Brain vs Brawn in Data Analysis
September 16, 2012
Is bigger necessarily better when it comes to data? Klaviyo’s Ed Hallen doesn’t think so, as he reveals in his post, “Big Data vs Intelligent Data (and What Startups Can Do with It).” He believes the recent focus on big data may be missing a big point. Intelligent data, defined as reducing huge quantities of data to just the relevant bits, is much more important than being able to analyze every scrap of data that comes your way.
Hallen enumerates what he considers intelligent data:
- Data that is clear and unambiguous – i.e. the data values can be defined and measured in a repeatable fashion.
- Data that is concise – i.e. the data represents the smallest number of data points that would lead to the same action. If you need 90% certainty to take action, it’s the amount of data that will safely give you that.
- Data that is directly linked to action – i.e. based on different values of that data, different decisions will be made and implemented.
Hallen suggests a few applications that actively help companies use data intelligently: Unbounce or Myna for A/B testing, Hubspot for marketing analytics, and, naturally, his own Klaviyo for user management and marketing. He advises startups, especially, to carefully consider what they need from their data and what they will do with that information. Good advice for any business.
Cynthia Murrell, September 16, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Centrifuge Rolls Out Big Data with Visual Analytics
September 16, 2012
Centrifuge has released its latest version, we learn from “Centrifuge Delivers Scalable Big Data Analytics with Visual Network Analytics Version 2.7.” Centrifuge focuses on corporate fraud, security, and risk. The upgraded platform brings more speed to intelligence and pattern discovery for large amounts of data. The press release states that Centrifuge is the first big data analytics solution to allow customers to bring in their own data, eliminating the often expensive data transformation step.
Centrifuge CEO Renee Lorton explained her company’s niche :
“Corporate Information security is a big data analytics challenge that cannot be addressed with traditional data mining, BI, or legacy analytics approaches. The sheer volume and complexity requires a powerful investigative discovery approach that is easy enough for a non-data scientist to use. Machine data, for example, is one of the fastest growing segments of big data, generated by websites, applications, servers, networks, mobile devices and other sources. Now, discovering patterns in Big Data is both easy and cost effective with Centrifuge’s powerful interactive data visualization.”
The write up points out a new ease-of-use feature and flexible relationship matching. Also, the Relationship Path Discovery function serves up all possible connections, but points out the shortest ones. The new version also includes an extensible data framework that broadens users’ access to a wealth of data set types.
Headquartered in McLean, VA, Centrifuge embraces the considerable challenges behind corporate security data analysis. It is proud to have garnered a place in the 2012 FinTech Innovation Lab Program, and to have been placed on the 2012 Always On Global 250 Private Company Top Ones to Watch list. Their trademarked slogan is “See Clearly Now.”
Cynthia Murrell, September 16, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Apelon and Jembi Health Systems Bring Sustainable Information Systems to Rwanda
September 16, 2012
Apelon Medical Terminology in Practice recently published the press release “Apelon Selected to Support HIE Initiative in Rwanda as Part of Effort to Improve Antenatal/ Prenantal Care.”
According to the article, Apelon, an international provider of terminology and data interoperability solutions, has been chosen to create an electronic health enterprise architecture for the country of Rwanda by providing the products, terminology, and consulting expertise. The Rwanda Health Enterprise Architecture (RHEA) project is being lead by Jembi Health Systems. Based in South Africa, Jembi is an NGO that works to advance global health through developing and implementing sustainable information systems.
The article states:
“RHEA is an international effort focusing on the development of eHealth and health Information systems in developing countries. The project is owned by the Rwandan Ministry of Health and jointly implemented by Jembi, the Ministry of Health, InSTEDD and the Regenstrief Institute. In addition to supplying its open source Distributed Terminology Systems (DTS) software, Apelon representatives will provide training to Jembi and Rwanda healthcare professionals on DTS and Terminology Asset ManagementTM, Apelon’s unique methodology for creating and maintaining semantic data interoperability in health exchange programs. The RHEA project is expected to be operational by September.”
Bringing this technology to Rwanda is an excellent way to improve maternal healthcare in the country. The electronic medical records will allow for a complete exchange of relevant information, making the processes more efficient.
