News, Analysis and Opinion for Business Analytics - Page 4

January 14, 2016 14 Jan'16

How a data-driven company was molded by asset protection

A data-driven company tends to outperform its competitors, but the asset protection process rarely drives continued evolution of analytics capabilities. Grocery chain Weis Markets is the exception.

December 21, 2015 21 Dec'15

How BI development can support quick and nimble businesses

In an excerpt from his book on BI development and delivery, author Greg Steffine explains why it's important to focus BI initiatives on enabling the business to respond quickly and nimbly to situations.

December 21, 2015 21 Dec'15

Need for speed in delivering BI capabilities, author says

Organizational alignment and teams of BI evangelists who are hyper-responsive to user needs are key to improving business intelligence processes, according to author and BI manager Greg Steffine.

December 16, 2015 16 Dec'15

Survey: BI and big data professionals ahead of peers on pay

Employees who have BI and big data jobs are feeling pretty good about them, according to TechTarget's 2015 salary survey. High pay and strong job prospects are a couple reasons why.

November 16, 2015 16 Nov'15

Programming contest taps analytics to mark endangered whales

This episode of the 'Talking Data' podcast discussed how machine learning is being applied to whale identification as part of a programming contest.

November 13, 2015 13 Nov'15

How predictive analytics in healthcare can lower readmissions

UPMC and University of Tennessee Medical Center are benefitting from healthcare analytics to reduce their readmission rates. Here's how they're doing it.

October 30, 2015 30 Oct'15

Adoption of self-service BI tools requires convincing

Getting business users to move away from spreadsheets toward dashboards can be challenging, but pays off in the end when departments collaborate more.

October 28, 2015 28 Oct'15

Tableau users highlight their best dashboard designs

Modern data visualization tools offer no shortage of data dashboard design options, but Tableau users said that knowing how to use them effectively is key to dashboard adoption.

October 22, 2015 22 Oct'15

Tableau adds Vizable mobile BI app to seek out more users

Tableau Software's new Vizable tool is a free mobile business intelligence app for iPad users, which was built as a standalone product from the company's namesake BI platform.

October 14, 2015 14 Oct'15

Adobe unveils new visual data discovery tool

There’s a growing number of data discovery tools that emphasize decision support over reporting. Adobe's Analysis Workspace is the latest player.

October 12, 2015 12 Oct'15

How The New York Times uses predictive analytics algorithms

Most print media companies have struggled to make money in the 21st century, but The New York Times is using predictive analytics tools to gain a competitive edge.

October 08, 2015 08 Oct'15

Dodging a Data-Driven Debacle

Volkswagen alerts us to missing ethical thinking in the otherwise powerful concept of data-driven business. Thanks Guys! One of the most intriguing examples of being supremely data-driven came ...

September 23, 2015 23 Sep'15

Future BI Could Perfect Labor’s End, Part 4

It’s indisputable that technology is displacing many of today’s jobs. The question is: what should, or can, we do about it? This series—parts 1, 2 and 3—explores the possible consequences of this ...

September 22, 2015 22 Sep'15

Analytics execs reveal how to hire data scientists

Hiring a data scientist can be a big investment, so businesses need to know how to optimize the process. As a guide, some experienced analytics managers discuss their hiring strategies.

September 17, 2015 17 Sep'15

New Hadoop analytics tools promise speed, scalability

Two new products from Skytree and Arcadia Data want to bring BI and analytics to Hadoop, without sacrificing speed or enterprise scalability.

August 31, 2015 31 Aug'15

HP Vertica users put limits on using Hadoop for analytics

Hadoop is one of the most popular big data technologies. But when it comes to predictive modeling and data visualization, its utility is somewhat limited, users of HP's Vertica system say.

August 21, 2015 21 Aug'15

Providers find routes to healthcare data analytics

The record-keeping systems used by most healthcare providers don't make analyzing the data easy, but some providers are finding a way around these challenges.

August 18, 2015 18 Aug'15

Future BI Could Perfect Labor’s End, Part 3

It’s indisputable that technology is displacing many of today’s jobs. The question is: what should, or can, we do about it? This series explores the possible consequences of this shift and how ...

