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Blogs

Analytics

Find out how analytics, from data mining to cognitive computing, is changing the way we do business

Analytics | Data for Good

Paula Henderson

Paula HendersonApril 28, 2015 0

What can we learn about at-risk kids to create more positive child welfare outcomes?

“What we do to our children they will do to society.” Greek philosopher Pliny the Elder said that more than 2,000 years ago, and it’s just as true today. In 2013, more than 600,000 children in the US were confirmed victims of maltreatment in the home, according to U.S. Department

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Advanced Analytics | Analytics

Mike GillilandApril 27, 2015 0

Online Forecast Value Added course May 7-8

The SAS Business Knowledge Series now offers an online version of the "Forecast Value Added Analysis" course, taught via live web in two afternoon sessions, May 7-8. The instructor is my colleague Chip Wells, who expanded our original 1/2 day FVA workshop with new material, examples, and exercises based on his

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Advanced Analytics | Analytics

Mike GillilandApril 27, 2015 0

FVA interview with Steve Morlidge

The Institute of Business Forecasting's FVA blog series continued on March 2, with my interview of Steve Morlidge of CatchBull. Steve's research (and his articles in Foresight) have been a frequent subject of BFD blog posts over the last couple of years (e.g. The "Avoidability of Forecast Error (4 parts),

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Analytics | Data Visualization

Robert AllisonApril 27, 2015 0

A closer look at the U.S. income inequality graphs

I've seen a lot of recent news articles purporting income inequality in the U.S. ("the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer") ... and I wondered if the graphs were a true/unbiased representation of the data. For example, I recently saw a couple of graphs in an article on the

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Banking | Government

Advanced Analytics | Analytics

Mike GillilandApril 24, 2015 0

Guest blogger: Len Tashman previews Spring issue of Foresight

Editor Len Tashman's Preview of the Spring issue of Foresight The Special Feature article of this 37th issue of Foresight – From Sales and Operations Planning to Business Integration – comes about through a rare but effective collaboration between an academic and a practitioner. The coauthors are Mark Moon, head

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Analytics | Internet of Things

David FroningApril 23, 2015 0

New source for manufacturing best practices

Profitable growth is at the forefront of manufacturing executives’ minds¹. The math is simple: increase revenue and decrease costs. Easy, right? Unfortunately, getting there isn't that simple. The good news is that analytics can help. The better news is that there’s a new place for manufacturers to discover analytic best

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Analytics | Data for Good | Data Visualization

Robert AllisonApril 22, 2015 0

More reasons to stop smoking!

Smoking is an addictive habit that can kill you - if you don't believe me, check out the infographic in this blog post. Recently a friend of mine was on the episode of the Dr. Phil show that focused on "quitting smoking." Here's a picture of Traci with Dr. Phil

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Analytics | Customer Intelligence

Sandra Hernandez

Sandra HernandezApril 22, 2015 0

Seis pasos infalibles para brindar una experiencia de cliente excepcional

Crear una experiencia de cliente incomparable, requiere de una serie de elementos como entender de manera integral al cliente, usar el conocimiento para definir y adaptar productos y comunicaciones de manera estratégica, interactuar con los clientes y agentes de manera más efectiva y ofrecer un servicio mucho más personalizado. Cada

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Analytics

Leo SadovyApril 21, 2015 0

Ye Olde information overload

“There’s no such thing as information overload - there is only filter failure”. ~ Internet scholar Clay Shirky Information overload is not just a recent phenomenon, it entered into human experience in the middle of the 15th century with Gutenberg and his printing press, and we’ve been devising ways to cope

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Analytics | Learn SAS

Maggie MillerApril 20, 2015 0

5 questions with analytics expert Bart Baesens

If anyone knows how to finesse insight out of data, it’s Bart Baesens, professor at KU Leuven (Belgium), and a lecturer at the University of Southampton (United Kingdom). Not only has he written a book about it, Analytics in a Big Data World: The Essential Guide to Data Science and

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Analytics

Jennifer NenadicApril 17, 2015 0

Using the power of analytics to understand the value of human capital

Analytics as it pertains to the employees and the workforce is taking the industry by storm. Recently, I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about how companies are harnessing the power of analytics to help them identify staff who are likely to leave. In the past few weeks

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Analytics | Data for Good | Data Visualization

Robert AllisonApril 17, 2015 0

Analyzing wait times at VA health care facilities

Data about the monthly wait times at VA facilities in the US are now available, but it's a bit overwhelming to try to analyze them in tabular form - plotting the data on a map made it a lot easier!... Here in the US, when our soldiers finish their commitment in

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Government | Health Care

Analytics

Stuart RoseApril 17, 2015 0

Demystifying analytics

There is no doubt that analytics is an overused and often abused term. So what does really analytics means? In part 2 of a series of articles on the analytical lifecycle, this blog will highlight some of the common and emerging techniques used to analyze data and build predictive models

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Analytics | Data Visualization

Ian JonesApril 16, 2015 0

Oil benchmark back in the money, for now, with an eye on volatility

Oil is bouncing around the $50 range as the market adds and loses value with each new headline, from potential new Iranian exports after the nuclear talks to the slowest month of inventory builds at Cushing since Thanksgiving. The US rigcount is down nearly 23 percent year-over-year, but the rate

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Analytics | Data for Good | Data Visualization

Robert AllisonApril 15, 2015 0

A custom map to help track the flu

Has this year's flu been better or worse than you thought it would be? There are a lot of factors that help determine whether or not you're likely to get the flu. Is there a bad strain going around? Did the flu vaccine target the right strain? Did you get

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Analytics | Data Visualization