Jasmine Ashton, September 16, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Amazon S3 Pricing Calculator
September 15, 2012
Short honk: How much will it cost to put information on Amazon’s S3 service? You can do the math yourself in Excel or on a Starbuck’s napkin. The easier way is to use Herokuapp.com’s “How Much Is S3 Going to Cost Me?”
Stephen E Arnold, September 15, 2012
Sponsored by Augmentext
Harvard Professor Research Misconduct Upsetting
September 15, 2012
A surprising case of research misconduct has been uncovered recently at Harvard University. A psychology professor at the Ivy League school resigned ten months after being accused by faculty of fabricating data and manipulating results in experiments. In “Feds: Ex-Harvard Prof Faked Data in Experiments” on Phys.org, we learn about the report from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity that states that former professor Marc Hauser was solely responsible for eight instances of scientific misconduct.
The article tells us more about the trouble at Harvard:
“The federal document found six cases in which Hauser engaged in research misconduct in work supported by the National Institutes of Health. One paper was retracted and two were corrected. Other problems were found in unpublished work. Hauser says he has fundamental differences with the findings but acknowledges he made mistakes.”
We are surprised to see such misconduct at a prestigious university and are left to wonder if search has become so difficult that even trusted professors have resorted to just winging it. We are also disappointed as researchers that such forged documents are likely abound online.
Andrea Hayden, September 15, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Health Information Exchanges Making Progress
September 15, 2012
It looks like the healthcare field may finally be entering the twenty-first century. Agilex informs us that “Maine’s HealthInfoNet Supports CDC Program to Demonstrate the Preventive Care Value of Health Information Exchanges.” We believe the Health Info Exchange (HIE) idea is a good analytics sector, and look forward to following its growth.
The CDC program referred to in the title is long-windedly called “Demonstrating the Preventive Care Value of Health Information Exchanges”, and is being led by Agilex. In 2009, Maine was one of the first states to launch an HIE, a system that is maintained by HealthInfoNet. Since they have had time to work out any kinks, and because almost 80 percent of Maine residents have at least one record in the system, that state is the first to participate in the program.
The press release states:
“HealthInfoNet is using an open-source application called popHealth to de-identify, aggregate and securely transmit clinical quality measures to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC). Sponsored by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), popHealth was developed to automate reporting of meaningful use measures from a provider’s electronic health record system while ensuring de-identification of the transmitted data. The application was selected for this program due to its ability to create population-level data that has been de-identified at both the patient and provider level. This population-level data can be used to inform statewide public health and heart disease prevention strategies.”
It sounds like popHealth is a valuable resource. Another important piece of the puzzle is the open source CONNECT platform, that allows HIE’s to share data externally, yet securely, via the Nationwide Health Information Network. See the article for more details.
Headquartered close to DC in Chantilly, Virginia, Agilex serves clients in federal, state, and local governments as well as corporations. They supply mission and technology consulting, software and solution development, and system integration services. In a nod to the company’s commitment to quality, their name combines “agility” with “expertise”. Agilex was founded in 2007.
Cynthia Murrell, September 15, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Is Google Fiber Flopping in Kansas City
September 15, 2012
Business Insider recently reported on Google’s new super high speed Internet and cable TV service in the article “A Lot of Kansas City Residents are Not Signing Up for Google Fiber.”
According to the article, despite the fact that half the eligible neighborhoods in Kansas City showed interest in signing up for Google Fiber, now that the Gigabit Internet service has been officially launched these same “Fiberhoods” are not following through.
Google’s plan of only building a service for areas that really wanted it seemed like a smart idea. However, a few weeks before the pre-registration process was complete, only half of the available neighborhoods had signed up. So rather than deciding against going ahead with the service, Google chose to adjust the the goals to make it easier for Fiberhoods to qualify.
The article states:
“The net result is that more neighborhoods may become eligible to get Google Fiber. But it also points to another simple thought: a surprisingly large number of Kansas City residents aren’t interested.
There’s been a lot of discussion about how Google will turn this project into a nationwide service and that it could cost hundreds of billions of dollars to do that. If Kansas City doesn’t show a lot of love for it, it’s going to be hard to convince Google, or other cable companies, to make that kind of investment.”
We find this report puzzling. Our assumption was that Google would slam dunk the other broadband providers. It seems unusual to turn down a Googley deal.
