IntelTrax Summary November 16 to November 22
November 26, 2012
This week the IntelTrax advanced intelligence blog published some excellent pieces regarding the state of big data and analytics technologies.
“Diversity is the New Key for Analytic Success” looks at how Burberry is using analytics technology to analyze customer buying behavior.
The article states:
“SAP is pushing further in this vein and has this week announced its SAP Customer 360 transactional system which the firm says is being used by fashion retailer Burberry to analyse customer buying behaviour and provide on the floor sales staff with access to big data analytics on mobile devices. This “immediate information” is then (in theory) available to help these same staff personalise fashion advice to customers.
Do we really want this amount of technology in our lives?
SAP’s other Co-CEO Bill McDermott has predicted that by 2030 there will be an additional two billion consumers on the planet by 2030 and … “They want to purchase in the digital world,” he said.”
Another interesting story, “Big Data Moves Continue” announced some impressive news in the big data community.
The article states:
“Cray announced it was awarded a contract to deliver a uRiKA graph-analytics appliance to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Analysts at ORNL will use the uRiKA system as they conduct research in healthcare fraud and analytics for a leading healthcare payer. The uRiKA system is a Big Data appliance for graph analytics that enables discovery of unknown relationships in Big Data. It is a highly scalable, real-time platform for ad hoc queries, pattern-based searches, inferencing and deduction.
“Identifying healthcare fraud and abuse is challenging due to the volume of data, the various types of data, as well as the velocity at which new data is created. YarcData’s uRiKA appliance is uniquely suited to take on these challenges, and we are excited to see the results that will come from the strategic analysis of some very large and complex data sets,” said Jeff Nichols, Associate Laboratory Director for Computing and Computational Sciences at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.”
“Big Data Expert Overlooks the Obvious” shares some interesting thoughts on the future of big data. However, it leaves out some pretty important things.
The article states:
“The goal of all the discussion around big data and data analysis is, as I’ve argued, not to make the wrong decision faster, but to develop the best decision at the right time and deliver the information to the people that most need the information. In an Information Week column Wednesday, Tony Byrne argued small data beat big data in the presidential election.
Call it business intelligence, data analysis or predictive analytics, IT’s role here is to provide a foundation for your company to make the right decisions. Those decisions might be what to charge passengers for seats on a flight, how much to charge to for a season ticket or how many widgets to create to strike the right balance among manufacturing costs, inventory and availability. These decisions are fundamental to business success.”
When it comes to finding big data intelligence solutions that work for your organization, it is important that businesses find a trusted provider. Digital Reasoning’s Synthesys helps streamline expenses for intelligence, healthcare and finance clients.
Jasmine Ashton, November 26, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
The Future of Presentation Titles
November 24, 2012
Short honk: I sat through a presentation by a European futurist. I enjoyed the inclusion of the Gangnam horsey dance. But the highlight of the presentation by self described “futurist, author, and CEO of the Futures Agency” Gerd Leonhard was the title of the presentation:
Big Data, Big Mobile, Big Social. Big Bucks. Big Noise. Big Machines. The Future of the Internet.
In case you want to get the nuggets, click this link.
Other notable conference highlights included three fire alarms between 4 am and 5 30 am on November 20, 2012, interesting Internet connectivity, and the repetition of the phrase “big data”. I thought I was listening to a high-tech version of the non Gangnam style tune “99 Bottles of Beer.”
Big. Repetitive too.
Stephen E Arnold, November 24, 2012
Collective Intelligence without Real Steele?
November 24, 2012
I just read “The Emerging Science of ‘Collective Intelligence’ — and the Rise of the Global Brain.” Much of the information was familiar to me. How could an addled goose in rural Kentucky know anything about a “global brain.” As it turns out, the notion of a global brain has been talked about for a number of years. Google spits out a half million hits to the bound phrase “global brain.” I may have overlooked something in the article, but the phrase “global brain” is more closely associated in my mind with the prescient thinker Robert Steele. See for example this short list on Experience Festival. What is interesting to me about Mr. Steele’s approach is that he uses the concept within the intelligence work process. In my context, “intelligence” is not IQ. “Intelligence” is the profession of analyzing information for certain government purposes. I like the academic approach, but I relate to the professional application of the concept due to my interest in findability.
Stephen E Arnold, November 24, 2012
Complexificaton: Is ElasticSearch Making a Case for a Google Search Solution?
November 24, 2012
I don’t have any dealings with Google, the GOOG, or Googzilla (a word I coined in the years before the installation of the predator skeleton on the wizard zone campus). In the briefings I once endured about the GSA (Google speak for the Google Search Appliance), I recall three business principles imparted to me; to wit:
- Search is far too complicated. The Google business proposition was and is that the GSA and other Googley things are easy to install, maintain, use, and love.