August 11, 2015 11 Aug'15

Future BI Could Perfect Labor’s End, Part 2

It’s indisputable that technology is displacing many of today’s jobs. The question is: what should, or can, we do about it? This series explores the possible consequences of this shift and how ...

August 05, 2015 05 Aug'15

Building predictive models more about value than glamour

Predictive modeling can help turn high-profile data scientists into public figures. But in business applications, it demands attention to detail, process and, ultimately, business value.

July 30, 2015 30 Jul'15

BI reports take off as user adoption rises at DFW airport

Change is always hard, but at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, giving business users personalized tools helps reduce the stress of completing BI reports in a new way.

July 28, 2015 28 Jul'15

CDOs say data accessibility plans should be theirs to lead

Balancing data access and security in an organization isn't the most glamorous task, but several chief data officers at an MIT conference said it's something CDOs need to take charge of.

July 24, 2015 24 Jul'15

Future BI Could Perfect Labor’s End, Part 1

It’s indisputable that technology is displacing many of today’s jobs. The question is: what should, or can, we do about it? This series explores the possible consequences of this shift and how ...

July 16, 2015 16 Jul'15

How one company improved its data literacy

All smart businesses these days want to be data-driven. With a shortage of knowledgeable workers, getting to that point can be hard -- but the head of BI at online lender Avant is helping it to do so.

June 30, 2015 30 Jun'15

Spark analytics applications boosted by built-in libraries

Apache Spark is about more than just data processing. The software libraries included in the big data platform make it suitable for a variety of analytics applications.

June 29, 2015 29 Jun'15

How Boston embraced data analysis methods

The current mayor of Boston is moving to make data analytics a key part of how city services are run, which is a major departure from his predecessor's approach.

June 29, 2015 29 Jun'15

MicroStrategy unveils its new take on self-service analytics

MicroStrategy has introduced the first major new version of its BI software in six years, and it's playing for self-service customers with the MicroStrategy 10 release -- but with a focus on governance.

June 29, 2015 29 Jun'15

Cloud versions of Apache Spark offer simplicity

Spark Summit 2015 brought announcements that data scientists and other users will soon have two cloud-hosted options to run the big data framework. This podcast takes a deeper look.

June 26, 2015 26 Jun'15

Search for analytics skills focuses on traits, not just tech know-how

Employers may have trouble finding data scientists and other analysts with all the technical skills they want, but some are starting to zero in on general abilities that can lead to analytics success.

June 24, 2015 24 Jun'15

Spark big data framework powers speedy analytics

The Apache Spark engine can be a powerful tool for encouraging big data adoption among front-line workers thanks to its fast processing speeds.

June 23, 2015 23 Jun'15

Putting the data governance plan in self-service analytics

As self-service analytics software becomes more common, users are calling on vendors to beef up governance capabilities.

June 15, 2015 15 Jun'15

Databricks pushes its Spark big data platform to the masses

After nearly a year of limited availability, software vendor Databricks has made its cloud-based version of the Spark processing engine generally available.

June 13, 2015 13 Jun'15

Context becomes key

The need to clarify the context of information is becoming vital as big data and the Internet of Things become ever more important sources in today’s biz-tech ecosystem. Suddenly, it seems, it’s ...

May 29, 2015 29 May'15

New reports highlight state of BI reporting tools

Two new reports from Dresner Advisory Services assess the features that users are looking for in BI tools and which vendors are delivering.

May 28, 2015 28 May'15

Multinationals face complications on data analysis strategies

Varying privacy laws on data collection and analysis in different countries can make unified business intelligence approaches difficult for global companies.

May 26, 2015 26 May'15

CEO pushes for data-driven strategy

Everyone knows executive support for analytics initiatives is important, but CEOs are starting to get behind analytics like never before.

May 20, 2015 20 May'15

BI teams cater to users to boost self-service analytics adoption

Self-service business intelligence and analytics tools require thoughtful deployment plans to get business users to willingly integrate them into operational workflows.

May 13, 2015 13 May'15

Predictive analytics techniques aid hospitals that treat data properly

Hospitals are under pressure to cut costs and to restore patients to good health without readmissions. Predictive analytics can help, but providers need a solid plan for using their data.

May 08, 2015 08 May'15

EHR systems holding back healthcare data analytics efforts

The healthcare industry is going through a period of rapid adoption of electronic health records, but the systems that enable EHRs may be an impediment when it comes to analytics.

