I was under the impression that Black Swans were supposed to be rare. Rare enough to be effectively non-computable by standard methods. Nassim Taleb’s formulation of the Black Swan Theory is comprised of the three traits of: outlier (rarity), extreme impact, and retrospective predictability (i.e. 20/20 hindsight). I write this
SAS is the underwriter of a MeriTalk study released today that focuses on “The Federal Efficiency Opportunity”. The study uncovered meaningful insights into how federal managers and professionals are trying to meet their goals while facing enormous budget cuts. The study was done after President Obama’s Deficit Commission suggested in
As part of the ongoing dialogue about rebuilding customer confidence in the financial services industry at the SAS Financial Services Executive Summit, bankers, asset managers and insurance executives discussed the challenges and opportunities in using data, analytics and insight to build trust, rapport and loyalty with customers. Here are a
The basic big data problem is simple to understand: we create too much data to store and analyze it all. The problem gets bigger, however, when you consider the related factors: our problems themselves are getting bigger, the analytics needed to solve them are more complex and the data is
At this week’s SAS Financial Services Summit, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and report for The Wall Street Journal, James B. Stewart, discussed his new book, Tangled Webs: How False Statements are Undermining America. In his book, Stewart reveals the consequences of the perjury epidemic in America, the result of an alarming
Top 10 lists are always very subjective and a good source for debate. Who is the best soccer player ever (Pele – no dispute), favorite movie (Citizen Kane - really?), greatest band (Beatles, although my personal favorite would be Queen) and so on… Well Insurance and Technology recently published the
Although midsize US banks do not need to follow the Basel II accord, some choose to. And as Hans Helbekkmo, Chief Risk Officer for San Francisco-based Union Bank, told guests at April’s SAS Global Forum Executive Conference, the decision to follow the Basel II requirements using a transparent, in-house approach
I recently had the privilege of working with Dr. Lane Mills, Associate Professor in the Educational Leadership program at East Carolina University, on a whitepaper about creating a data driven culture. It was great getting to know Dr. Mills on a professional and personal level as we having many conversations
As editor of the SAS Business Report, I constantly analyze what’s “clicking” for readers and what’s not. So far in 2011, the following articles have been the biggest hitters: Advanced Analytics for the Modern Business Analyst SAS Placed in Leaders Quadrant for BI Top Five Big Ideas in Analytical Data
“Our performance last month was 46.” Oh, you don’t have to thank me, I was just doing my job. Not very well, I might add. 46? 46 what? Or 46 who’s? Without context, 46 is just a number, just data. In context, perhaps that’s 46 out of 48 (not too