- Information technology people in organizations can often be like a stuck brake on a sports car. The institutionalized approach to enterprise software drags down the performance of the organization information technology is supposed to serve.
- The enterprise search vendors are behind the curve.
Now the assertions from the 2004 salad days of Google are only partially correct today. As everyone with a colleague under 25 years of age knows, Google is the go to solution for information. A number of large companies have embraced Google’s all-knowing, paternalistic approach to digital information. However, others—many others, in fact—have not.
One company which is replete with $10 million in venture money is ElasticSearch. Based on the open source technology which certain university computer science departments hold in reverence, ElasticSearch is marketing its heart out. I learned that Searchblox, the brother owned and operated cloud search service, has embraced ElasticSearch. Today I received a link to “Working with ElasticSearch in Scala.”
Scala, in case you are not hip to the brave new world, is a “general purpose programming language designed to express common programming patterns in a concise, elegant, and type-safe way. It smoothly integrates features of object-oriented and functional languages, enabling Java and other programmers to be more productive. Code sizes are typically reduced by a factor of two to three when compared to an equivalent Java application.”
Source: The Strategic Complexity Framework for Dummies by Vinay Gupta. See http://goo.gl/k042J Who wants to be “borked”? Not I when implementing an overly complex search solution. Your mileage may vary, of course.
Score one for Google. The article makes clear that Scala and ElasticSearch may require some technical skills which are not likely to be found in the local trucking company’s IT department. Truth be told, the expertise to work through the information in the write up can be found at Google type companies, a good sized state university, and in the noodle shops of Wuhan-like places.
Here’s a snippet from the write up:
Elasticsearch is schemaless. We can index any json to it. We have a bulk json file, each line is a json. For our implementation: Application reads file line by line and index json to the elasticsearch.
Moving on, we learn:
Rise Beyond the Cloud: Enterprise Search Consultation Powers Decisions
November 23, 2012
Savvy companies will not be getting their head out of the clouds anytime soon because the cloud is the place to be for businesses seeking success. ZDNet’s article “A Snapshot of Enterprise Cloud Adopters at Workday Rising” explains why the sky is not the limit when it comes to the enterprise cloud as it is continuing to evolve.
In order to keep up with the growing demands of the enterprise, Cloud providers have to stay on top of the latest developments:
“Having opted for the speed, agility and on-demand responsiveness of a cloud platform, customers rely on their chosen vendor maintaining the same pace going forward. One of the most remarkable things about watching a cloud vendor like Workday evolve is the extent of innovation that happens in the underlying infrastructure. These are not static structures. New components are constantly being introduced that advance performance, scalability and functionality — not just the three-times-a-year functional updates but architectural advances too.”
With the ongoing evolution of the enterprise, utilizing the expert advice of an established enterprise search consultant can keep a company’s head above the cloud, so to speak. Cloud search adopters could benefit from the services of enterprise search providers who offer a full range of assessment and solution selection services. Intrafind has offered solid guidance to customers seeking the right solution that improves efficiency and offers a solid return on investment in enterprise search for well over 10 years.
Jennifer Shockley, November 23, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Established Search Providers Like Intrafind Design a Big Data Future with Results
November 23, 2012
What is Big Data and what can it do for businesses today? That seems to be the billion dollar question, as businesses literally spent billions on Big Data programs, software and projects this past year. The irony is that despite all the headline hype and the funds being invested, companies are still not sure what they are getting out of Big Data according to Business Insider’s article “Enterprises Are Spending Wildly On ‘Big Data’ But Don’t Know If It’s Worth It Yet”.
This is not to say that corporations do not have Big Data designs in mind for the future:
“Big Data” means scooping up large quantities of information, often from nontraditional, server-busting sources like Web traffic logs or social media, and using it to make business decisions in real time. Including things like watching competitors, monitoring their own brands, creating new services that they can sell, and tracking product and pricing information.”
With over $4.3 billion spent in 2012 and an estimated $34 billion expected in 2013 it is no wonder that Big Data has been generating a lot of buzz. However, all the hype means nothing without an eventual increase in efficiency and ROI. When it comes to finding the right data, companies would benefit from the use of an established search provider like Intrafind that offers rich tagging features and secure search within the enterprise.
Jennifer Shockley, November xx, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Big Data Solutions Mirror Fundamental Processes Found in Ancient Mayan Society
November 23, 2012
While the ancient Mayans are recognized for their ability to make accurate predictions and build off of insights, our world is not lacking this today. In fact, our thirst for knowledge from big data parallels exactly what the ancient Mayan’s sought. Wired‘s recent article, “Big Data in a Big Brave World,” makes this connection apparent and discusses the advances that many organizations have experiences while utilizing big data in the same way fundamental to the ways our human nature innately leads us to explore and capitalize on information.
