Healthcare Analytics Issues Finally Solved
July 24, 2013
Does anyone really know how to crack the nut that has been sitting on healthcare’s table, begging to be opened? That question is, of course, will anything really help get all the unstructured data from medical files into a usable tool for helping professionals? The jury is still out after reading a recent Chiliad article, “The Hardest Question in Healthcare: What Works?”
In the interview we learned:
“To succeed in understanding what works by looking at all of the data, we also need a new approach that works. We need tools at our fingertips to allow experts in their field who are not experts in data analysis get to the bottom of important questions. We need tools that can reach out to data wherever it exists without compromising privacy, without compromising data control and data ownership.”
While this sounds like a person hunting for some answers. We are not so sure they have them at hand. Maybe nobody does? What the field of healthcare analytics has no shortage of, as we just saw, is optimism. We saw it earlier this year when Yahoo! declared that healthcare reform might be a boon for analytics. While that, too, makes logical sense we are not convinced anyone has a concrete solution to healthcare’s headaches.
Patrick Roland, July 24, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Text Analytics Pros Daily
July 17, 2013
We have found a new resource: an aggregation tailored to data analysts, The Text Analytics Pros Daily, is now available at the content curation site Paper.li. The page pulls in analytics-related news arranged under topics like Business, Technology, Education, and the Environment. Our question: what are their criteria for “pros”?
For those unfamiliar with Paper.li, it is a platform that allows users to create their own aggregations by choosing their sources and customizing their page. Their description specifies:
“The key to a great newspaper is a great newsroom. The Paper.li platform gives you access to an ever-expanding universe of articles, blog posts, and rich media content. Paper.li automatically processes more than 250 million social media posts per day, extracting & analyzing over 25 million articles. Only Paper.li lets you tap into this powerful media flow to find exactly what you need, and publish it easily on your own online newspaper.”
As I peruse the page, I see many articles from a wide variety of sources; Marketwired, the Conference Board, Marketing Cloud, and assorted tech bloggers. There is a lot of information here— it is worth checking out for any content analytics pros (or hobbyists.)
Cynthia Murrell, July 17, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Setting Up Endeca Provisioning
July 15, 2013
Need to know how to establish Endeca‘s Provisioning? David Sowerby at 3sixty-analytics helpfully outlines the setup in, “Endeca Provisioning – ‘Self Service’.” (The article notes that users looking for information on installing Provisioning should see this entry.) He writes:
“I mentioned in an earlier post that Oracle had indicated the future direction of Endeca by including a feature described as ‘Provisioning’. In practice, this is the facility to load a single spreadsheet, perform some simple but useful data cleansing, and then let Endeca generate an application for you.
“Although it currently only loads a single spreadsheet per application, it is a great way to see some of Endeca’s capability first hand, and also to act a hands on introduction to building an application from your data.”
The write-up describes four main steps: finding a spreadsheet of data to use, loading the spreadsheet, experimenting with the data, and, naturally, bragging about the results. It walks us through the process of loading a spreadsheet, complete with screenshots. He then links to an Oracle video that covers working with the data and creating an application. The article and video together make for a valuable resource for those looking into Endeca Provisioning.
Cynthia Murrell, July 15, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Talend Snatches Up Local Data
July 15, 2013
From Dataversity we read about another analytics partnership; this one is between Talend and Loqate. “Talend and Loqate Partner to Increase the Value of Strategic Information” describes the two companies. Talend is a global open source software plater and Loqate does international address verification. The reason for the season of this relationship deals with addressing data quality demands of enterprise organizations.
The article quotes Fabrice Bonan, co-founder and chief technical officer at Talend:
“Talend’s commitment to our customers is to let them realize the full value of their information assets. Our partnership with Loqate provides a crucial piece of this puzzle: the verification, enrichment and geocoding of addresses that ensure the accuracy and reliability of location data. These added capabilities help our customers increase the efficiency of critical business processes such as logistics or customer acquisition and retention.”
