SAS University Edition has been available for free download for six months – in that time we’ve seen 50,192,670 PROCs or DATA steps executed globally – that’s almost 4,000 hours duration! Now, we were founded on stats so we thought we’d bring you some of the key metrics we’ve discovered over
The holidays are sometimes chaotic, especially for those tasked with analyzing consumer shopping data! I would like to share a few tips on adding order to your chaotic data. SAS recently published an interesting article, sharing the results from a consumer survey. The infographics in the article showed high-level summary information, such as:
Un Chief Information Officer tiene ciertas características que lo hacen desempeñarse dentro de un rol único. Sin embargo, gracias a los retos que conlleva ahora la implementación de proyectos de analítica avanzada en las organizaciones, han surgido algunos mitos que rodean el rol de TI. Keith Collins, Vicepresidente Senior de
A lack of mental health professionals is pushing the US mental health system to a crisis point. And even if a psychiatrist commits someone to a facility, there may not be a bed for them. A startling 55 percent of all US counties have zero psychiatrists, psychologists or social workers
For many industries, big data analytics have opened numerous doors for more employees to be groundbreaking and to challenge the corporate status quo. Prior to big data technologies, risk taking behaviors were primarily reserved for provocative souls who stretched organizational boundaries to disrupt industries, such as airline revenue management. There were winners and losers
Well, this is a kick to the giblets. I assumed when I was summoned to the White House it was in recognition of my tireless advocacy for turkey rights. I wasn’t expecting a press conference in the rose garden or anything, just a meet and greet with the prez and
Not all fraud originates from the dark underground of criminal enterprises. In fact, fraud could literally be right under our noses, or in the cubicle next to us. The “Insider Threat” has many names – internal fraud, occupational fraud, even espionage – and uses authorized internal access and knowledge to
Every day there are news stories of fraud perpetrated against federal government programs. Topping the list are Medicaid and Medicare schemes which costs taxpayers an estimated $100 billion a year. Fraud also is rampant in other important federal programs, including unemployment and disability benefits, health care, food stamps, tax collection,
When it comes to fraud detection and risk mitigation, predictive modeling has earned a reputation as the “heavy hitter” in the realm of data analytics. As our celebration of International Fraud Awareness Week continues, I would challenge our readers to ask themselves this question, “Is the reliance upon predictive analytics
Every year, on 11 November at 11 am – the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month – we pause to remember those men and women who have died or suffered in all wars, conflicts and peace operations. Therefore November 11 is also known as Remembrance Day,
There's recently been a "States I've Visited" application going around on Facebook, where users create a map showing all the US states they've visited, and then post it on their page for their friends to see. I wondered if SAS could do a better job?... Here's a screen-capture of one
On a cold and wet December morning in 2008, at approximately 1:30 AM, I pulled into the parking lot of an abandoned supermarket in Arlington, TX. With sleet pelleting my windshield, I saw three additional sets of headlights enter into the parking lot from different directions. All three cars converged
Many vendors claim they have analytics, and a lot of users have embraced the belief that analytics is the way to go. But what does analytics really mean, especially to business users without statistics backgrounds, and how much do they need to know about analytics to be able to make
All of us are familiar with common fraud types. Insurance fraud, credit card fraud, identity theft, and tax evasion are among the most recognized areas. But, there are many other fraud types that have a big impact on our daily lives, yet receive little attention in the media and among
Perhaps forecasting is a little of both, crystal ball and competitive edge. It’s a crystal ball of sorts because it helps leaders get answers to questions like, “How many? Or, “How much?” to decide what actions best help the business. And it’s definitely a competitive edge when it results in
Are you a legitimate hard-working company that has been threatened with a lawsuit, by a patent troll? If so, the graphs in this blog should make you happy! Speaking of 'happy' and 'troll' - here's a picture of a happy Troll Doll from my friend Hannah. Don't you just hate
For most people, this time of year means celebrating cherished, personal traditions… helping those less fortunate…flocking to stores in droves…the company holiday party… For the SAS Security Intelligence team, it means identity theft…benefits fraud…unemployment insurance fraud...insider threats. Why? Because next week is International Fraud Awareness Week! And we’re celebrating by
There are times when I harken back to the classic television show M.A.S.H. For those of you too young to remember, the story centered around a mobile Army surgical hospital in the midst of the conflict in the Korean peninsula. While they weren't the first people to see the patient, the unit
SAS UK & Ireland recently ran a competition to find the region's 'top data scientist'; the competition challenge was to produce a forecast of energy demand for the UK in the year 2020 based on the data provided. Competition for this coveted award was fierce; with the winner claiming a trip to SAS
Back in the 90s, there was a song by the C&C Music Factory about things that just didn't quite make sense - the song was called Things That Make You Go Hmm.... And in that same spirit, this blog post is about Graphs That Make You Go Hmm... I'm not
Data has value IF you can analyze it, said participants at a big data analytics roundtable at the Premier Business Leadership Series in Las Vegas. In attendance were executives from some of the largest Communications companies in the world including from the US, Canada, Turkey, Japan, Australia and the Philippines as well
SAS software has long been used to help analyze 'risk' - what about using it to help determine your risk of being attacked by a vampire?!? On a previous Halloween, I was the victim of a Vampire attack. Here's the photographic proof... Being the most common O+ blood type, I
In a previous blog post, I showed how to layer colored areas on a SAS map to show both countries, and the areas within countries that had cases of Ebola. But as the Ebola epidemic has spread, more data has become available, and in this blog I show how to
Who do you want to be when you grow up? And can I offer you a suggestion? Considering the huge shortfall in analytical talent we’re facing, we should be asking those two questions more often. Many of the people who are considering a change in careers or searching for their
Companies like Amazon, Netflix, Zappos and Pandora have changed what consumers expect from a brand – they want brands to “know” what they want before they ask for it. To provide those kinds of personalized products and services, brands have to collect and analyze huge quantities of customer and industry
In a city built on hedging your bets, it is fitting that the Analytics 2014 conference kicked off Monday in Las Vegas with a look at all the unscientific ways people try to predict the future. John Elder, Founder and President of Elder Research, Inc., entertained the audience with examples of how
It's my favorite time of year! The leaves are changing. Football is back. And it's also time for our annual Analytics conference. One of the best parts about my job is getting to attend the conference each year and host the Inside Analytics video series. Not everyone at the conference gets
I always recommend looking at data in several different ways, to get a more complete picture of what's really going on - such is the case with the member 'ratings' on dating websites. Let's take a look at some data from a different angle... In a recent blog post, I
Having spent a quarter of a century working on databases and on database-related technologies, I have developed an aura of skepticism on any new product that hits the market being presented as the best thing we have ever seen. It’s not that I love to revel in “I told you
Do you have too many models to build, too many to manage, too few analytic resources or too much data? A Model Factory may be your answer. The mindset of analytics is changing. This represents the transformation from a “craftsman” dominated culture in which multiple weeks were spent cycling through
