Simply put, optimization is the process of choosing the permissible actions that result in the best outcome. This is the underlying concept, no matter how complex the means by which optimization is implemented. On these terms, virtually all activity – whether of enterprises, groups, individuals or microorganisms – can be viewed as some form of optimization.
As you can imagine, optimization is a hot topic! We recently had an inquiry from James Taylor of Enterprise Decision Management on the topic of optimization and operations research, and James had the opportunity to catch up with the Operations Research team at SAS. James took the time to share his thoughts in this recent blog post, First Look – SAS/OR.
In support of optimizing business processes and to address management science challenges, SAS is a proud sponsor of this year's INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics and Operation Research. The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences is hosting their 11th Annual conference on April 10-12 in Chicago. Over 500 attendees should expect to get a broad, practical introduction to advanced analytics and operations research. We are looking forward to participating as well as from hearing from top speakers who will showcase the strategic use of O.R. and Analytics.
SAS will host a workshop, Solving Business Problems with SAS Analytics and OPTMODEL on Sunday afternoon. Radhika Kulkarni, Vice President of Advanced Analytics for SAS Research and Development will present with other leaders in the Executive Forum. Radhika will speak on the topic of "Data-Driven Decisions: The Role of Operations Research in Business Analytics."
In addition to Radhika, several other colleagues of mine will be presenting at INFORMS this year, including Evan Stubbs, Analytics Solution Manager for SAS Australia and New Zealand. Evan will present ”Understanding Why We Fail: Selling the Value of Analytics” and Jodi Blomberg, MA, Technical Architect, will present “Starting at the End: Letting Results Drive the Analytic Process.”
I hope you'll stop by our booth and introduce yourself! We look forward to meeting you at this year's conference. Not going to INFORMS but still want to learn about optomization? We invite you to download this whitepaper to learn more about optimization and how can it add value to your business.
