Recently in Predictive Analytics Category

Attensity just launched its new data grid (Attensity Data Grid) platform that enables Attensity Analyze 5.5 to run up to 180 times faster than standard relational queries. Analysis of the social media stream and other unstructured data sources can provide tremendous benefits for companies today.

For example, there are over 500,000 web forum conversations each month regarding Nokia products. These conversations contain a wealth of information that needs to monitored, analyzed and acted upon. With Attensity, Nokia can now do this in hours rather than days or months.

 
Attensity allows companies to accumulate, analyze, understand and take actions to respond to problems in minutes to change perception immediately and not allow a problem to explode on a viral basis over the web.
 
Some of the major trends that Attensity sees for 2011 are:

• Real-time response to social media will become a top priority for companies
• Collaboration in the workplace will align with consumer collaboration
• Voice of the Customer (VOC) will be a key part of companies' business processes.
  

 
At Teradata Partners, I interviewed Michelle de Haaff from Attensity, and here is what she had to say: http://www.b-eye-network.com/listen/14632
 

 

SAS made a big announcement today about how they're making it possible for business users to develop -- on their own -- predictive models. Here's another example of how the power of data is being made available to more than an elite few in an organization. The end result is going to be a more effective organization that makes better decisions -- and isn't that what we all want to see? Take a look at the YouTube demo from SAS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txdzPoVO0ps. It's easy to see the value of SAS Rapid Predictive Modeler. If you're like me, you are already imagining all the scenarios you'd like to investigate using this tool.

I was recently briefed on TIBCO Spotfire 3.1, the latest version of their in-memory analytics platform. What I found very interesting is that this new version makes it easy for anyone in the enterprise - it doesn't matter if they're a business, technical or scientific user - to analyze complex data.

Here's an example that I'm sure marketing managers will find especially useful. A user can highlight a series of points on a graph and press a button to project it into the future. Just like that -- with the press of a button! The manager doesn't have to make a decision based on "gut instinct." The product will extrapolate how the points on the graph are related.

And the new version has improved exploration and data analysis features using hierarchical clusters and heat maps. There are even drag-and-drop user functions to do what-if analyses. You can get more details on this new version by reading the company's press release.

It's great to see TIBCO Spotfire step up to the plate and hit a home run!

You all know how useful predictive analytics are for your business, but what about watching predictive analytics in action to see who will be playing the upcoming NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament?

Does Vegas know about this software? Maybe the oddsmakers use it themselves to determine the spread in the biggest gambling event/season of the year? Will the developers have to go back to the drawing board when the field is increased to 96 or even opened to all Division 1 teams?

Here's the link to the newly updated "Dance Card" (Note: Internet Explorer works better for this link than Firefox) formula developed by Jay Coleman of the University of North Florida, Mike DuMond of Charles River Associates, and Allen Lynch of Mercer University. The Dance Card is a formula designed to predict which teams will receive at-large tournament bids from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. SAS Institute Inc. is the maker of the software package used to develop the Dance Card.

Over the 15-year period from 1994 through 2008, the original Dance Card correctly predicted 476 of the 512 available at-large Tournament slots (or 93%). Over the 9-year period (2000 through 2008) for which the original Dance Card was used since its initial development in 1999, it correctly predicted 284 out of the 307 available at-large Tournament slots (92.5%). The formula's best years were in 2001 and in 2005, when it correctly predicted 33 of the 34 available at-large Tournament slots (or 97% accuracy).

The newly updated and modified Dance Card correctly predicted 32 of the 34 available at-large slots in 2009, the first season in which it was used to make predictions. Over the 10 years of data (1999 through 2008) on which its development was based, it would have correctly predicted 331 of the 341 available at-large Tournament slots, or 97.1% accuracy (i.e., it would have averaged one at-large slot missed per year).

It makes me wonder if Vegas know about this software? Maybe the oddsmakers use it themselves to determine the spread in the biggest gambling event/season of the year. Will the developers have to go back to the drawing board when the field is increased to 96 or even opened to all Division 1 teams?

The site will be updated daily this week and then multiple times on selection Sunday.

The use of predictive analytics is key to delivering on the value of business intelligence (BI). Organizations are inundated with structured and unstructured textual data from financial reports, factory sensors, call center notes, and customer product reviews online, among other sources. Analytics help extract value from these growing volumes of data. Business analytics - which includes predictive analytics and data mining - helps organizations succeed by predicting what will happen.

The Forrester Wave: Predictive Analytics and Data Mining Solutions, Q1 2010 is now out. SAS predictive analytics and data mining solutions ranked highest among the vendors, earning top overall ranking in all three categories - current offering, strategy and market presence - including perfect scores for functionality, professional services, licensing and cost, direction, and company financial criteria.

The Forrester report stated, "SAS provides a diversified solution portfolio with comprehensive feature-rich modeling/mining and statistical analysis tools, as well as model and data governance platform, for mining complex structured and unstructured information."

Senior management, boards of directors and shareholders demand better decisions, and organizations that leverage analytics to excel at finding opportunities in this rapidly changing market will thrive.

"Using SAS analytical tools to target unique customer segments based on detailed guest transactional information, we're outperforming our competitors in these challenging economic times," said David Norton, Chief Marketing Officer at Harrah's. "Our personalized approach to marketing enables us to maintain and enhance customer loyalty over the years."

Whether optimizing operations by reducing waste and fraud, improving customer relationships or managing product quality, analytics provides a strategic advantage to organizations.

Jim Davis, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at SAS said, "SAS helps organizations make better decisions faster. SAS continues to see strong demand for our business analytics software because it adds real bottom-line value for customers."