If it’s true that everything is bigger in Texas, imagine what “big data” means in the Lone Star State. Stephanie A. Bond Huie knows all about that. As Vice Chancellor, ad interim, for the University of Texas System’s Office of Strategic Initiatives, Huie leads a team of researchers and policy
The Data Visualization Charting 101 series explores different tools to visualize data. Check out other posts to see which data visualization is right for you. The most delicious of all charts is the pie chart. I recall a recent TV show where a character made a bar chart of his favorite
In a previous post I discussed managing analytic all-stars. Now, let's talk about how you can really use the skills of your all-stars to benefit the company. How can you make sure your analytic resources add value within the organization? Increasingly we see both our customers and teams internal to
How often do you question the availability of power? Outside of weather events, the answer is probably, “not much.” But what if you have an electric vehicle? Or manage a data center? Rely on either of those technologies and you might consider electricity as a constraint, around which you plan
Last night's Horizon programme entitled The Age of Big Data (BBC2) highlighted the ongoing explosion of information and how it is transforming the way we interact with the modern world. From predictive policing to mapping the solar system, big data is shaping how organisations understand the environment to make smarter,
It’s no secret that big data offers organisations a real opportunity to gain competitive advantage, open up new revenue streams and increase efficiency. Yet, while some are charging ahead, others are falling behind. The past two years have seen an 80 per cent jump in organisations believing analytics provides a
A big part of "winning" these days (be it sports or a business) is performing analytics better than your competition. This is demonstrated in awe-inspiring fashion in the book (and movie) "Moneyball." And on that topic, I'd like to show you a few ways SAS can be used to analyze sports data
I’m a huge movie buff. I love all kinds of movies but sports films are at the top of my list. Field of Dreams is one of my favorites not only because it’s a great story but also because, in my opinion, it has one of the best movie lines.
What are the odds of winning the lottery? This seems like a simple question (and yes, there is a simple answer), but there are a few technical details to work out first... Which lottery? Let's say the Powerball Lottery. When? The number of balls used in the Powerball lottery has
To read more ongoing tips and insights for small and midsize businesses, follow our SAS4SMB blog series or visit SAS for Small and MidSize Business. We all wish we could predict the future. After all, when a company knows its sales for next week, next month and next year, it
Amazon, Apple, eBay, Facebook and Google – known as the Tech Titans to some – continue to set the agenda with their continuous stream of mobile business initiatives. In fact, consumers embrace and, in some cases, expect many of the same mobility resources they’ve experienced through the Titans from the
Analytics is a key piece in nearly all 31 recommendations outlined in The Innovative DOT: A Handbook of Policy and Practice. Crafted by the State Smart Transportation Initiative, in partnership with Smart Growth America, the handbook provides 31 recommendations for state transportation officials looking for ways to increase efficiencies and
I have been privileged to have had the opportunity to contribute to the recently published, “Positioned – Strategic Workforce Planning that gets the Right Person in the Right Job”, co-edited by Rob Tripp, Workforce Planning Manager at Ford Motor Company. The list of contributors is a Who’s Who of strategic
It was a moonless night in April 1912 when the pinnacle of ocean travel technology and luxury, the RMS Titanic, collided with an iceberg in the North Atlantic, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,500 passengers and crew. A primary cause of the tragedy was that the captain and
The creation of Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) took off in 2009 with the establishment of the State Health Information Exchange Cooperative Agreement Program (SHIECAP). Recently, it seems like HIEs have been somewhat of the middle-child, garnering less attention between the health insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion. But let’s take a
Analytics can uncover insights that compel us to view the world in new ways. An avid golfer friend of mine used analytics to improve his golf game—turning all of his pre-conceived notions about his strengths and weaknesses upside-down. All golfers like to tell tall tales, not unlike fishermen, but Tom
Police Departments across the country are under constant scrutiny by elected officials, the media and the public to reduce crime, control costs, engage the public, always be accessible and, most important, always be courteous and professional. Police departments that demonstrate excellence in these areas can achieve accreditation by The Commission
To read more ongoing tips and insights for small and midsize businesses, follow our SAS4SMB blog series or visit SAS for Small and MidSize Business. Data underpins the operations and strategic decisions of every business. Yet these days, data is generated faster than it can be digested, making it challenging
Several years ago my mom, bless her heart, bought a cell phone. Now, my mom is not what one would call “tech-savvy”. She has had the same car forever, same furniture for 25 years (well, she did get it reupholstered), even the same pots and pans that came as wedding
I live in the South, but was raised by Midwestern Catholics from rural Minnesota. Think Jeff Foxworthy meets Fargo. A few of the great things that I have learned about folks in the South is their incredible politeness even when they are really saying, "Wow, what in the world are
Independent contractor. Two very simple words that have a dramatic impact on businesses, workers, and government programs. While most people have a basic understanding of the term, they often have very little understanding of the laws governing it, which vary significantly program by program and state by state. This has
If you haven’t heard of an APCD, it’s one of those acronyms you need to know. All-Payer Claims Databases are simply databases that consist of claims data from all health care payers in a given state. This includes private payers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield, and public payers such
Several weeks ago, South Carolina was the victim of what some experts believe to be the largest cyber-attack against a state tax department in history. Approximately 3.6 million personal South Carolina income tax returns were exposed, and nearly 657,000 businesses compromised, in an international hacking attack. Coincidentally, SAS and the SC
Recently, top executives from SAS gathered in Washington, DC with customers and other interested parties to discuss the potential impact of "big data" and high-performance analytics on the U.S. government. Topics included cyber-attack strategies, health care, bio-surveillance, border security and of course, fraud and improper payments. On the heels of
'Develop an Analytic Center of Excellence (COE)' could be translated to – develop a culture of analytics in your organization such that every department and division sees value in analytics and pursues measurement for all strategic decisions.
It takes just one-tenth of a second for us to make a first impression. And if that initial sizing up is followed by the classic icebreaker “What do you do?” the pressure is really on to keep someone engaged in conversation. What do you do? will come up countless times
Disasters like Hurricane Sandy, by and large, shine a positive light on humanity, with the heroic actions of first responders and volunteers, and the massive outpouring of support from across the nation. They also present fraud opportunities for the shady operators and criminals among us. Hurricanes leave behind a lot
“Maybe math is not love-at-first-sight for you, but it pays to flirt with it a little,” says Udo Sglavo. As a principal analytical consultant in the operations research R&D group at SAS, he’s not your typical mathematician. Udo arrived at his career with a gentle tug from family members and
It’s no secret that analytics helps large organizations determine what offers are best for their customers and their business, but can powerful analytics be harnessed for small and medium business success? For the answer, I turned to Oberweis Dairy, a 90-year-old mid-sized business that has grown from a family-owned dairy farm
K-12 education reform and policy has seen a recent surge in the cinema with "Waiting for Superman," "The Lottery," and this fall’s "Won't Back Down.” However, if you can’t bring yourself to spend $9.00+ at the box office, or (like me) have a hard time finding babysitters to even get
