Blogs

Blogs

Analytics

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

Analytics

Bill ColemanJune 17, 2013 0

Data integration, holistic view of municipal data can show neighborhoods in decline

Imagine a business offering a multitude of products and services that seemingly have little relationship to one another, and all are supported by different data systems. This is the plight of local governments. The products and services produced and managed by local governments range from utilities, solid waste and recycling to parks

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Analytics | Data Visualization

Jan-Ole RomannJune 11, 2013 0

Erfolgsfaktor Analytics - die neue Vielfalt erleben

Auf dem SAS Forum 2013 am 11. und 12. September in Mannheim erleben Sie Analytics live – an 2 Tagen mit mehr als 70 Beiträgen und zahlreichen Gelegenheiten zum persönlichen Austausch mit Branchenkennern, Fachspezialisten und Analytics-Experten.

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Analytics

Melissa SavageMay 2, 2013 0

Data visualization can help state transportation leaders drive infrastructure improvements

In my last blog, I discussed the growing commitment among governors to infrastructure investment, and to coming up with innovative ways to find dollars to fund the needed improvements to the transportation network. I heard it over and over again during the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting in January

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Analytics | Fraud & Security Intelligence

Carl HammersburgApril 23, 2013 0

Identity theft? Next step, government fraud

Sometimes, it is good to start with a confession. I filed my taxes at the last minute. It was past time to get some money back from the IRS before they could waste $60,000 on another Star Trek spoof video. Normally I'm one of those people that files in February,

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Analytics | Data Visualization

Robert AllisonMarch 21, 2013 0

Basketball tournaments, Moneyball, and sports analytics

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

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Sports & Entertainment

Analytics

Melissa SavageFebruary 26, 2013 0

If you build it, they will get stuck in traffic

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.

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Analytics

Bill ColemanFebruary 15, 2013 0

Old ways of local government communication not enough in today’s tech-driven world

Recently, I was having lunch with a city council member who shared a litany of comments about the outstanding job the city and its staff does in all areas of city operations. She remarked on how little the public understands about all the city does and how efficiently it’s done.

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Analytics

Melissa SavageJanuary 25, 2013 0

Analytics fuels recommendations in new Department of Transportation innovation handbook

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

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Analytics

Bill ColemanJanuary 21, 2013 0

Iceberg, ho! Analytics can keep local government afloat

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

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Analytics

Krisa TailorJanuary 7, 2013 0

Health Information Exchanges recharged: Is 2013 the year for Analytics?

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

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Analytics | Fraud & Security Intelligence

Carl HammersburgDecember 18, 2012 0

As fraud escalates, are we approaching the Financial 9/11?

Watching our nation approach the "fiscal cliff", and the dire predictions if we truly drive off it like the last scene in Thelma and Louise, has sharpened my view of the potential risks that huge gaps of fraud and abuse present to all of us. One of the key lessons

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Analytics

Bill ColemanDecember 12, 2012 0

Analytics key to law enforcement gold standard

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

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Analytics

Chuck EllstromDecember 7, 2012 0

Hold the flip phone! Outdated data solutions in disaster recovery, planning

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

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Analytics

Chuck EllstromDecember 3, 2012 0

Deer in the the headlights? Not with analytics.

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

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Analytics | Fraud & Security Intelligence

Carl HammersburgDecember 3, 2012 0

Employee misclassification: Will the last employee please turn off the lights?

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

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Analytics

Krisa TailorNovember 28, 2012 0

All-Payer Claims Databases set stage for data-driven healthcare and big analytics

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

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Analytics | Fraud & Security Intelligence

Greg HendersonNovember 26, 2012 0

"Financial fraud is the dominant crime of this millennium"

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

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Analytics | Fraud & Security Intelligence

Chuck EllstromNovember 6, 2012 0

Disaster recovery fraud, and back-office romance

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

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Analytics | Students & Educators

Nadja YoungOctober 31, 2012 0

Education reform in Houston: Together we can. Whatever it takes. No excuses.

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

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Education | Government

Analytics

Chuck EllstromOctober 25, 2012 0

Baseball, disaster planning and unintended consequences

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

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Analytics

Chuck EllstromOctober 23, 2012 0

Analytics and disaster recovery

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

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Analytics | Fraud & Security Intelligence

Carl HammersburgOctober 19, 2012 0

Is real-time fraud detection possible in government programs?

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

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Analytics

Melissa SavageOctober 15, 2012 0

Take me out to the ball game, with transportation analytics

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

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Analytics

Chuck EllstromOctober 11, 2012 0

Big Bird's salvation? Apply analytics to Medicaid

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,

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Analytics

Krisa TailorOctober 8, 2012 0

Analytics: The game changer in health reform

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

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Analytics

Bill ColemanOctober 4, 2012 0

How can local governments add clarity and confidence to budgeting?

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

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Analytics | Fraud & Security Intelligence

Carl HammersburgSeptember 20, 2012 0

Social Network Analysis and the government fraudster

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,

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Analytics

Chuck EllstromSeptember 13, 2012 0

Are attacks on government pensions overblown?

Government pensions at the state and local government level have come under attack in recent years over their viability. Much of this attack has been political and is being used to go after unions and pensioners who tend to support one party or another. State and local governments work hard to maintain viable

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Analytics

Bill ColemanSeptember 10, 2012 0

Hard hitting interview with city CIO reveals value of analytics, coercion

This is a dramatic interpretation of an actual conversation I recently had with the CIO of one of North Carolina’s leading cities. We discussed his experience using data quality, data integration, business intelligence and analytics in the daily operation of the city. I may have taken some...well, a lot of

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