April 29, 2015 29 Apr'15

Qlik updates its lineup of data visualization software

BI software vendor Qlik has announced three new or updated products aimed at making it easier for end users to share data, analyses and applications.

April 27, 2015 27 Apr'15

SAS releases a trio of advanced analytics tools

At the company's Global Forum this week, SAS Institute introduced several new and upgraded analytics tools.

April 16, 2015 16 Apr'15

Magic Quadrant shows business intelligence and analytics shift, rift

Gartner's 2015 Magic Quadrant report on business intelligence says more users are gravitating toward decentralized BI platforms -- leaving IT teams trying to catch up on governance.

April 08, 2015 08 Apr'15

New data visualization tools unveiled by Tableau, Platfora

Tableau's latest release looks to speed up visualizations, while Platfora is hoping analytics can shine a light on cybersecurity threats.

March 25, 2015 25 Mar'15

Self-service analytics needs strong data architecture foundation

The adoption of self-service BI and analytics tools continues to grow. But understanding how to support their use is a must -- and that starts with a solid architecture for analytics.

March 24, 2015 24 Mar'15

Streaming data systems take big data analytics into real-time realm

Technologies that support real-time data streaming and analytics aren't for everyone, but they can aid organizations that need to quickly assess large volumes of incoming information.

March 20, 2015 20 Mar'15

Relief groups get big helping hand from self-service BI tools

Fundraising for charitable organizations can be extremely competitive, so some nonprofits are turning to self-service BI to help gain an edge in attracting donors and improving operations.

March 19, 2015 19 Mar'15

Data analytics applications let teams call new ticket-pricing plays

Professional sports teams are increasingly embracing analytics tools to help them implement dynamic pricing strategies designed to enable them to capture as much ticket revenue as possible.

March 18, 2015 18 Mar'15

Location analytics helps shipping company map out business route

GIS data analyst Andy Cain always knew location analytics could help develop deep business insights. Now he has the opportunity to show how as part of an initiative at Con-way Freight.

March 17, 2015 17 Mar'15

Cloud data management systems, sports analytics heat up

In this edition of Talking Data, we discuss why businesses are looking to cloud-based data management systems and how analytics is reshaping sports media.

March 16, 2015 16 Mar'15

Data wrangling with panache

When it comes to externally-sourced data, data scientists are left to pick up the pieces. New tools can help, but let’s also address the deeper issues. Trifacta presented at the Boulder BI Brain ...

March 05, 2015 05 Mar'15

Use of analytics in sports media becomes contentious

Analytics are gaining a high profile in sports media, but some fans and commentators say the stats just aren't what they're looking for.

March 04, 2015 04 Mar'15

Optimize your data governance policy to unleash analytics users

Creating and enforcing data governance policies is a must in self-service BI initiatives, but a collaborative approach can avoid stifling users -- and produce good analytics results.

March 02, 2015 02 Mar'15

Respecting Personal Data

Remember lastminute.com? How is this for their last word on personal data? What’s wrong with the following e-mail I received from @lastminute_com today? “Dear Customer Important information about ...

February 20, 2015 20 Feb'15

MIT project reveals way forward for health data analysis

Health data is notoriously difficult to analyze due to privacy rules, but a new project is showing it can be done.

February 16, 2015 16 Feb'15

Operational BI process puts better business practices within reach

In a Q&A, consultant Rick Sherman discusses operational business intelligence and offers advice to companies looking to use the approach to manage their operations more effectively.

February 16, 2015 16 Feb'15

HDS Buys Pentaho – What’s the Deal? (Part 2)

In building out its Internet of Things, is HDS acquiring a data refinery, a data lake or a data swamp? See also Part 1 The Data Lake has been filling up nicely since its 2010 introduction by James ...

February 13, 2015 13 Feb'15

Spark Streaming project looks to shed new light on medical claims

To give healthcare providers a real-time view of the claims processing operations its systems support, RelayHealth is augmenting its Hadoop cluster with Spark's stream processing module.

February 12, 2015 12 Feb'15

Teradata unveils new suite of big data applications

Teradata is the latest technology vendor making a play for businesses looking for easy-to-implement big data apps.

