Let the Information Analysis Begin With Information Delivery from PolySpot Technologies
October 22, 2012
Another solution presents itself as the answer for enterprise productivity. This time a holistic and all-encompassing approach is taken by data management technology vendor Kapow. The CMS Wire article, “Kapow Katalyst v9.1: Big Data, Social Information Integration” discusses the upgrades that Kapow has made to their Kapow Katalyst platform.
According to the article, the fundamental goal of this technology is to integrate data and applications containing data – including both social and legacy applications – for the use of employees.
We learned:
It is entirely scalable, connecting legacy, cloud and social data to the organization, and in particular to the departments that need that data, such as sales and marketing. We have said in the past that your enterprise data is what gives your enterprise value. Here, it would probably be good to qualify that by saying your managed data is your enterprise value, and with so much Big Data floating around the social and cloud applications that your enterprise is using, anything that can help turn that data into a useable advantage is worth looking at.
Who can deny that a company needs ROI from data and supporting software solutions? Kapow technology is on par with others of its class, but there is no unique offerings that set it apart from the rest. On the other hand, PolySpot does more than manage data, they deliver information to employees that require access. It is with this innovative technology that companies can let the information analysis begin.
Megan Feil, October 22, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Google Brain Technology Addresses Artificial Intelligence
October 20, 2012
Another facet of Google’s technical capability is discussed in the article, “Google Puts Its Virtual Brain Technology to Work” on Technology Review. Google is making big strides with new approaches to artificial intelligence which will be used in new Google products, such as self-driving cars and speech recognition technology.
The company is approaching artificial intelligence with learning software that is based on neural networks, or groups of connected brain cells that communicate with each other. This technology is essentially making Google products smarter.
The article continues:
“Google’s work on making neural networks brings us a small step closer to one of the ultimate goals of AI—creating software that can match animal or perhaps even human intelligence, says Yoshua Bengio, a professor at the University of Montreal who works on similar machine-learning techniques. ‘This is the route toward making more general artificial intelligence—there’s no way you will get an intelligent machine if it can’t take in a large volume of knowledge about the world,’ he says.”
Although this new technology is impressive and shows great potential for Google’s goal of a “global brain,” we believe Google could pay more mind to its current products. For example, where does objective search fit in a “global brain?”
Andrea Hayden, October 20, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Content Targeting for Optimum Digital Customer Experiences
October 12, 2012
With so many possible outlets for engaging customers via digital resources, it may be difficult for companies to find the right mix of services for their digital initiatives. In “Eight Areas You’ll Invest in for Great Digital Customer Experiences” on the CRM Blog, we learn about steps brands are taking to deliver the best customer experiences with available digital resources.
A recent Forrester survey of Web content management (WCM) professionals shows that the focus is on mobile content delivery, video streaming, email tools, and content targeting.
The article elaborates on the importance of content targeting for authenticated users:
“WCM vendors have been pushing hard their vision and capabilities to help deliver customized and personalized content using their systems, and many are already providing strong capabilities in this area. For many marketers and content pros, however, the technical capacity of a WCM system to manage and deliver targeted content to customers, prospects, and partners is outstripping marketers’ ability to take advantage of it. This can be complex. You need a plan. You need people responsible for the execution of the plan. It’s an ongoing commitment.”
The challenge of content targeting and authentication is a key business information concern. A critical difference exists between enterprise information used to drive business decisions and Web content targeting that drives ads. A capable vendor, such as Intrafind, can help enterprises invest strategically to meet this challenge. Intrafind’s Topic Finder, for example, automatically filters and manages these kinds of information streams.
Andrea Hayden, October 12, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Open Source Code Evaluation Tips
October 7, 2012
Open source software is a wonderful thing, but not all code is created equal. O Static’s blog post, “How to Evaluate Open Source Software” provides some useful tips for developers. Writer Jon Buys notes:
“One of the best benefits to open source software is how it can fill in the gaps when developing applications. At times it makes sense to look around and see if anyone else has already solved the problem you are looking at, especially if it is a common feature. Unfortunately, not all open source projects are built the same, and deciding to adopt someone else’s code into your project must be carefully considered. Here are seven steps to starting a successful long-term relationship with an open source project.”