As local data becomes increasing relevant to a mobile-charged society, it is no wonder Talend and Loqate have buddied up. As previous partnerships have shown, it is important for companies like Loqate to have the clean and accurate data ready and available before anything else takes place. We will keep watching to see how this progresses.
Megan Feil, July 15, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Many Projects of SumoBrain Solutions
July 15, 2013
Often times we come across companies so interesting that they deserve a write-up of their own — news or no current news. We stumbled upon SumoBrain Solutions and were intrigued enough to delve into their About Us.
SumoBrain Solutions participated in last year’s PE2E (Patent End-to-End) pilot project and developed a solution to the US Patent and Trademark Office that they integrated into the non-search architecture.
Also of note is their technology to support complex search optimization for their chemical industry client. We learned:
“A matrix query is particularly powerful when a user desires a dataset based on 2 or more dimensions. For example, rather than asking for all patents where the assignee is IBM, Intel, or Microsoft, the user might request all datasets where the assignee is IBM, Intel, or Microsoft, by year for the last 20 years. Other use cases include mapping term lists against assignees or … The conventional way of running such queries was to run each permutation – and depending on the number of dimensions and the number of possibilities in each dimension, this approach can quickly become intractable. Our innovative approaches to this challenge and many other complex search problems have given us the most powerful and scalable capabilities on the market.”
Their projects don’t stop there. They are also working on a project with Harvard University Business School on historical and geographical trends in patenting activity in the US.
Megan Feil, July 15, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
The Future of Data Analysis Platforms
July 11, 2013
Large consulting and accounting firm Information Management expresses its views on analytics in, “Big Data: Rethinking the Platform.” Writer Narendra Mulani sketches out a common problem for today’s companies: incorporating new analysis technologies into existing infrastructures. Some try to forgo the new by translating all data into a structured format before analysis but, he explains, that frustrating path just ends up wasting time and money. It is better to accept from the beginning that your system will need an overhaul to make the most of the big data trend.
Companies can approach their redesign a number of ways, stresses the write-up. Virtualized and consolidated data centers have become popular, but Mulani suspects another model might supplant that approach. He writes:
“In particular, a platform consisting of large numbers of smaller, commodity servers handling storage locally is highly scalable. To expand capacity, the business just adds more of these smaller servers, which are relatively inexpensive, rather than having to upgrade enterprise services and storage equipment at great cost. . . . In practice, in order to deliver the most value to the business, chief technology officers and their teams will need to operate with both [old and new] models, while ensuring their data flows to the right places at the right time. This hybrid model will enable businesses to capture the benefits of new big data platforms without giving up their existing architectures. Indeed, some of the technologies that power the new will also be used to invigorate what is already in place.”
The article goes on to enumerate some things to consider with such a hybrid approach, and notes that what works for one organization will not meet the needs of others. Designing a system requires a balance between development costs and potential benefits for each company. For Mulani, one central principle guides the process: “IT should be an enabler of business results.” It is a simple concept that nevertheless eludes some decision makers.
Cynthia Murrell, July 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Data Visualizations as Fine Art
July 11, 2013
It can be a challenge to visually present data in a way that is easy to understand, yet not snore-inducing. Information Management asks, “Data Visualizations: Do You Prefer Destroyed Farms or Fancy Pies?” In this write-up, Justin Kern explores the intersection between art and data visualization.
Kern has been spending time with a book by Nathan Yau, “Data Points: Visualization That Means Something.” Yau’s examples have inspired Kern, and prompted him to contemplate how familiar works of art might function as hypothetical data visualizations. He notes that designing these aids so that they actually communicate clearly is necessary but difficult in today’s business world, and suspects that artists could help:
“For artists, they’re already expressing interest in data as a medium, and the information management field might be one of the few where they could find such a quick entry into decent paying and intellectually satisfying work. And, whether we’re clear about it or not, CIOs, data managers and business analysts are reaching out for information ‘storytellers’ through visualizations. It wouldn’t be too broad a stroke to paint a scene where ‘corporate art’ is more about exciting, innovative and engaging data visualizations and less about that wrought iron abstract piece forgotten about in the middle of a bank headquarters courtyard. I’m geeked up to see how the art and data worlds will combine to make the destroyed farms and refrigerator pies that usher in a new wave of business understanding with a touch of heart.”