February 12, 2015 12 Feb'15

HDS Buys Pentaho: What’s the Deal? (Part 1)

In building out its Internet of Things, is HDS acquiring a data refinery, a data lake or a data swamp? This week’s announcement of Hitachi Data Systems’ (HDS, @HDScorp) intention to acquire ...

February 10, 2015 10 Feb'15

IBM adds cloud analytics platform for utilities; de-anonymizing data

This news recap looks at IBM's announcement of a cloud analytics suite for energy and utility companies and a study showing that anonymized data sets can easily be reidentified.

February 06, 2015 06 Feb'15

Approach big data projects with care, purpose

IT observers caution organizations against data for data’s sake, urging instead a focus on the best technology for the business problem at hand.

January 29, 2015 29 Jan'15

Survey: Big data projects sneak up on basic BI on IT priority list

TechTarget's 2015 IT Priorities Survey shows that while businesses are still investing in basic BI and data warehousing capabilities, big data initiatives are becoming almost as prevalent.

January 27, 2015 27 Jan'15

Obama data security laws fail to address business uncertainty

President Barack Obama has introduced proposals for data security, but not everyone thinks they will address key questions for businesses.

January 20, 2015 20 Jan'15

Report: Execs see analytics programs as more successful than staff does

In this news recap, executives assess analytic success and marketers realign their technology spending priorities.

January 05, 2015 05 Jan'15

Analytics, Automation, Profit and Employment

Why, oh why does the relationship between analytics, automation, profit and employment seem to elude so many people? A nicely rounded post by Scott Mongeau, “Manager-machine: analytics, artificial ...

November 21, 2014 21 Nov'14

Businesses double down on big data value, analytics ROI

Two new resources released over the past month reinforce the notion that companies are becoming more focused on getting real business value from their analytics initiatives.

October 22, 2014 22 Oct'14

Time has come for analytics and BI in the cloud, vendors say

A slew of new cloud BI and analytics announcements could give businesses more reasons to consider whether now is the time to jump into the cloud for data analysis applications.

September 11, 2014 11 Sep'14

Data Virtualization vs. Data Lake

With Cisco’s Data Virtualization Day, where I’m a panelist along with Rick van der Lans, coming up fast on 1 Oct in New York, it’s a good moment to revisit the topic. Data virtualization has come ...

July 15, 2014 15 Jul'14

Why 'logical data warehouse' is no longer a logical term

Consultant Rick van der Lans contends that data warehouses are inherently logical and don't need to be qualified as such. What really matters, he says, is that they present an integrated view of enterprise data, no matter where it's stored.

July 07, 2014 07 Jul'14

Spark is latest hyped-up big data framework

Spark has been getting a lot of attention lately, but is the big data framework ready for enterprise use?

May 23, 2014 23 May'14

News recap: Data mining techniques help stop fraud, new IBM offerings

In this news recap, federal agents use data mining techniques to stop fraud and IBM releases new self-service offerings.

April 01, 2014 01 Apr'14

Enterprises take a long view on big data programs and purchases

Health system UPMC and financial services firm CIBC are taking big data projects from pilot mode to production in stages, buying tools as they go.

March 05, 2014 05 Mar'14

Self-service analytics tools have value, carry risks

There are risks to be aware of when business users take responsibility for self-service business intelligence, but there are ways to mitigate them.

February 28, 2014 28 Feb'14

Magic Quadrants focus on data discovery tools in this news recap

Data discovery tools are a high priority for businesses, but vendor products can be lacking, the latest Gartner Magic Quadrants say.

February 27, 2014 27 Feb'14

Tips on building an analytics infrastructure from scratch -- quickly

Creating an analytics architecture out of thin air may seem like a daunting task, but it can help make businesses more competitive in a hurry.

February 14, 2014 14 Feb'14

Revolution brings R programming language to AWS, plus SAS on Hadoop

Revolution Analytics brings the R programming language to the cloud, while SAS readies a new in-memory analytics platform to run on Hadoop.

December 19, 2013 19 Dec'13

Loshin: Keys to managing better business intelligence programs

In a Q&A, author David Loshin details how business intelligence managers can enhance BI success, from building dashboards to demonstrating value.

November 25, 2013 25 Nov'13

SAS users eye marketing data analysis, changing big data landscape

The need to understand customers more deeply is driving an increased focus on marketing analytics, according to attendees at a SAS conference.

