The Future of Big Data, Quality Not Quantity
January 12, 2015
The article titled The Investor Perspective: A Turning Point for Big Data and the Enterprise on Silicon Angle discusses the changes ahead in how companies approach their big data stores. The article discusses the flawed perspective that it was entirely about quantity when it came to big data. It posits that instead, we should be more focused on the information it is possible to glean from the data at hand, as well as how to use the data to improve customer experience (for example, personalization software.) The article asserts,
“Another major challenge has been the steady stream of big data scientists in high demand across all industry sectors available to help. According to a recent McKinsey & Co. report, there will be a 50 percent gap in the supply of data scientists versus demand in 2018. Furthermore, the report projects “a need for 1.5 million additional managers and analysts in the U.S. who can ask the right questions and consume the results of the analysis of Big Data effectively.”
Clearly, anyone who still believes that just compiling more and more data will be far behind in the coming years. Understanding the data and making good use of it will prove to be much more important. The article is definitely doing some cheerleading for big data, but with some caution signs to avoid misunderstanding how big data works.
Chelsea Kerwin, January 12, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
FOSS Supporters: Sharing Development Costs the 21st Century Way
January 11, 2015
In the good old days, proprietary software was funded by the company owning the technology, shareholders/investors, and “partners” sucked into the “pay to work with us” model perfected by outfits like IBM.
I read “Big Names Like Google Dominate Open Source Funding.” One of the points that I gleaned from the write up is that a handful of larger commercial firms support certain open source projects. The data are based on various records and incomplete data sets. Also the data presumably do not include statements from Eastern European open source contributors who are polishing their résumé or college professors working to create their own bit of financial heaven.
The article includes a graphic that identifies some of the big supporters of open source. There are some names I did not recognize like Credativ and 10gen. But there were a few that jumped out at me; namely, Google, IBM, and that bastion of management excellence, Hewlett Packard.
I formulate three thoughts after working through the admittedly flawed analysis included in Network World, a publication which I view with healthy skepticism.
First, with large companies funding open source projects, the cost of R&D has been pushed down and shared. This is good for big outfits who can get out of the business of supporting software that are essentially utilities.
Second, open source is less about community and more about getting folks jobs and opportunities to set up an “open source consulting services company.” When you take a look at LucidWorks (Really?), you see folks trying to emulate pure consulting firms. But open source search is just one example of this model of using “free stuff” to sell expensive engineering. This works on a small scale, but when you try to pump up a “free software” company to the size of RedHat, that taxes the management capabilities of some whizzy Silicon Valley types.
Third, open source does not always result in free and open source software. Consider IBM’s approach. By repackaging Lucene and attributing serious juju to search, the company hopes to build a $10 billion business in 48 to 60 months. Not gonna happen. IBM faces many challenges, but those infected with spreadsheet fever twiddle the numbers to create a fictional world. Is Google really free and open source? What about Google Earth? Is Hewlett Packard, bless its management heart, is not quite the model of open source goodness shareholders want.
No surprises in the write up, but the change in what once seemed like a good idea does not trouble Network World. Open source sounds great and offers a way out of massive, continuing investments in maintaining certain types of software. That money can be better used to create proprietary extensions that customers have to pay for.
Stephen E Arnold, January 11,2015
Shades of Ray Kurzweil: Watson to Crack Ageing
January 11, 2015
I am not too keen on immortality. My view is that stuff dies. Age appropriate behavior means accepting the lot of mortal man.
But some folks want to extend their lives; others hope to live forever like the nano-stuff creatures in Alastair Reynolds’ novels.
I associate the live longer and collect stock options approach with Ray Kurzweil, the Google big thinker and music inventor. Well, I learned something in “IBM Watson’s Lab to Tackle Aging Issues.” Now Watson with its chugging heart of Lucene has lifetimes of revenue to generate before some activist investors put a bit in this pony’s mouth.
The write up says:
IBM Korea will build a cognitive computing center in Seoul to help tackle an aging society with technology. “IBM submitted a letter of intent to the Seoul Metropolitan Government last month to set up a Watson lab to study smart-aging technology,” IBM Korea said…
I found this statement remarkable because IBM has not turned Lucene and home-grown scripts into a multi billion dollar revenue stream. On the other hand, it has helped the delis close to the IBM Watson facility in Manhattan prospect.