SAS ColombiaApril 15, 2015 0

¿Quiere ver lo que le dicen los datos? Estos 5 pasos previos le ayudarán en el propósito

Estamos ante la era del Big Data y las modernas soluciones que existen actualmente en el mercado hacen cada vez más fácil manejar los grandes volúmenes de información. Sin embargo, vale la pena preguntarnos, ¿son necesarios tantos datos? En otras palabras, si su solución de analítica puede organizarlos, consolidarlos y

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Analytics

David FroningApril 14, 2015 0

Lenovo Shines an LED on Customers' Perception of Quality

This is a follow up to last week’s blog on understanding your customers’ perceptions of quality. As the world’s largest manufacturer of PCs and tablets, Lenovo is always looking for areas to reduce costs while increasing quality and customer satisfaction. Six months ago, Lenovo implemented the Lenovo Early Detection (LED) system

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonApril 13, 2015 0

Applying the KISS principle to maps: An analysis of breastfeeding prevalence

How simple is too simple, when it comes to analyzing data on a map? The KISS principle can be applied to many things, including graphs and maps. What is the KISS principle, you might ask? Well, it's not the rock band that my friend Patricia (pictured below) has been known

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Analytics | Fraud & Security Intelligence

The Phantom PreparerApril 13, 2015 0

Imprisoned for tax fraud, the Phantom Preparer tells his story

Tax fraud…5-7 years in prison. I thought I had it all figured out. The government wades through millions of returns and tries to issue refunds quickly. Sure, I filed over a thousand for my clients, but that’s just a blip on their radar. I never thought I’d get caught. But

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Analytics | Fraud & Security Intelligence

Shaun BarryApril 13, 2015 0

Someone's trying to steal your tax refund... better call the math geeks!

Judging by the spike in media coverage of tax fraud, one might think accountants have suddenly been inspired by Breaking Bad re-runs, and turned en masse to lives of crime. Umm… no. But, there are two good reasons for all the attention. One reason is because of a new law

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Analytics

Philip MaleApril 9, 2015 0

UK General Election 2015: using PROC MAPIMPORT to visualise the election

Election fever has hit the United Kingdom as the days count down to 7th May 2015. This is likely to be one of the most uncertain elections in recent memory, with nearly 10 parties struggling for votes across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Results night will be tense, with the different

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Analytics

Demand Analyst or Demand Planner

Charlie ChaseApril 9, 2015 0

Centralize or Decentralize the Statistical Baseline Forecast?

I was recently asked by a customer if they should move the responsibility for creating the statistical baseline forecast. They were considering moving it from their regional country offices to their global headquarters. In addtion, they were considering changing the role of their regional demand planners to only make adjustments to

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Analytics

SAS ColombiaApril 8, 2015 0

Las cuatro características que todo CIO debe tener para tener éxito con Analítica y Big Data

En artículos anteriores hemos hablado de los retos que los Chief Information Officers (CIO) o Directores de TI deben afrontar para cumplir con su rol de Big Data y Analítica. Ahora queremos abordar el papel de estos personajes en el alto desempeño que logran las compañías que se interesan por

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Analytics | Data Management

Dylan JonesApril 8, 2015 0

Lineage, data quality and continuity: Keeping your data analytics healthy

The adoption of data analytics in organisations is widespread these days. Due to the lower costs of ownership and increased ease of deployment, there are realistically no barriers for any organisation wishing to exploit more from their data. This of course presents a challenge because the rate of data analytics adoption

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Analytics

David FroningApril 8, 2015 0

Quality is in the eye of the beholder

People are talking about your products. But more importantly, they’re listening. Facebook, Twitter, review sites, and product forums are just a few of the sources that a savvy customer checks when making a buying decision. This reality has fundamentally changed the definition of quality. It’s no longer sufficient to conform

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Analytics | Data Visualization | Programming Tips

Robert AllisonApril 7, 2015 0

Variations on a stickman graph: Analyzing the Twitter minions

One of our customers asked if I could show him how to reproduce a stickman graph that David McCandless (ala, Information is Beautiful) had created - see screen capture below. I'm not sure that it's the best kind of graph for the occasion, but of course SAS can be used

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Analytics | Data Management

Leo SadovyApril 7, 2015 0

Good habits for big data

“Begin with the end in mind” - Habit #2 from Stephen Covey’s ‘Highly Effective People’. The Edge Foundation is based on the premise of: “To arrive at the edge of the world's knowledge, seek out the most complex and sophisticated minds, put them in a room together, and have them

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Analytics | Internet of Things

SAS Manufacturing

Mike HitmarApril 7, 2015 0

Hear the Voices of SAS' Manufacturing Experts

Well okay maybe you can't hear us, but at least you can read what we have to say. Although, I'm not ruling out an occasional video or podcast entry. One of the best kept secrets at SAS is the incredible domain expertise that comes to work here everyday, ready to

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Advanced Analytics | Analytics

Mike GillilandApril 3, 2015 0

Guest blogger: Dr. Chaman Jain previews Winter issue of Journal of Business Forecasting

JBF Special Issue on Predictive Business Analytics Dr. Chaman Jain, professor at St. Johns University, and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Business Forecasting, provides his preview of the Winter 2014-15 issue: Predictive Business Analytics, the practice of extracting information from existing data to determine patterns, relationships and future outcomes, is

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Analytics | Data Management | Data Visualization

Alan LipsonApril 3, 2015 0

Four lessons from the Data4Decisions conference

It’s great to get in on something on the ground floor. That’s what happened at the inaugural Data4Decisions Conference and Exhibition held in Raleigh, NC, in March. It brought together business people, academics and students to explore how organizations use data management and analytics technology to enhance business processes and

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