Twas the night before "big data," when all through the data center Not an IT supervisor was stirring, not even the help desk on-call. The servers where all humming along nicely in hopes Big data would soon be there. The business users were nestled all snug in their offices
As 2013 comes to a close, it’s time to take stock of some of the topics that captured our attention this year in the context of five “hot topics” we focused on. Marketing Analytics Marketing Analytics is near and dear to our hearts, among other reasons because we’ve had a
This is the time of year when we like to make predictions about the upcoming year. Although I am optimistic about the potential of predictive analytics in the era of big data, I am also realistic about the nature of predictability regardless of how much data is used. For example, in
The "Internet of Things" is the latest buzzword characterizing the machine-generated big data that has outstripped our ability to derive value from it. Think of UPS delivering 16 million packages every day through various hubs and all the logistics and decisioning that goes into that. But how does an organization
The following post originally appeared on the DMA Advance blog, republished here with permission and gratitude. It was written by Stephanie Miller, VP at DMA and Chair of the Program Committee for their conference, NCDM13: Where Marketing Meets Big Data. The secret glue between IT and marketing departments is big data.
The value of big data has less to do with the sheer quantity of the data, and is more about an opportunity to take a new view of the world. That's the thought that Viktor Mayer-Schonberger, the Oxford University Professor known for his expertise on big data shared in his keynote session at the
As the “Year of Statistics” comes to a close, I write this blog in support of the many statisticians who carefully fulfil their analysis tasks day by day, and to defend what may appear to be demanding behavior when it comes to data requirements. How do statisticians get this reputation? Are we
The data quality and data governance community has a somewhat disconcerting habit to want to append the word “quality” to every phrase that has the word “data” in it. So it is no surprise that the growing use of the phrase “big data” has been duly followed by claims of
Stephanie Miller at The DMA is challenging marketers to see data differently. In her most recent blog post in the See Data Differently series of the DMA Advance blog, she spotlights the pivotal role for marketing of the Chief Data Officer. By describing the work and perspectives of Todd Cullen,
"Big data isn't useful for investment purposes." So said my friend Walt during one of our recent arguments discussions. By way of background, Walt is not an über-successful 70-year-old investor who earned his chops well before the advents of Twitter, Facebook and their ilk. Rather, he's a man of a similar age to
Blockbuster recently announced it‘s throwing in the towel and closing its remaining 300 stores in early 2014. My how times change! Blockbuster, bought by Dish Network in 2011, was an integral and intimate part of our lives for years. Teens gathered at the neighborhood Blockbuster to rent movies and hang
Last time we explored consumption and usability as an alternative approach to data governance. In that framework, data stewards can measure the quality of the data and alert users about potential risks of using the results, but are prevented from changing the data. In this post we can look at
The recent uptick in buzz around Hadoop caught my attention, and as always, my what’s-in-it-for-me filter kicked in, so I started sniffing around. It turns out that Hadoop brings some big advantages to the world of data that we marketers depend on so much, and as a result, I think
Picture your "typical" sports fan - body paint, tailgating, banners on the car, and so on. You can easily imagine that person as a brand evangelist. Now think of someone you know who loves to read. Would you ever put the sports fan and the book lover in the same
SAS has had a good week. No. 1 in Analytics The company remains No. 1 in advanced analytics -- per IDC and Forrester, not just according to marketers like me. And we remain committed to innovation. Our data visualization offering, SAS Visual Analytics, is now used by more than 500
As technology has changed the way people communicate, do business and generally lead their lives, CMOs have shifted their strategies to lead data-driven marketing in ways that maximize new opportunities and mitigate new risks. As the second in a two-part blog post, I’m sharing the recurring themes I’ve taken away
Technology has dramatically changed the way people communicate, do business and generally lead their lives. It’s increasingly online, and it’s increasingly mobile. In turn, those technologies have created tons of data-driven marketing opportunities, and it turns out that there are some recurring themes in how CMOs are leading the charge. Big
In the era of big data, Kenneth Cukier and Viktor Mayer-Schonberger noted in their book Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think, “we are in the midst of a great infrastructure project that in some ways rivals those of the past, from the Roman aqueducts
Want to know the secrets to landing a job as an analytics professional? I went straight to the source – the expert speakers of Analytics 2013 to find out. Here’s some of their advice… What advice would you give students considering a job in analytics and those already in the
I first spoke with Jill Dyché in March about her "Big data in big companies" research with Tom Davenport. They had interviewed a handful of organizations, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank and UnitedHealthcare. They ended up speaking with executives from more than 20 companies about their big data
Is big data becoming too big to ignore? An increasing number of organizations seem to think so. As Matt Asay on ReadWriteWeb writes: According to a recent Gartner report, 64% of enterprises surveyed indicate that they're deploying or planning Big Data projects (emphasis mine). Yet even more acknowledge that they
Leading up to the Analytics 2013 conference, we’re going to dive into some of the big topics in the industry. Up first, the hurdles to using analytics and big data effectively in your organization. We reached out to some of our conference speakers and sponsors to get their take on
Some recent press articles question the value of big data while a book takes the opposite approach; I’ll choose the middle way. The New York Times article ‘Is Big Data an Economic Big Dud?’ questions the value of digital data and the resulting increase in the amount of data. This
What do you get when you put a dozen big data pros around a table to discuss the real (not over-inflated) effects of big data on the organization? An honest discussion around what big data is and what it isn’t, what Hadoop can accomplish and what it cannot. Where did
The issue of data privacy has gotten a lot of attention lately, thanks in part to revelations by Edward Snowden and his kiss-and-tell with the press about several top-secret United States and British government mass surveillance programs. It doesn't matter that this is not a new issue, nor that his revelations specifically
My wife often jokes about the early years of our marriage, when her perspective was "what's mine is mine and what's your's is mine." And my retort is usually, "I learned early to understand exactly who's the boss." Fortunately, it wasn't exactly like that, but we both agree we each started out
If you're looking for an honest discussion around big data and IT from one technologist to another, look no further than the recent Forbes article, "SAS CTO On IT And Big Data Analytics."* In it, Keith Collins discusses Hadoop, shadow IT and more. Three excerpted points you won't want to
As professional golfers tune up for the SAS Championship, I had the unique opportunity to sit down for a chat with Big Data. Maybe you've seen him on TV or in your corporate board room. He’s the guy with answers to many of the most complex issues faced by business
In my quest to address the opportunity of big data for marketers, I've had a chance to collaborate recently with Tamara Dull, a colleague who's an expert in this field and who is also super-creative. Perfect for marketing, right? Well, she developed a concept she calls "The Big Data Archipelago,"
John Taylor likes computer data the way he likes big trout: here, there or anywhere. Which is perfectly natural, considering he’s the data analyst in the Inland Fisheries Department at Texas Parks and Wildlife. Taylor describes his unspoiled enthusiasm for big data and big fish in this sendup of Dr. Seuss that