IBM has taken major steps to develop Watson as a new business line for future success. Watson has made achievements in diagnostic medicine and cancer treatment.
The approach involves the phone and microwave company Samsung and various universities, start ups, and public relation professionals in South Korea.
I assume more details will be revealed in Technology Review, a publication that covers Watson’s twists and turns in exquisite, marketing detail.
If you want to get on the anti-ageing train, board in South Korea. Like the projected $10 billion in revenue from a Lucene based system, let me know how those crow’s feet fly.
Stephen E Arnold, January 11, 2015
Did You Know Oracle and WCC Go Beyond Search?
January 10, 2015
I love the phrase “beyond search.” Microsoft uses it, working overtime to become the go-to resource for next generation search. I learned that Oracle also finds the phrase ideal for describing the lash up of traditional database technology, the decades old Endeca technology, and the Dutch matching system from WCC Group.
You can read about this beyond search tie up in “Beyond Search in Policing: How Oracle Redefines Real time Policing and Investigation—Complementary Capabilities of Oracle’s Endeca Information Discovery and WCC’s ELISE.”
The white paper explains in 15 pages how intelligence led policing works. I am okay with the assertions, but I wonder if Endeca’s computationally intensive approach is suitable for certain content processing tasks. The meshing of matching with Endeca’s outputs results in an “integrated policing platform.”
The Oracle marketing piece explains ELISE in terms of “Intelligent Fusion.” Fusion is quite important in next generation information access. The diagram explaining ELISE is interesting:
Endeca’s indexing makes use of the MDex storage engine, which works quite well for certain types of applications; for example, bounded content and point-and-click access. Oracle shows this in terms of Endeca’s geographic output as a mash up:
For me, the most interesting part of the marketing piece was this diagram. It shows how two “search” systems integrate to meet the needs of modern police work:
It seems that WCC’s technology, also used for matching candidates with jobs, looks for matches and then Endeca adds an interface component once the Endeca system has worked through its computational processes.
For Oracle, ELISE and Endeca provide two legs of Oracle’s integrated police case management system.
Next generation information access systems move “beyond search” by integrating automated collection, analytics, and reporting functions. In my new monograph for law enforcement and intelligence professionals, I profile 21 vendors who provide NGIA. Oracle may go “beyond search,” but the company has not yet penetrated NGIA, next generation information access. More streamlined methods are required to cope with the type of data flows available to law enforcement and intelligence professionals.
For more information about NGIA, navigate to www.xenky.com/cyberosint.
Stephen E Arnold, January 10, 2015
Basis Tech: A Search Vendor
January 10, 2015
Yep, I saw it on a Google Adword pitch. Basis, once the provider of some of Fast Search & Transfer’s translation functionality, has expanded its offerings. In addition to Asian language translate, the company offers Big Text analytics, entity extraction, and, of course, keyword retrieval.
Here’s the evidence, if one can call a Google ad “evidence”:
We strongly support diversification by keyword centric search systems. Without continued innovation, search vendors would not be able to crack tough problems; for example, customer support, business intelligence, and knowledge management. Each of these buzzwords is fascinating, and I am not confident I can define them.
Stephen E Arnold, January 10, 2014
Small Data Sprawl
January 9, 2015
I read “Forget Big Data, Small Data Is Going to Be 100 Times Harder to Tackle—EMC.” The point of the write up is that when devices generate data, life will be tougher than with old fashioned Big Data.
My thought is that wordsmithing works wonders for companies seeking purchase on the slippery face of Mt. Sales.
My reaction is that each datum of small data “belongs” to something. Maybe Google? Maybe a company in Shanghai? Won’t these folks aggregate the data and sell it? There are nascent data hubs. Perhaps these companies will get into the aggregation business. It worked for Ian Sharp at IP Sharp decades ago. I think it will probably work again.
Stephen E Arnold, January 9, 2015
Gartner and Its Perception of Strategic Technology Trends
January 9, 2015
You can get this Dave Letterman type list at GartnerNews.com. The expert generating the list is definitely in touch with the needs of Gartner to sell consulting. The buzzwords in this list range from smart machines to Web scale IT. I did notice a reference to “advanced, pervasive, and invisible analytics.” I wonder what “advanced” and “invisible” mean? There are some developments in analytics applied to near real time content processing, and I assume that Gartner has this subject nailed. My analysis of this topic is a bit more detailed than a graphic:
You can check out the predictive analytics concept by navigating to CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access.