The first thing to evaluate, Buys says, is whether the license under which the code has been released is compatible with your project, particularly if you hope to make money from it. Then check on activity in the project’s public repository; if it hasn’t been updated within the last year or two, it has probably been abandoned. Look at the project’s age, too- older is probably better; “let someone else battle harden the code,” he says.
Then there are unit tests. They are challenging, so their inclusion speaks to the seriousness of the project. After perusing them, browse through the code itself, perform a basic use test, and, if inclined, a modification test. If you like what you see after all this examination, the code should be a good candidate for inclusion in your own project. It is worth checking out the article for more details of each step.
Cynthia Murrell, October 07, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
New App Allows Users to Search Without Effort
October 3, 2012
CNET News has the latest news on an iPad search app, “MindMeld Voice and Video App Instantly Anticipates Your Needs.” Expect Labs created the new MindMeld app (not the Vulcan mind trick from Star Trek), but it acts in a similar manner. Using only vocal conversation MindMeld provides instant contextual information related to the speakers’ conversation. For instance, if two Star Trek fans were discussing if Kirk or Picard was the better captain, MindMeld would have several windows with data about the captains pop up
MindMeld’s purpose is simple:
“The idea here, Tuttle said, is that MindMeld is at the forefront of the kind of technology that will surround us everywhere in a few years and that will be always on and constantly paying attention in order to serve up information when we want it, or possibly even before we know we want it.”
MindMeld must rely on user input for the time being, but the goal is that during a video call users will not have to type anything into the app. It will provide information based on what users talk about and when they tap the screen looking for information. Expect Labs has the lead here, but vocal software has always presented problems. MindMeld will need to be tested for relevancy and accuracy as well. Machines cannot read minds yet.
Whitney Grace, October 03, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Menu and Hours: A New App for Your Appetite
September 23, 2012
Recently Mark Wilson, in his piece over at the Fast Company blog, “This (Perfect?) Restaurant App Offers Just The Menu And The Hours,” covered a new, sleek and efficient restaurant review app and was kind enough to share with the rest of us. Frustrated with her own experiences as a hungry Louisvillian fumbling through her phone for suggestions, developer Michelle Jones decided to re-think the overcooked apps she’d come to hate. She started by trimming the fat. Menus and Hours is a food app that gives you just that: the menu and the hours of your city’s eateries. By removing so many of the industry’s superfluous garnishes from its design, Menus and Hours delivers only what you need and exactly how you need it.
As Wilson states in his post:
“While apps like Urbanspoon are designed with a gimmick at the core–a like button, restaurant randomizer…a way someone might want to interact with something–Menu and Hours is scaffolded around the root functions it’s meant to serve, to give someone very specific data. And at the end of the day, pretty pictures are nice, but that discernibility of information is always what’s most important.”
The only draw back: Jones’ database only contains info on restaurants in Louisville, Kentucky, the only city currently supported by Menus and Hours. Although the app is only available to the famished and indecisive of the Blue Grass State, it’s easy to see the mass appeal of such a finely tuned piece of programming. Hopefully the rest of us will not have to wait too much longer; it is almost lunchtime.
Michael Ison, September 23, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Useful Hadoop Webinar
September 11, 2012
Once you have your data, what do you do with it? Sys-Con Media has posted a webinar to address that question, it announces in “Talend Open Studio & Hortonworks Data Platform.” If Apache‘s open source solution Hadoop is your framework of choice, this webinar may be for you. The description reads:
“Data Integration is a key step in a Hadoop solution architecture. It is the first obstacle encountered once your cluster is up and running. Ok, I have a cluster, now what? Complex scripts? For wide scale adoption of Apache Hadoop, an intuitive set of tools that abstract integration complexity is necessary.
“Enter Talend Open Studio for Big Data.“Join us in this 60-minute webinar with Jim Walker, Director of Product Marketing at Hortonworks and Ciaran Dynes, Director of Product Marketing at Talend to discuss the different approaches organizations can take to avoid the complexity of uploading or extracting data from Hadoop.”
The webinar promises to cover the following: how to quickly load a cluster; how to use Adobe’s HCatalog; and how to create a script for Adobe’s Pig without having to write code. Check it out—you might want this one for your instructional library.
Talend and Hortonworks are both leading open source vendors, providing Hadoop-based middleware for data management and application integration.
