Study Reveals Data and Solutions that Allow for Analysis to be as Valuable as Land, Labor and Capital
January 8, 2013
We lucked into finding a copy of Capgemini EIU Big Data Study available for perusing on Slide Share. The Economist Intelligence Unit from this consultancy agency surveyed over 600 business leaders worldwide and across different industry sectors about the use of Big Data in their organizations.
The survey pointed to certain challenges for decision making arising from Big Data. Volume is not the toughest problem for analysts to deal with. 85% of respondendts felt that the challenge lies in the access to big data and the ability to analyze it in real-time.
The article states:
Familiar challenges relating to data quality, governance and consistency also remain relevant, with 56% of respondents citing organisational silos as their biggest problem in making better use of BigData. For our respondents, data is now the fourth factor of production, as essential as land, labour and capital. It follows that tomorrow’s winners will be the organisations that succeed in exploiting Big Data, for example by applying advanced predictive analytic techniques in real time.
It is clear from this article and the findings reported in the study that a greater emphasis must be placed on connectors, such as those found in solutions from PolySpot. Their infrastructure technologies allow analysts to easily access and analyze data in real time.
Megan Feil, January 8, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search.
Big Data Architecture
January 8, 2013
Log files and their analysis are the next frontier in Big Data. Developers are now beginning to mine the data contained in log files for deeper analysis. SmartData Collective offers a post exploring this very topic. Read “Analyzing Logs and More – a Big Data Architecture” for all of the details.
After a discussion of the technical steps needed to mine this data out of log files, the author provides his conclusion and how he sees it affecting the Big Data developer community:
“Parsing and processing log files tactically is still a grep/awk/sed or some scripting exercise done by a lone super ranger in an IT department or elsewhere. But with the growing strategic value of the data in log files, major product and software vendors are looking to put together a robust technology stack to leverage this information across the enterprise. If done right, this would become a very powerful and unique ‘Big Data’ app providing meaningful insights across the enterprise from product support to engineering and marketing providing both operational and business intelligence from machine logs.”
There are a few noteworthy Big Data vendors who offer smart solutions out-of-the-box. LucidWorks is an industry-standard known for their enterprise search solutions. However, LucidWorks is also in the vanguard of Big Data solution development. LucidWorks Big Data is worth a second look.
Emily Rae Aldridge, January 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
The Complete Total Bing Bar Makeover
January 8, 2013
Bing has prided itself on providing more eye candy for its users than the minimalist Google screen and logo. Bing has lately been updating its looks. First it was Snapshots, now the social bar has become more socially appealing. Search Engine Watch highlights the changes Bing made in “Bing Social Sidebar Gets a Makeover.” The hover cards and dark grey coloring have disappeared, giving way to the color white and a more uniformed look. There are two new headers that separate social media content from friends and general content on these Web sites.
Bing’s social search is also noted as digging way in the recesses of old posts. Users can see what their friends were saying in the past on Facebook or they could always turn to the Facebook year in review app. The search is also a good feature to use to find trending content on all social networks on specific topics.
Despite the updates, the author does not see the design lasting long:
“However, being perfectly honest, I can’t see this design staying for very long. It’s almost too many blue links now and with the more visual social sidebar winning the competition for attention, the ads are now too easy to miss – you can just skip over that middle block.”
What works now will change tomorrow. So is the fate of the Internet. The lack of ad prevalence on the page will really hurt Bing. As long as they do not redo the page to have a fifteen second ad before you can view your content, though, most people will be all right with the changes.
Whitney Grace, January 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
3D Company Wants In On Financial Industry
January 8, 2013
Dassault Systèmes is one of the premiere leaders in 3D solutions from design, digital mock-up, and product lifecycle management. Press Zoom brings us the exciting headline: “Dassault Systèmes Launches the First Industry Solution Experiences for Financial Services: ‘Product Innovation Factory.’”
According to the article the new endeavor is described as:
“Based on Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform, “Product Innovation Factory” allows product managers from investment, wealth management, insurance and banking organizations to capitalize on market opportunities, as well as to respond quickly to market and regulatory challenges in order to accelerate the lifecycle of financial products from ideas to sales. “Product Innovation Factory” leverages the same technologies used by the world’s leading aerospace, consumer products, retail and life sciences companies to drive innovation, mitigate operational risk and maintain transparency regardless of product complexity.”