October 21, 2013 21 Oct'13

The buzz: Location intelligence software puts data on the map

Some businesses have a lot to gain from location intelligence, but it isn't the right destination for every industry.

October 17, 2013 17 Oct'13

Limited role for big data seen in developing predictive models

Big data gets a lot of hype, but when it comes to developing predictive models, it may not be as useful as some think.

October 11, 2013 11 Oct'13

Uplift modeling reshapes the art, and science, of customer persuasion

Uplift modeling is helping leading-edge marketers and political campaigners to more precisely target the "persuadable" members of their audience.

September 25, 2013 25 Sep'13

Operational BI: No longer just an option for smart businesses?

In order to improve business decision making, some consultants say companies need to embrace operational business intelligence tools and processes.

June 27, 2013 27 Jun'13

Teams look to HTML5 for mobile BI development on varied devices

New-generation HTML5 business intelligence apps are the next step for mobile BI, according to attendees at a recent Information Builders conference.

May 24, 2013 24 May'13

Match in-memory processing speed to big data analytics business need

Michael Minelli, co-author of a book on big data analytics, says in-memory analytics tools must be tied to business processes to pay off for users.

May 24, 2013 24 May'13

MIT panelists: Big data calls for data-driven decision-making skills

C-level execs need to rely more on data and less on instincts to capitalize on big data technology, said speakers at the 2013 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium.

May 08, 2013 08 May'13

BI Leadership Roundtable Webcasts

May 03, 2013 03 May'13

Making mobile BI applications a reality: Key steps to take

In a podcast, BI expert William McKnight discusses best practices and action items for managing deployments of mobile business intelligence tools.

April 30, 2013 30 Apr'13

Eckerson: Self-service business intelligence not a give-and-go affair

In an interview, TechTarget's Wayne Eckerson explains why there's more to self-service BI success than putting tools in the hands of business users.

December 21, 2012 21 Dec'12

Businesses set self-service BI as a priority for 2013

Mainstay issues such as poor data quality will plague businesses in 2013, but one way they're hoping to overcome hurdles is by empowering users.

November 16, 2012 16 Nov'12

BI architecture guide helps businesses start small but think big

Building a BI architecture is no easy task, but a reference guide can answer questions when crafting a road map.

August 29, 2012 29 Aug'12

New Gartner report dissects the hype around big data technologies

A new Gartner hype cycle breaks down the big data market into 47 technologies and titles, with many clumped along the "peak of inflated expectations."

August 27, 2012 27 Aug'12

Data sandboxes help analysts dig deep into corporate info

Giving analytics professionals control of small amounts of space in data warehouses lets them experiment with data sets in a managed environment.

August 06, 2012 06 Aug'12

White: Time to move from 'big data' management to 'big data' analytics

Industry analyst Colin White is tired of all the talk about the three V's of "big data." He instead wants to focus on the use cases -- the analytics -- of big data.

August 03, 2012 03 Aug'12

Interviewing data scientist candidates? Ask these questions

Data scientists are hot, but, according to Teradata's Bill Franks, hiring one means asking different questions than you would a statistician or data modeler.

August 02, 2012 02 Aug'12

Attunity, EMC team up to bring 'big data' replication to the enterprise

Attunity and EMC want to make it easier for organizations to replicate "big data" sets, and more big data news from around the Web.

July 12, 2012 12 Jul'12

With mobile BI, don't just put lipstick on a database

Mobile BI continues to revel in popularity. But to take advantage of the technology, businesses need to make sure their data houses are in order, a Gartner analyst says.

July 09, 2012 09 Jul'12

Report: Self-service BI software empowers users, takes pressure off IT

What are the must-have capabilities for self-service BI platforms? And what vendors are providing those functions? A new Forrester Wave report gives its take.

June 22, 2012 22 Jun'12

As tag clouds die off, businesses seek new ways to visualize text

Tag clouds are dead, according to the presenters at the eighth annual Text Analytics Summit who made a case for advanced text visualization techniques.

June 13, 2012 13 Jun'12

Speaker details 5 developments in the text analytics industry

Text analytics consultant Seth Grimes opened the Text Analytics Summit by delving into what has been big this year in text analytics and what the future holds.