Cynthia Murrell, September 11, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
There Is an App for That
September 1, 2012
That may be. I just read “400,000 Apps in the App Store Have Never Been Downloaded Says Report.” The big fact is that 60 percent of the apps have never been downloaded. Of the apps downloaded, my hunch is that the money goes to a small percentage of the apps on offer. We have a couple of clients with apps. Not too much action seems to be the consensus from these high profile outfits. So there’s an app for that? How does one find it? How does the author get traction? Is there an app for that?
Stephen E Arnold, September 1, 2012
Sponsored by Augmentext
IntelTrax Top Stories August 17 to August 23
August 27, 2012
This week the IntelTrax advanced intelligence blog published some innovative articles regarding the state of analytics solutions and the various industries that they are permeating.
“Analytics Providers on Roll with Online Marketing” discusses how data analytics is slowly but surely breaking into the online marketing industry through partnerships that offer customers online marketing analytics.
The article highlights a recent partnership between Emory Digital and National Analytics:
“The platform includes a daily website audit, competitive position and gap analysis, website analysis, keyword analysis, link analysis, conversion analysis, benchmark tracking and ROI tracking, and project management. The software tracks Key Performance Indicators that go far beyond search engine rankings. It measures brand engagement, pages bringing traffic, page view per visit, new visits, time on site, bounce rate, goal conversions, ecommerce transactions and revenue and lead generation.”
Another industry that is starting to rely as heavily on data mining as rock mining is the field of geology. “Big Data Teams with Geologists to Mine the Earth” discusses how there is a new tool that speeds up the process of data mining and exploration for geologists.
The article details:
“GDD’s Field Data Integrator combines best-of-breed technologies for collecting, managing and analyzing data more rapidly. The end-to-end solution enables geologists to collect samples in shorter time frames, and then quickly analyze large volumes sample data for complex scenarios such as such as project timings, cash flows and profitability with greater sensitivity levels….GDD’s Field Data Integrator automatically synchronizes sample data from various field instruments, GPS, and cameras onto a ‘tough’ tablet using Bluetooth. Geologists enter notes directly onto the tablet using on-screen or wireless keyboards, enabling all data on samples to be collected automatically into a single source. The tablet then automatically synchronizes with a master database running Vectorwise whenever in mobile range, saving geologists time in manual data entry.”
The Financial industry is also being highly impacted by data analytics, according to “Cloud Makes Financial Analysis Easier.” The post discusses a new cloud based data visualization system called Adaptive Discovery. Adaptive Planning, the creator of the new product, claims that it has an intuitive visual interface that will appeal to business managers, allowing them to more easily access, analyze, and explore key financial and operational data.
The article states:
“Adaptive Discovery, the visual discovery application within the Adaptive Planning suite of performance management solutions, allows companies of all sizes to quickly and easily understand and take action upon their companywide data. Business users can easily compile, display and explore data from multiple systems and lines of business with highly visual, interactive dashboards and scorecards. The application presents data in ways that managers can easily grasp, so they are able to make better day-to-day decisions. Adaptive Discovery delivers an exciting new level of capability and interactivity that is far superior to both static data in spreadsheets and the limited reporting options available in existing enterprise applications.”
While Adaptive Discovery is one solution that improves data mining, there are also other affordable data analytics solutions on the market. Digital Reasoning has a long standing reputation of bringing data analytics to a variety of industries, including the financial world.
Jasmine Ashton, August 27, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
Minority Report Software Sifts Through Big Data
August 25, 2012
Yahoo!News recently reported on big data software that looks more like science fiction than fact in the article “Minority Report Software Hits the Real World.”
According to the article, scientist John Underkoffler developed the same interface as that appears in the 2002 Steven Spielberg sci-fi film “Minority Report”. The difference is, rather than using the technology to predict crime, the software is designed to sift through massive amounts of video and other data.
The article elaborates:
“Kwin Kramer, chief executive of Oblong, said the software can help in searching through “big data” for information. It can also create souped-up video-conference capabilities where participants share data from multiple devices like smartphones and tablets, integrated into a large video display.
“We think the future of computing is multiuser, multiscreen, multidevice,” Kramer told AFP. “This system helps with big workflow problems.”
This software allows you to move back in forth in time and zoom in to look at details. Exactly like the user experience in the movie. While gestural interfaces have been developed by other firms like Microsoft, this is far more sophisticated and will help businesses allow for better collaboration, visualization and analysis of large amounts of data.
Jasmine Ashton, August XX, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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