Stephen E Arnold, January 9, 2014
Worlds Apart: The Schism between Information Access and OId School Keyword Search
January 9, 2015
Ah, Dave Schubmehl. You may remember my adventures with this “expert” in search. He published four reports based on my research, and then without permission sold one of these recycled $3,500 gems on Amazon. A sharp eyed law librarian and my attorney were able to get this cat back into the back.
He’s back with a 22 page report “The Knowledge Quotient: Unlocking the Hidden Value of Information Using Search and Content Analytics” that is free. Yep, free.
I was offered this report at a Yahoo email address I use to gather the spam and content marketing fluff that floods to me each day. I received the spam from Alisa Lipzen, an inside sales representative, of Coveo. Ms. Lipzen is sufficiently familiar with me to call me “Ben”. That’s a familiarity that may be unwarranted. She wants me to “enjoy.” Okay, but how about some substance.
To put this report in perspective, it is free. To me this means that the report was written for Coveo (a SharePoint centric keyword search vendor) and Lexalytics (a unit of Infonic if this IDC item is accurate). IDC, in my view, was paid to write this report and then cooperated with Coveo and Lexalytics to pump out the document as useful information.
My interest is not in the content marketing and pay-for-fame methods of consulting firms and their clients. Nope. I am focused on the substance of the write up which I was able to download thanks to the link in the spam I received. Here’s the cover page.
For background, I have just finished CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access. Fresh in my mind are the findings from our original and objective research. That’s right. I funded the research and I did not seek compensation from any of the 21 companies profiled in the report. You can read about the monograph on my Xenky site.
What’s interesting to me is that the IDC “expert” generated marketing document misses the major shift that has taken place in information access.
Keyword search is based on looking at what happened. That’s the historical bias of looking for content that has been processed and indexed. One can sift through that index and look for words that suggest happiness or dissatisfaction. That’s the “sentiment” angle.
But these methods are retrospective.
As CyberOSINT points out the new approach that is gaining customers and the support of a number of companies like BAE and Google is forward looking.
One looks up information when one knows what one is seeking. But what does the real time flow of information mean for now and the next 24 hours or week. The difference is one that is now revolutionizing information access and putting old school vendors at a disadvantage.
Bing Books: Chasing a Market
January 9, 2015
Books. Interesting idea. Are books a growth market in the Amazon world?Bing is looking at books. Err, doesn’t Amazon/Goodreads do this? I read “Finding Great Books Just got Easier with Bing Best Sellers Search.” The article provides some suggested searches; for example, best business books. I am not sure how many of the thumb typing crowd are into books. Perhaps Bing can pull new readers with its new service? My hunch is that Bing is likely to generate more sales for Amazon. Publishers will find the Bing thing a step in the right direction.
Stephen E Arnold, January 9, 2015
Altegrity Grapples with Debt and Lawsuit in Wake of Snowden Leak
January 9, 2015
The article on Go Local Prov titled Providence Equity May Lose Hundreds of Millions as Altegrity Faces Seizure in Snowden Fallout reports on the ramifications of the Snowden case on Altegrity and its owner, Providence Equity. Charges are being brought against US Investigative Services, LLC (USIS), to which Altegrity is the parent company. The charges against USIS revolve around improper vetting of Snowden and other people who handled classified documents. The article explains,
“The Snowden case… may seem like a remote affair, involving a lone security analyst based in Hawaii who leaked National Security Agency files in Hong Kong, now lives in limbo in Moscow, and has President Obama and the Washington policy establishment grappling with the fallout. The Post’s Josh Kosman reported Wednesday of this week that since the refinancing, there was a cyber-attack on USIS, and “then Washington in September decided not to renew its roughly $300 million annual contract.”
This was not only a loss for the company, but the government as well. The article does not explain who is conducting the 21,000 a month background checks now that USIS has been fired. It does offer the final note that Altegrity’s massive debt of $70 million will be due mostly in January of 2015, and that the company most likely does not have that sort of cash on hand.
Chelsea Kerwin, January 09, 2014
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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