Apparently the “big” in “big data” is only going to get bigger. And it turns out that organizations have not prioritized big data as much as they perhaps should because too many of them aren’t effectively leveraging customer data across channels. Both of those are positions held by the Altimeter
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
“Frankenstorm” is what the U.S. National Weather Service is calling the combination of Hurricane Sandy, an early winter storm heading east, and a blast of arctic air from the North. SAS headquarters is located in the middle of the U.S. east coast ... and we barely missed being the bulls-eye for this
I recently talked with the director of analytic operations at a large office supply retailer who explained that his group is often approached with broad questions that they investigate historically and descriptively to help figure out where to go next. The broad questions often lead the retailer to learn things
What do disaster planning and baseball have in common? (Cue Cubs fans, "We plan on every season being a disaster!") Bear with me... Watching game 1 of the World Series reminded me of the time I took my son to AT&T Park to see the Giants play. It was the day
While 2012 has been a very active hurricane season in terms of total storms, the effects on life and property have been relatively small and the need for disaster recovery less than many years. Let's all be thankful for that. Right now, Tropical Storm Sandy is threatening Jamaica and the
The first step is to answer the question of what “real-time” actually means. Depending on the program and industry speed of response, I’ve heard answers that varied from milliseconds for the biggest banks in processing credit card charges to 24 hours for some government programs. A better description of what
Standing in my own crosshairs as my own target market means that almost all work that I do can be a learning opportunity, and going to DMA2012 was certainly a biggie. What I saw and experienced at the show reaffirmed the idea that it’s never been more exciting to be
By and large, marketers are an optimistic lot. We're often big extroverts with big ideas, laying grand plans and generally having a good time along the way. Our view of the future is usually rosy, with all sorts of reasons to hope for the best and reach for the stars.
Living in the Washington, D.C. area I expect the morning news shows to spend a lot of time reporting on traffic. Crashes on the beltway, downed power lines delaying train service…that’s a normal day. D.C. is the most congested city, according to the Texas Transportation Institute’s annual report.). Commuting to
Sunny days, keeping the clouds away, can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?? Oops, sorry, was just day dreaming about younger days and the magic of an eight foot talking yellow bird. How great was Sesame Street? I learned counting, my abc’s, sharing, diversity,
The challenge of "big data" is well recognized as multi-faceted in terms of its Volume, Variety and Velocity, and SAS has had a roughly 35-year head start on the rest of the industry in dealing with it. Our solutions are dyed-in-the-wool to address the "3 V's" of big data, in
As SLG’s health policy specialist, I’m chartered with developing novel ways to apply data analytics to our state government health systems. If you ask me, it’s the perfect blend of technology and policy - two of my favorite things. However, I sometimes find it challenging to identify the areas within
SAS partners always bring valueable thought-leadership and industry perspectives to customer at events like Analytics 2012 and The Premier Business Leadership Series. Joining Deloitte and Teradata to talk about big data opportunities and trends is Jarrod Vawdrey, data scientist with Greenplum, a division of EMC. Vawdrey will be hosting one of
As much as I enjoy dramatic reinterpretations, for this blog post I’m just going to talk to you about the complex challenges municipal organizations face in setting spending priorities. The complexity stems from competing aspects of the various projects vying for funding. Some of these factors are related to the
Given the increasing role of analytics, are HiPPOS going the way of the dinosaur? According to the recent research from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, the answer is yes and no. Perhaps you’ve heard of the term HiPPO (Highest Paid Person in the Organization or Highest Paid Person’s Opinion) –
As I mentioned in my last blog post, Analytics 2012 will offer you opportunities to hear from a few of our valued partners, including Teradata, who will be hosting three roundtable discussions that are sure to satisfy your analytics appetite: The Analytic Challenges of Unstructured Data Considerations for Determining Analytic
Detecting and preventing fraud isn't easy. Many tools and techniques are required, and while the digital age and advanced technologies have made fraud much easier in many ways, those same technologies have opened up new ways to combat it. One of those comes in the form of social network analysis,
What do SAS technology partners think about the “big data” craze? Is it real or hype? And if it's real, what skills do you need to embrace big data opportunities? At our upcoming events, Analytics 2012 and The Premier Business Leadership Series, you’ll get the opportunity to ask these questions of our partners in
Contrary to popular belief, utility executives are ramping up for “big data” in a “big way.” This industry, which historically focused on operational technologies like pole-mounted hardware, is making a big shift to information technologies to support initiatives such as distribution optimization and fraud detection. We recently invited senior utility
