Blend, cleanse and prepare data for analytics, reporting or data modernization efforts
Small data is akin to algebra; big data is like calculus.
In the movie Big, a 12-year-old boy, after being embarrassed in front of an older girl he was trying to impress by being told he was too short for a carnival ride, puts a coin into an antique arcade fortune teller machine called Zoltar Speaks, makes a wish to be big,
As the point person for SAS joining the new Open Data Platform (ODP) initiative, I want to make it clear why SAS is involved with ODP, and why we think it’s important to our customers, and the Hadoop and big data ecosystem as a whole. SAS is not in it to
Hadoop is increasingly being adopted as the go-to platform for large-scale data analytics. However, it is still not necessarily clear that Hadoop is always the optimal choice for traditional data warehousing for reporting and analysis, especially in its “out of the box” configuration. That is because Hadoop itself is not
When asked what his movement wanted around a century ago, the iconic American labor leader Samuel Gompers famously gave a one-word answer: "More." This annoyed his opponents at the negotiating table and many in the business community. He was not demanding a specific wage increase or fighting for a distinct cause like
If you are looking for a way to fund your data quality objectives, consider looking in the closets of the organization. For example, look for issues that cost the company money that could have been avoided by better availability of data, better quality of the data or reliability of the
Data Management has been the foundational building block supporting major business analytics initiatives from day one. Not only is it highly relevant, it is absolutely critical to the success of all business analytics projects. Emerging big data platforms such as Hadoop and in-memory databases are disrupting traditional data architecture in
For hotel companies, it is challenging to find new ways to differentiate in an ever evolving marketplace. There is a lot of talk in our industry about the increasing numbers of third party channels and distributors to have entered the marketplace, and how that impacts the hotel company’s core business.
Business analytics is about dramatically improving the way an organization makes decisions, conducts business and successfully competes in the marketplace. At the heart of business analytics is data. Historically, the philosophy of many insurers has been on collecting data, data and more data. However, even with all this data, many
In this blog series, I am exploring if it’s wise to crowdsource data improvement, and if the power of the crowd can enable organizations to incorporate better enterprise data quality practices. In Part 1, I provided a high-level definition of crowdsourcing and explained that while it can be applied to a wide range of projects
.@philsimon on the reliability of social numbers.
Once in a while, people run into an issue with the data that doesn't really need to be fixed right to ensure success of a specific project. So, the data issues are put into production and forgotten. Everyone always says, “We will go back and correct this later.” But that
Regulatory compliance is a principal driver for data quality and data governance initiatives in many organisations right now, particularly in the banking sector. It is interesting to observe how many financial institutions immediately demand longer timeframes to help get their 'house in order' in preparation for each directive. To the
In this blog series, I am exploring if it’s wise to crowdsource data improvement, and if the power of the crowd can enable organizations to incorporate better enterprise data quality practices. In Part 1, I provided a high-level definition of crowdsourcing and explained that while it can be applied to a wide range of projects
There are companies that have no data quality initiative, and truly do believe that if they see no data problem. In effect, they say that if it does not interfere with day-to-day business, then there is no data quality problem. From what I have seen in my consulting experience, it usually
We asked our partners at the Cornell Center for Hospitality Research to poll the research faculty at the Hotel School to understand their guidance about what to expect in 2015. We were also able to get a preview of what the faculty will be working on in terms of research
Over my last two posts, I suggested that our expectations for data quality morph over the duration of business processes, and it is only at a point that the process has completed that we can demand that all statically-applied data quality rules be observed. However, over the duration of the
One of the significant problems data quality leaders face is changing people's perception of data quality. For example, one common misconception is that data quality represents just another data processing activity. If you have a data warehouse, you will almost certainly have some form of data processing in the form
The Internet of Things is going to be driven by innovative business models as much as by innovative technology. In order to ground the following discussion, I found it helpful to create this visual depiction of the IoT that defines and distinguishes the key elements that enter into these business models.
In my last post, I pointed out that we data quality practitioners want to apply data quality assertions to data instances to validate data in process, but the dynamic nature of data must be contrasted with our assumptions about how quality measures are applied to static records. In practice, the
Utilizing big data analytics is currently one of the most promising strategies for businesses to gain competitive advantage and ensure future growth. But as we saw with “small data analytics,” the success of “big data analytics” relies heavily on the quality of its source data. In fact, when combining “small” and “big” data
Esta es la experiencia de Felix Liao, Gerente de Soluciones de Data Management de SAS para Australia y Nueva Zelanda. Nuestro personaje hizo un viaje hace poco por toda Australia visitando algunos clientes para conversar con ellos sobre las tendencias de Analítica y Hadoop. Además de quedar gratamente sorprendido con
@philsimon on the need to recognize DQ differences.
It’s common at the start of a new year to create a long list of resolutions that we hope to achieve. The reality, of course, is by February those resolutions will likely be a distant memory. The key to making any resolution stick is to start small. Create one small
After working in the data quality industry for a number of years, I have realized that most practitioners tend to have a rather rigid perception of the assertions about the quality of data. Either a data set conforms to the set of data quality criteria and is deemed to be acceptable
This isn't Kansas anymore. Oz has become a sprawling, smart metropolis filled with sensor data. How do we make sense of, clean, govern and glean value from this big data so we can get Dorothy home? The answer is SAS Data Management. With the latest portfolio updates, customers will be
James Surowiecki wrote a book about The Wisdom of Crowds. Jeff Howe, who co-coined the term crowdsourcing, wrote a book about Why the Power of the Crowd Is Driving the Future of Business. In this blog series, I explore if it’s wise to crowdsource data improvement, and if the power of the crowd can
.@philsimon on the different folks you'll encounter in many large organizations.
I cannot speak from experience, but predominately an Insurance CEO has three primary objectives: Grow the business Reduce expenses Ensure compliance. Let’s individually consider each of these objectives in more detail. Grow the Business How does an insurance company grow from a $2bn to a $3bn organization? Essentially, insurance has
Companies like Travelocity, Uber and Yelp have forever changed the way consumers plan their travel and entertainment. Can you remember when you had to book your trips through a travel agency? These innovators have raised the bar for other industries, so can the banking experience be changed in the same way?