Jasmine Ashton, September 15, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
SharePoint 2013 Misses Opportunities
September 14, 2012
Chris Wright at Beta News adds to the buzz of the SharePoint 2013 Preview with is piece, “SharePoint 2013 is a Missed Opportunity.” After saying that a few of the surface updates are useful and intuitive, Wright gets to the heart of why SharePoint 2013 is ultimately a disappointment:
I work with lots of end users of SharePoint. What I would have liked to see, and what they needed, is much more focus on the user interface and the feel of SharePoint in this new version. There are some very powerful features in SharePoint, like Views on lists and libraries, but end users find them difficult to use and configure — if they find them at all. Even a simple thing like adding rich content to a page is a lot harder than it should be. The text editor tends to have a mind of its own, and this issue so far remains in the new version.
Followers of the SharePoint world and blogosphere will recognize this complaint against the feel of SharePoint as the number one recurring issue. Many organizations, particularly small to mid-size ones, are turning to smart third-party solutions to increase the feel of their SharePoint infrastructure without the painstaking SharePoint customization process. We like Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise for just this reason. Although it can stand alone, adding Fabasoft Mindbreeze Enterprise to an existing SharePoint infrastructure immediately adds style, ease of use, and efficiency without a huge investment in other resources.
Emily Rae Aldridge, September 14, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
Chiliad and Its Big Rocks
September 14, 2012
Some memes are just annoying, and others are actually useful. The analytics pros at Chiliad have adopted the “Big Rocks” meme to productive effect, we learn in their blog post, “Big Rocks Rock Chiliad.”
In case you haven’t heard this particular analogy, it tells the tale of a professor who showed his (her?) students the advantage of putting the most important things first. He filled a jar with (comparatively) big rocks then asked students whether it was full. When they said yes, he poured in some pebbles, which of course filled in around the rocks. He did the same with sand, then water. The jar keeps accepting more and more, but only if you put the big stuff in first.
Blogger Craig Norris explains how his company has incorporated this lesson into their culture:
“At Chiliad, however, we use the nomenclature of Big Rocks to ensure that we are maintaining our focus on the important versus the urgent, and on our critical priorities versus the typical laundry list of things we all need to get done. Big Rocks are now an integral part of our every day culture and normative terminology. . . .
“I have found using the nomenclature of Big Rocks carries a very strong message in a short-hand form that facilitates communication and improves performance by making sure we do not get tangled up in lesser issues. When we ask, ‘what are your Big Rocks?’, everyone immediately knows what we want to dialog about without any long-winded explanations.”
I’m happy to see that at least one company is able to make use of the story to facilitate communication and maintain focus on the big picture. That in itself is a lesson for all of us—accept the wisdom of popular memes, even when they are no longer shiny and new. Thinking outside the box, anyone?
Chiliad produces analysis tools for many types of data across many types of sources. The company primarily serves the intelligence, defense, law enforcement, healthcare, and pharmaceutical fields. Founded in 1998, Chiliad is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.
Cynthia Murrell, September 14, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
FindTheData Is a Useful Resource
September 14, 2012
We’ve come across an interesting research tool. LifeHacker tells us that “FindTheData Compares Tons of Data Side-by-Side, Is a Research Gold Mine.” Writer Melanie Pinola explains:
“FindTheData is an incredibly cool tool for comparing all kinds of information—from job salaries to auto fuel economy to celebrities’ heights and weights. The web app parses data from all kinds of public databases and other sources to deliver all these facts.
“FindTheData is part of the FindTheBest family of comparison sites. While FindTheBest compares dozens of categories to help you make better decisions (e.g., pick the best college), FindTheData is more of a research/reference tool.”
Like FindTheBest, FindTheData is organized by categories like Business & Economy, Education, and Society, to name just a few. Users can filter results, do side-by-side comparisons, and delve into details. Pinola does caution us that, once we start exploring the data, it might be difficult to stop.
FindTheBest (the company behind both sites) prides itself on presenting information free from any marketing influence. They pull their data from public databases, primary sources and experts. I really like the way they present the information—clean and easy to reference. Also, the tools for refining a search are intuitive—always a huge plus in my book. I have to say Pinola is correct; I could waste a lot of time at either of these sites.
Cynthia Murrell, September 14, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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