“Predictive analytics is going to change how
decisions are made on the enterprise-level,
across all disciplines, in the years ahead,”
says Timothy D’Auria, Analytics Practice Manager
at Creative Computing. Since the late 1950’s
when the term, “Business Intelligence” (BI)
was first coined, the concept of BI has generally
related to technologies used to organize and
present data. While various analytical procedures
have been assimilated into the concept over
the past decades, the current practice tends
to lack statistical rigor that is fundamental
to sound business decision-making.
As demonstrated by Dr. Cleary during the half-day
seminar, gaining strong statistical insight
need not be an insurmountable task. Rather,
even statistical principals learned during introductory-level
statistics classes can be applied in real world
contexts to help uncover new answers to old
challenges. “As an example, s Law, which shows
how some number sequences, such as mailing addresses,
follow pre-defined patterns, can be applied
in accounting, politics, epidemiology, and other
areas to help detect fraud,” says Dr. Cleary.
Similarly, the Student T-test, also taught during
introductory statistics classes and originally
published by William Gossett in the early 1900’s
as a method to ensure consistent brew quality
for the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, Ireland,
is another example of a technique that has broad
business applications. Using the Student T-test,
retailers can help detect when suppliers are
short-changing on orders, manufacturers can
control quality and consistency of goods, pharmaceutical
companies can determine if they are adhering
to acceptable standards, and health organizations
can determine if an outbreak of infectious disease
may be occurring in an identified geography,
just to name a few.
While simple methods, when applied correctly,
can yield new understanding, some of the most
dramatic insights may be obtained by leveraging
a class of techniques known as data mining methods.
Data mining is generally defined as methods
designed to comb through large quantities of
data to detect patterns and trends. By applying
advanced methods such as decision trees, memory-based
reasoning, neural networks, and other techniques
with the help of new enterprise-level toolsets,
organizations have the ability to achieve insight
never before possible. Such pattern recognition
capabilities can be applied to help companies
forecast, classify, and/or optimize supply,
demand, marketing, and other business behaviors.
As explained at Friday’s event, out of all the
toolsets currently available to business, SAS
appears best positioned to help organizations
realize the potential of advanced analytical
methods. Currently, SAS is the only software
vendor to have ranked in the “Gartner Magic
Quadrant” for Analytics, Business Intelligence,
Campaign Management, Data Quality, and Data
Mining, a distinction indicative of the software’s
comprehensiveness and superiority in the marketplace.
With its recent acquisition of DataFlux, SAS
now ranks in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for
Data Integration as well.
Some additional examples of where SAS analytical
technologies have been applied to solve business
challenges include:
•
Victoria's Secret uses SAS
analytics to target market, enabling them to
achieve up to 400% ROI.
•
Amazon.com and
1-800-FLOWERS
use SAS Analytics to improve customer retention
and experience.
•
Vertex Pharmaceuticals saves
millions by using SAS analytics to conduct powerful
clinical trial simulations on a computer instead
of a human.
•
Brigham and Women's Hospital
uses SAS Analytics to improve patient care and
lower operational costs.
•
State Auto Insurance uses
SAS Analytics to improve efficiency.
•
Staples uses SAS Analytics
to forecast sales, target market, and predict
optimal locations for new stores.
Creative Computing, Inc, is a focused Performance
Management firm with 17 years of experience
designing and building business intelligence
and predictive analytics solutions using SAS
and Cognos technologies. Our dedicated SAS practice
specializes in life sciences and marketing.
Creative Computing’s aim is to help businesses
become more agile competitors using predictive
analytics.
###
Contact:
Creative Computing
Ken Gustin
Ken.Gustin@mycci.com
Office: (401)-727-2400
Mobile: (401)-965-5355
Fax: (401)-727-4998
Locations:
Creative Computing, Inc.
100 Middle Street
Lincoln, RI 02865