Interesting vision. If this Kern turns out to be barking up a valid tree here, this could become a lucrative avenue for artistic types. Will data visualization classes start popping up in BFA curricula?
Cynthia Murrell, July 11, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
HP Offers Autonomy Powered Legacy Data Solution
July 9, 2013
What happens when old data meets new technology? The result is not always pretty. Now, reports ITProPortal, “HP Autonomy Launches Legacy Data Cleanup Software for Improved Info Governance.” The software, called Legacy Data Cleanup, is underpinned by Autonomy’s ControlPoint and hauls outdated information into the light where it can be accessed, classified and, if appropriate, safely deleted. The write-up tells us:
“Legacy data is sometimes called ‘dark data,’ as it is effectively wasted space on limited storage, forcing organisations to buy more storage and hindering the modernisation of infrastructure and the transition to the cloud. This data includes obsolete SharePoint sites, old email stores, and a variety of other files that no longer serve any function.
“The Legacy Data Cleanup solution helps businesses identify this unnecessary data and remove it responsibly, leaving an audit trail behind to meet company data retention policies. It can also help with the establishment of a records management system, which offers improved access to and more efficient legal holds on old data.”
The write-up asserts that most organizations have a legacy data problem, though for many the issue has not yet become prominent. It also notes that it is best to address the issue before an eDiscovery demand or a security breach rears its head. True enough; is HP‘s new software the solution?
Cynthia Murrell, July 09, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Pay a Fee To Get Early Trade Info
July 8, 2013
According to CNBC in the article, “Thomson Reuters Gives Elite Traders Early Advantage,” Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan are cashing in on early trade information. Here is how it works: Thomson Reuters collects data via its news agency and the University of Michigan applies its well-known economic statistic to the data. Together they sell the information to an elite group of traders two seconds before it is officially released. There is more than enough time in the digital age for traders to respond and take appropriate action. Reuters does have to pay Michigan a bit to a cool million a year.
The information package is also tiered, so another client still has the advantage over another.
“’I worry that there’s both a fairness and a disclosure issue,’ said former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt. “’f I’m paying a lot of money, I should know whether I have the best deal possible. If there was no disclosure of the tiered structure, that would be a serious problem.’”
Reuters has not responded on how much its clients are paying for the package. Even if the deal is legal, it sounds like a bunch of insider trading. How long before these bought seconds do become illegal?
Whitney Grace, July 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search
Literal Cloud Wipes Out Virtual Cloud at Facebook
July 5, 2013
Something strange happened on the way to Facebook’s first data center, as reported by The Register in the article titled Facebook’s First Data Center Drenched By Actual Cloud. The “humidity event” that Facebook mentioned was caused by the modern air conditioning system in place in the facility. The actual indoor cloud stole all the attention from the cloud that powered the social network. The cloud and rain caused panic and damaged many servers. The article explains,
“Consumer internet giants such as Google, Facebook, and others have all been on a tear building facilities that use outside air instead.
In Prineville’s first summer of operation, a problem in the facility’s building-management system led to high temperature and low humidity air from the hot aisles being endlessly recirculated though a water-based evaporative cooling system that sought to cool the air down – which meant that when the air came back into the cold aisle for the servers it was so wet it condensed.”
With new protective rubber seals around Facebook’s server’s power supply, the social media network is prepared to weather whatever storms may come, inside or outside. Facebook also made changes to its building-management system, making their facility one of the most efficient in the industry, even beating out Google in some cases.
Chelsea Kerwin, July 05, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
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