Both product development and risk analysis are areas where big data has created room for exciting and beneficial advancements. For example, ZDLink is a service in Japan developed for Hitachi’s heavy construction business which enables the real-time monitoring of its vehicles.
According to the article:
Organizations — both public and private — are collecting vast amounts of data about their customers, products and the macroeconomic environment, which can be analyzed to identify trends, problems and opportunities. Companies can then introduce new products and services, ways of working or solutions that can solve real-world problems and enable radical change, beyond the corporate world.
We look forward to seeing even more innovations from companies that take advantage of big data solutions that deliver information across the enterprise, such as PolySpot. The Mayans certainly were not the only ones with a proclivity for big data.
Megan Feil, November 23, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Protecting and Maintaining Web Site Search Rankings
November 23, 2012
Web site search rankings are important. There is no denying that search engine optimization (SEO) is an important and necessary endeavor for those who earn their livelihood on the Web. But getting there is only half the battle when it comes to SEO. Simply achieving the rankings isn’t enough – you must hold onto them. Entrepreneur tells us how in, “3 Steps to Protecting Your Website’s Search Rankings.”
The author begins:
You’ve worked hard to follow search engine optimization (SEO) best practices to earn high rankings for your website in the search engine results pages (SERPs). After weeks or even months of content creation, customer outreach and link building efforts, you’ve finally reached a coveted spot in the rankings. Unfortunately, your hard work isn’t over. To understand why, think about the difficulty of maintaining your ideal body weight. While taking off pounds can be a challenge, keeping the weight off is often an even bigger struggle. Similarly, maintaining high rankings in the natural search results can be even more of a challenge than obtaining them in the first place.
One way to add a level of currency and usability to your Web site (both of which improve SEO) is to add an effective Web site search function like Fabasoft Mindbreeze Insite. Insite comes from a trusted leader in enterprise, Fabasoft Mindbreeze, and its automatic indexing is maintenance free and requires no installation. Insite is just one way to ease the heavy burden of Web site maintenance and the struggle to achieve and maintain high search engine rankings.
Emily Rae Aldridge, November 23, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
SugarCRM Finds Sweetness in a Future IPO
November 23, 2012
Open source companies are gaining a lot of attention from the corporate world. Smaller companies are now turning cents into dollars and many open source startups want a piece of the pie while they can. Gigaom tells us that “Open-Source CRM Player SugarCRM Talks Up IPO.” SugarCRM developed online software that allows its clients to track sales, marketing, and customer support. SugarCRM uses a SaaS model for its product.
The head CEO Larry Augustin said that the company’s main goal is to become a public company and it might achieve that in 2013. Augustin has not been successful by going public in the past:
“Despite signs that enterprise SaaS is the place to be — Workday’ share blew past expectations on its October 12 launch — Augustin signaled the need to proceed with caution. He’s been burnt before. As Bloomberg pointed out, Augustin was CEO of VA Linux, another open-source oriented company, which went public in 1999, and quickly saw its market cap spike at $15 billion based on sales of $12 million to $15 million, and then crater in the dot.com bust. The company unwound over the years becoming SourceForge, then GeekNet. What was left was acquired in September by Dice Holdings.”
SugarCRM is proceeding with caution, but Augustin has high hopes for the company’s future. We will have to follow where it goes. LucidWorks went through its own change earlier this year. It left behind its old image of Lucid Imagination to become the even better LucidWorks, still armed with the same great search applications for enterprise and Big Data.
Whitney Grace, November 23, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Yandex Enjoys Hefty Revenues
November 23, 2012
Google’s Russian rival has been doing very well, we learn from TechCrunch’s “Yandex Reports Revenues Up 43% to $235.2M Year-on-Year for Q3 2012, Boosting its Expansion Plans.” The brief article reports that the company’s 2012 third quarter year-on-year revenues have risen 41 percent, garnering a profit of over $74 million. Last quarter, it saw a handsome 50 percent revenue increase, which represents a whopping 76 percent increase over the same time last year.
Writer Mike Butcher observes:
“Yandex is on something of a roll. It’s launched its own ‘social’ browser, opened its own Android store and boosted its Yandex.Disk cloud storage service.
“In addition it is experimenting with expanding beyond the Russian ‘RuNet’ with a service in Turkey, but with mixed results so far. Word on the street has it that they plan to get Turkey ‘right’ first before thinking about expanding into other markets. At which point, I wonder if we’ll start to see headlines like ‘The Russians are coming’. I do hope so…”
I doubt Google shares that hope. In fact, if Yandex does find success in Turkey, the global search giant could have reason to worry about its search revenue worldwide. Perhaps the company has seen this, or something similar, coming. After all, it has been exploring alternate revenue streams (some more successful than others) for quite some time. Somehow, I think Google will be okay.
Cynthia Murrell, November 23, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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