Of course, with any new technology deployment in this day and age it includes analytics, data management, social intelligence, and collaboration. The Production Innovation Factory has its own collaborative content management platform along with Big Data analytics it seems. The new product comes at a time when financial services are trying to predict their clients’ needs and take advantage of the rich fields of data open to them. The Product Innovation Factory allows its users to control their data with seamless real-time control.
What is apparent in this new tool is that product management and technology and search meet for the purpose of innovation. Search is going to be the real powerhouse behind the factory, for without it how are the users going to manage and find their content?
Whitney Grace, January 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Paid Links May Be the New Content Manipulation Game
January 8, 2013
With the New Year upon us, we can count on new tricks for content manipulation. Search Engine Land brings to our attention of the of the possible new tricks in “Will 2013 Bring a Paid Link Resurgence?” Not many people give credit to link builders, but the conjecture is that bad links for Web sites could potentially be as bad as negative SEO. Google has once more updated its Webmaster Guidelines and paid linkage is a way to manipulate Google’s search results. Google is punishing web sites for unnatural links. Webmasters will have to finally admit that content is the only way to get to the top of Google’s search results or control their marketing process. The later usually involves greenbacks that most do not want to spend. If business starts to suffer, however, guess where investments will need to be made?
Google is working overtime to control its search results:
“Google’s constant attempts to crack down serve only to spawn new and harder-to-catch ways to win. It sounds harsh but I know that no matter what methods they develop of controlling manipulation in one form, people will find ways to manipulate something else, until that gets smacked too, and they start over again.”
Paid links are part of everyday Web search and their impact is felt, we just do not realize it. However, one method of search results manipulation does not prove better than the other. It all depends on what is popular at the time and what can get past Google’s aggregators.
Whitney Grace, January 08, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
PolySpot Steers Organizations Towards the Data Driven Ideal
January 7, 2013
While companies have been striving for operating in a data-driven manner for over a century, there are still factors that prevent this supposed ideal from reaching the full potential. Forbes discusses recent studies on this topic in their article, “Big Data in the Enterprise: A Lesson or Two from Big Brother.”
A recent survey by Capgemini and the Economist Intelligence Unit delves into the depths on just how data-driven companies are today. Results have shown that many organizations are struggling to keep up with huge volumes of data. Unfortunately, almost 55 percent of respondents from around the world said that big data solutions were not recognized as necessary by senior level management in their companies.
The article discusses the processes involved in crunching big data down to size:
Once the data has been ingested, the next most critical aspect will be data storage. To gain maximum value, data needs to be potentially pre-processed in memory, and then stashed away for further analysis including trending and comparing over time. For this, fast disks and often petabytes of it with the right software that makes it possible to find data down the road, is needed.
While insights from big data will likely remain a mystery to some, there are other organizations ahead of the curve that are already employing solutions from the likes of enterprise data extraordinaires such as PolySpot. Their solutions focus on the most critical aspect of churning knowledge out of big data: connectivity and delivery.
Megan Feil, January 7, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Beyond Search.
EU Experiences Setback in Open Source
January 7, 2013
Legal issues directly affect the success of different technologies. This is especially true when government contracts are on the line, as governments often provide the largest customer base for certain software applications. Unfortunately, recent legal issues in the European Union (EU) are stunting the growth of open source technologies throughout the region. Glyn Moody’s Open Enterprise blog covers the issue in, “European Commission’s Low Attack on Open Source.”
Moody states the source of the problem, FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory):
“Again, as long-suffering readers may recall, the original European Interoperability Framework also required royalty-free licensing, but what was doubtless a pretty intense wave of lobbying in Brussels overturned that, and EIF v2 ended up pushing FRAND, which effectively locks out open source – the whole point of the exercise.”
Moody goes on to explain that locking out open source stunts creativity and development, leaving the EU to depend on the leading open source technology coming out of the US. He continues:
“It confirms once more that the European Commission is not serious about open source, and has no intention of doing anything meaningful to help it grow in Europe, despite some soothing noises to the contrary. Sadly, this pretty much sums up what’s happened in 2012 as far as support for open source in the European Union is concerned.”
