IT folks love SQL (Standard Query Language). Once you know how to program in SQL, you can work with almost any database because it is a standard. However, SQL is NOT a standard for doing analytics. The SAS programming language pre-dates SQL and even though SAS does SQL, SQL does not
The sun has gone eerily quiet, in the middle of what should be the height of the 11-year sunspot cycle... Here's a superb photo of some sunspots that Stephen A. Carr posted to the Telescope Addicts Facebook group - a group which I follow with great interest. (Thanks for allowing
Although I’m not particularly excited about football (I admit, I don’t completely understand what offside means), I did follow the last World Cup with more than average attention. Not only for the handsome players, but especially for all the fascinating statistics that appeared. It struck me that heat maps popped
I’ve been told I have rocks for brains before, but right now I have rocks on the brain – the kind that are millions of years old and contain precious stores of oil and gas. One reason I have petroleum on my mind is that I’ve just returned from Brazil, where
SAS is great at helping make important business decisions - how about helping decide where to take your next vacation?... Here's a picture from one of my favorite vacations with my buddy Joe. As you can see, I like "nature vacations." Can you guess where this one was? (leave a comment with
This was probably my favorite of the myth-busters webcasts I have been spewing about, and now I definitely want to meet James Dallas so we can discuss and nod emphatically at each other’s insights on this topic! The “You can’t have analytics without IT” myth is the fourth myth covered
A recent project with a supportive housing provider in New York City showed how analytics leads to insights that can change, even save, lives. The New York City Center for Innovation through Data Intelligence (CIDI) is the analytics research arm of the City’s Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services
Visual analytics es una solución, que puede impactar los resultados de una compañía independientemente del tamaño. Según Sanjeev Aggarwal, socio de la consultora tecnológica SMB Group, Visual analytics es el futuro del análisis avanzado de datos para las empresas en crecimiento. Las hojas de cálculo y las herramientas de Business
The word “analytics” is widely misused and misunderstood. While SAS arguably invented the advanced analytics and predictive analytics categories more than 38 years ago, other software vendors have used the term to describe things like reporting, monitoring, and tracking what happened. The value of these more simple capabilities are easily
In the energy industry, oil and gas companies as well as utilities are struggling with many changes at once. First, they're facing what the oil and gas industry has coined "the big crew change," meaning the retirement of those with the most skills and experience on how to run their
I speak with executives in every industry – in companies big and small – and they all have the same challenge: They’re overwhelmed with data. The problem? There’s a huge gap between the amount of data they possess and the number of employees who can analyze it. This lack of
Usted probablemente ha oído hablar del Internet de las Cosas. Por si no lo ha escuchado, es ese concepto que habla de que los dispositivos conectados a Internet pueden transmitir datos de un lado a otro y se comunican entre sí para tomar decisiones o enviar notificaciones sin intervención humana.
Last month, SAS launched our new no-cost software for higher education teaching, learning and research – SAS® University Edition. Available to students, professors, academic researchers and lifelong learners, SAS University Edition provides local access to BASE SAS®, SAS/STAT® software, SAS® Studio, SAS/IML® software and SAS/ACCESS® Interface to PC Files. SAS University Edition
In 1990, the North Carolina General Assembly created the Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission to evaluate sentencing laws and policies and recommend any modifications necessary to achieve policy goals. As part of the mandate, the General Assembly required the Sentencing Commission to develop a correctional population simulation model. The model
From managing excess DVD inventory to optimizing digital distribution channels, Hollywood’s supply chain transformation in the last decade has been massive. Knowing this background, and having spent a good part of my life surrounded by the entertainment industry, I was intrigued and inspired by the recent Entertainment Supply Chain Academy
La tecnología se ha convertido en el nuevo asistente técnico de los equipos de fútbol y está claro que el uso de la analítica puede contribuir al éxito en el campo, la tribuna o la taquilla. La utilización de software para analizar datos genera resultados impactantes en los equipos de
SAS software can be used for many things - here's how you could use it to help save endangered sea turtles! You've seen SAS used to track endangered wildlife by the shape of their footprints, and help run Texas Parks & Wildlife. Now, how about tracking the movements of (and thereby helping
La gestión de datos es la práctica que permite a las empresas organizar y administrar los datos como un activo valioso e impulsar tanto los principales procesos operativos, como la toma de decisiones estratégicas al interior de las organizaciones. El gobierno de datos, entre tanto, hace referencia al esquema de
So far in our Ask the Statistician blog and video series, we have heard responses from statisticians at the Analytics 2013 conference about: The many ways statistics benefit their organizations. The types of statistical analyses used to solve business issues. Best practices for explaining results. How they put statistical
Imagine this scenario: Every device we encounter in our day-to-day routine – from our refrigerators and automobiles to our water and gas meters – has embedded sensors that read real-time information and generate unfathomable amounts of data. Now take this scenario one step further. Imagine what kinds of insights we’d
Las crisis financieras han ocurrido desde los inicios de la historia mundial y forman parte de la naturaleza de los ciclos económicos. Es casi imposible evitarlas, pero sí se pueden desarrollar mecanismos de control y prevención que permitan al sistema financiero fortalecerse y mitigar sus efectos y propagación. Según Javier
My previous post made the point that it’s not a matter of whether it is good for you to use samples, but how good the sample you are using is. The comments on that post raised two different, and valid, perspectives about sampling. These viewpoints reflected two different use cases for data,
What if you could rank where you stand versus your industry peers when it comes to how effectively you're making use of your data through analytics? Now you can. Jim Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at SAS, outlined an eight-metric test at today’s Premier Business Leadership Series
The US health care industry is always getting a bad rap. It takes heat for being too expensive or not efficient enough or just too complicated. We know we need it, and that living long and healthy lives requires it. But we also know we love to complain about it
In my previous post in the Ask the Statistician interview series, we heard from statisticians at the Analytics 2013 conference discuss the how their statistical results are put into action within their organizations. Now let’s learn more about their specific examples of success they have had utilizing these results. Check out
In my previous post, I discussed sampling error (i.e., when a randomly chosen sample doesn’t reflect the underlying population, aka margin of error) and sampling bias (i.e., when the sample isn’t randomly chosen at all), both of which big data advocates often claim can, and should, be overcome by using all the data. In this
All my friends seem to be having twins these days (below is a picture of my friend Holly's twins, for example) - I wondered if I could use SAS to analyze this twinning trend ... When I was growing up, way back in the day, twins seemed to be rarity.
All Analytics spoke with several leaders at the recent SAS Global Forum Executive Conference on what it means to build an analytics culture. Here’s a video of those conversations. The video features several sections related to building an analytics culture: Kim Nevala, Director of Business Strategy for the SAS Best
I'm an avid Star Wars fan, and am cautiously optimistic about what J.J. Abrams intends to do in Star Wars VII. The cast for the movie was revealed earlier this week, and today is May the Fourth, an unofficial Star Wars holiday. You might be asking yourself what any of
In his recent Financial Times article, Tim Harford explained the big data that interests many companies is what we might call found data – the digital exhaust from our web searches, our status updates on social networks, our credit card purchases and our mobile devices pinging the nearest cellular or WiFi network.
