Inteltrax: Top Stories, August 8 to August 12, 2011
August 15, 2011
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured three key stories germane to search this week, specifically how the legal world is impacted by data analytics.
One of our most popular entries this week was “Legal Marketplace Filled with Analytic Options.” This was a quick look at all the data mining tools available to lawyers.
Another hot topic was our article, “Zettaset and Others Cashing in on Forensics.” Proving forensic science has been aided undoubtedly by predictive analytics in ways CSI could only dream of.
In addition, our story, “Facial Recognition a Boon for Facebook and a Threat for SSNs” detailed how legal tools, like facial recognition software, can backfire, causing a serious breach in security.
For the most part, we feel the legal world is aided in amazing ways by big data management systems. From the courtroom to the police station, people are utilizing these tools. But with any strong advance in technology, there is always a risk of misuse. We’ll be following these trends and others to watch this fascinating corner of the industry unfold.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax, August 15, 2011
Sponsored by Digital Reasoning, developers of the next-generation analytics platform, Synthesys.
IBM Pursues Analytics into the Cloud
July 26, 2011
IBM is now chasing analytics. Computerworld reports the details in “IBM rolls out cloud-based Web analytics tool.” The new application leverages two of IBM’s recent acquisitions. Coremetrics specializes in Web analytics software; and Unica’s products analyze customer data and predict business needs. Writer Patrick Thibodeau explains,
“Features from both those companies were merged to create a product that is intended to link analytics from a variety of platforms, including the Web and social media networks, and tie them to marketing efforts ranging from automated actions to sales opportunities.”
Named IBM Coremetrics Web Analytics and Digital Marketing Optimization Suite, the product will be distributed via the cloud. It will, naturally, be accessible through multiple platforms. It also allows for the inclusion of non-Web based data, like that from emails and display ads. Users will be charged based on the volume of interactions, not on the amount of storage they use.
The amount of activity within IBM with regard to metrics and analytics is astounding. The company offers different brands such as Cognos and SPSS. The firm has multiple initiatives. Our view is that analytics means big money for IBM. We are confident that IBM will generate revenue, but it is also creating a wake of confusion as its fleet of high speed boats speeds across the data ocean as it blasts past Web Fountain. Even search has morphed into content analytics. Quite a flotilla.
Cynthia Murrell, July 26, 2011
Sponsored by Pandia.com, publishers of The New Landscape of Enterprise Search.
Inteltrax: Top Stories, July 18 to July 22
July 25, 2011
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured three key stories germane to search this week, particularly abroad and at home.
One of our most widely read stories of the week “UK Public Sector Saves with Analytics” used England as a springboard to explore all the many companies and projects that are adjusting themselves to help the public sector save money with analytics.
Another topical tale, “India Shifting Toward Analytic Self Service,” discusses how, like IT services, India’s educated and inexpensive workforce is being bred to handle data analytics and business intelligence.
Also, the United States government was held under the analytic microscope with less-than-stellar results in “No Child Left Behind” was Bad for Analytics.” As the title suggest, the education bill actually used analytics in a way that skewed findings and likely set students back.
Analytics is spreading through the cultural lexicon from London, to Dehli, to DC. While some are helping the public with big data findings, others are missing on big opportunities. As analytics becomes a bigger and bigger staple of search, expect us to detail it from all points across the globe.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax.
Inteltrax is powered by Augmentext, an information dissemination service of ArnoldIT.com
Inteltrax: Top Stories, July 4 to July 8
July 11, 2011
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured three key stories germane to search this week, particularly the ups and downs of corporations dipping their feet into the business intelligence pool.
We kicked off the week looking at a decidedly negative aspect of this theme. In the feature story, “Ticketmaster and Ticketfly Woefully Behind Other Analytics,” http://inteltrax.com/2011/07/ticketmaster-ticketfly-woefully-behind-other-analytics/ we were shocked to discover how poorly ticketing giants are using the wealth of data they are sitting on top of.
Computing kingpin, Apple, also seems to be playing with analytic fire with its BI security. Our story, “Apple Fails to Protect its BI Passwords,” http://inteltrax.com/?p=1923 took a deep look at how Steve Jobs and company failed to protect sensitive BI info and showcased a clutch of companies that could do the job the right way.
However, some big companies are coming to rescue struggling industries. We highlighted this exciting phenomenon in “Google and Others Aim to Rescue Newspapers,” http://inteltrax.com/?p=1919 the story of how the search monster’s Google Analytics and smaller companies are tailoring analytic software to make newspapers more efficient.
