I'll admit I am sometimes given to hyperbole. But is it a stretch for me to say SAS Factory Miner is to data science what the tractor was to farming? Consider the following:

• I am now hearing people describe traditionally created data models as “handcrafted.”
• One well-known manufacturer now relies on more than 35,000 models to remain at the top of its very competitive market.
• Marketing experts discuss “segment of one” as the Holy Grail.

It’s pretty obvious that handcrafted model building is never going to achieve segment-of-one targeting, especially given the shortage of data science talent.

So how do we get past the handcrafted stage? Traditional business wisdom says to look at ways to automate a process. In this case, SAS Factory Miner lets data scientists and business analysts use the machine learning algorithms to automatically build thousands of predictive models across multiple customer and business segments, all within a few clicks.

Before you decide if this new, Web-based software compares to the introduction of tractors, or if I'm overreaching with the analogy, take a minute and check out the video below. My colleague Sascha Schubert, technology marketing director, introduces SAS Factory Miner in this quick, “60-Second Scoop.”