not used as much as the univariate CDF, the bivariate version is still a useful tool in understanding the probable values of
The computer vision team was recently presented with the following challenge concerning image matching performance. An insurance company has the capability to submit claims and supporting materials digitally via an online interface. They need, however, to be able to detect when images already used in previous claims have been resubmitted
In many programming languages, there is a function named eval() that can be used to evaluate an expression and return the result at run time. For example, in Python, the eval() function parses the expression passed to it and runs a Python expression or code within the program. Even Python
If you have ever had a consult with one of us, or maybe joined one of our seminars or other events, you have most likely heard us talk about the importance of eating more non-starchy vegetables. What exactly does that mean? And which vegetables are starchy? It all comes down
This article uses simulation to demonstrate the fact that any continuous distribution can be transformed into the uniform distribution on (0,1). The function that performs this transformation is a familiar one: it is the cumulative distribution function (CDF). A continuous CDF is defined as an integral, so the transformation is
Welcome to the fifth installment in my series Getting Started with Python Integration to SAS Viya. In previous posts, I discussed how to connect to the CAS server, how to execute CAS actions, how to work with the results, and how your data is organized on the CAS server. In