The EU is definitely suffering in response to this punitive legal viewpoint. American open source software, such as the industry-leading LucidWorks, provides a solid foundation for every enterprise to make the most of its data resources. Whether it is tackling Big Data or simply organizing an organization’s intranet, open source is a necessary enterprise tool. Furthermore, open source technologies of all types support innovation and advancement in the economy, a benefit the EU has closed the door on.
Emily Rae Aldridge, January 07, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Savanna Provides Model Enabled and User Generated Analysis
January 7, 2013
A powerful new suit of analytical tools has been released that allows for user-generated, model-enabled analysis. Savanna by Thetus places discoveries in meaningful context and is open and flexible, according to the product website. An article on SYS-CON Media, “Thetus Savanna: Powerful but Easy to Learn Analytic Tools,” describes the uses and capabilities of the new technology.
We learn the best ways to learn how to apply Savanna:
“It is very capable, and surprisingly easy to learn. This means once an enterprise has installed and configured Savanna very little (or no) training is required before the workforce can apply it. Organizations will definitely want to think through the best uses of Savanna, but even that is not hard. I recommend doing that two ways: 1) Watch some of the overview demos of Savanna on Youtube and 2) Watch the overview I built below that walks you through how I used it […]”
We like the fact that the product allows users to perform analysis and author their findings in one place, as well as the ability to fit into existing infrastructures. Some good videos are available that overview the suite and are fairly approachable, including the one posted at the mentioned article: http://www.sys-con.com/node/2480874.
Andrea Hayden, January 07, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
HP Salvation May Lie in Big Data
January 7, 2013
After all the bad blood between Hewlett-Packard and the folks from Autonomy, could it be that Autonomy’s technology will be HP’s salvation? CRN’s Kevin McLaughlin says it just might, at least in part, in “Can Big Data Actually Be the Thing that Saves HP?” McLaughlin begins by summing up HP’s recent problems:
“Things couldn’t get much worse for Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ). HP’s stunning announcement last month that it was taking an $8.8 billion write-down and launching an investigation into accounting improprieties related to its $11.1 billion Autonomy acquisition came amid a host of financial struggles for the IT giant. Some are due to industry headwinds, such as slowdowns in PC and printer sales and weakening enterprise IT spending. Other problems are of HP’s own doing, such as its $8 billion charge from its 2008 acquisition of EDS and an enterprise services business hampered by an outdated infrastructure and sales model.”
So what is the struggling tech giant to do? The article notes that, with big data’s growing importance, HP had better leverage it’s big-data tech immediately. Apparently, Meg Whitman, HP’s CEO, agrees; she says her company is extending both the technology from Autonomy and the analysis software from Vertica across their hardware lines.
Yes, big data in printers may just save the day. Who could have predicted that?
Cynthia Murrell, January 07, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Attivio Offers Attractive Security Options
January 7, 2013
Attivio makes a very strong case for its own security solution in “The Pitfalls of Early Binding, Late Binding and Hybrid Security Models.” The well-organized article begins by describing each model and its pitfalls. For example, early binding requires constant content reprocessing, while late binding tends to slow response times considerably. The hybrid model, naturally, retains flaws from both its parent models. This section would actually make a good primer on the subject.
Next, the piece explains Attivio’s unique approach, which began by looking at how organizations actually used access controls. Steve Bower, director of client engineering and author of the post, discusses his company’s method:
“The first thing we came to understand was that changes in access control are primarily changes in access to sets – sometimes large – of content, as well changes to the user/group structure itself. . . .
“At the root of our Active Security model is the idea of breaking up the access control problem into its constituent parts; users, groups, documents and ACLs. To accomplish this, Active Security models documents, ACLs and user/group hierarchies as independent records within the Attivio universal index, enabling discrete control by allowing for independent updates to any part of the system. At query time these pieces are brought together, in a single query execution, using a combination of Attivio’s patented JOIN operator and Attivio’s GRAPH operator.”
Bower states that this innovative approach results in improvements over the traditional options, including latency reduction and a reduced load on security systems. He also lauds the platform’s scalability, simplicity, and extensibility.
Headquartered in Newton, MA, Attivio also has offices in the UK and Germany. The company offers high-performance, cost-effective approaches to the complex data challenges faced by government agencies and their defense and aerospace colleagues. Attivio prides itself on innovatively integrating enterprise search, intelligence, and analytic capabilities to provide the best solutions.
Cynthia Murrell, January 07, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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