These stories all look at analytics and business intelligence with a wide angle lens. We do this because our data is being transformed into power right before our eyes and the people making the biggest noises, unsurprisingly, are the biggest companies. That doesn’t mean they’re the only ones doing something worthwhile, though, and we’re going to cover this revolution from all angles, great and small.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting
www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax, July 11, 2011
Digital Reasoning Forges Ahead With New Select Partner Program
July 10, 2011
Digital Reasoning has solidified its reputation thanks to its data analytics solutions which help companies dig deep into their data and really get the most from their resources. According to the Red Javelin Communications press release “Digital Reasoning Introduces Select Partner Program for Big Data Analytics” Digital Reasoning recently announced the formation of a new Select Partner Program for technology partners. “The program has been created to support the growing ecosystem of leading technology vendors building the next generation of analytic solutions for Big Data.” Digital Reasoning hopes to integrate its Synthesys business intelligence platform in not only commercial enterprises but also the federal government’s intelligence sectors.
Data Analytics is a way of life for companies such a Cloudera, DataStax and Fetch Technologies and they make-up the initial member lineup for the Select Partner Program. Cloudera provides clients with the valuable Apache Hadoop based data management software, Cloudera Distribution which is a commercial distribution of Hadoop platform. Apache Hadoop is an open-source platform designed to efficiently analyze both structured and complex data. Many companies use Hadoop because of its ability to handle different data sets, the flexibility to add or remove servers and its capability to detect errors or problems and fix them simultaneously while continuing to process data. According to the Cloudera Web Site, Cloudera Distribution “integrates the most popular projects related to Hadoop into a single package, which is run through a suite of rigorous tests to ensure reliability during production.”
Digital Reasoning’s latest version of its popular intelligence platform Synthesys will be fully integrated with Cloudera’s Distribution, specifically Apache Hadoop (CDH3) and HBase. According to the Marketwire.com article “Cloudera and Digital Reasoning Partner to Provide Complex Data Analytics for Government Intelligence and Enterprise Markets” this new integration will allow “Digital Reasoning to achieve extreme scale capabilities and provide complex data analytics to government and commercial markets.”
DataStax provides another valuable open source program, called Apache Cassandra. DataStax is the commercial leader for this open-source platform which allows customers to build, deploy and operate high volume real time operations across various servers, databases, computers etc without interruption. Fetch Technologies brings another important piece to the puzzle with its real time technology-based solutions. The technology allows companies to not only access their data but also compile it while accessing real-time Web data. Clients can access valuable websites and get important information such as data analysis.
Though each company’s products have some similarities they each bring something different and valuable to the Data Analytics table. According to a statement from the CEO of Digital Reasoning Time Estes, “We strongly believe that working with the best-in-class partners is the ideal way to help customers solve their Big Data analytic challenges.” Digital Reasoning understands the power of team work and is extremely optimistic about the partnerships. Proof the company believes “there is power is numbers.”
A happy quack for the Digital Reasoning team.
April Holmes, July 11, 2011
You can read more about enterprise search and retrieval in The New Landscape of Enterprise Search, published by Pandia in Oslo, Norway, in June 2011.
Inteltrax: Top Stories, June 10 to June 16 2011
June 20, 2011
For readers of Beyond Search who have an interest in data fusion and analytics, the editor of Inteltrax.com, our Web log tracking this market, provided us with a run down of last week’s top stories.—Stephen E Arnold
Inteltrax, the data fusion and business intelligence information service, captured four key stories germane to search this week.
First, “Analytics for Cities” points out the many ways companies like IBM are strengthening search for city governments to run smoother using business intelligence and analytics.
Second, “Don’t Forget India When Pushing Analytic Chips Toward China” takes an in-depth look at the burgeoning Chinese analytic and search market. However, those betting heavily on China are doing a disservice overlooking India.
Third, “South Africa Ready to Join Analytics Boom” shows how some are declaring South Africa dead when it comes to using analytic search, however, a recent economic boom suggests otherwise.
Fourth, “The Rising Tide of Unstructured Data” http://inteltrax.com/2011/06/the-rising-tide-of-unstructured-data warns how unstructured data is a growing thread to the analytics and search communities alike.
Clearly, search professionals are being transformed by developments in predictive analytics, whether it is as far away as Africa or China, in their own city or even in their own business’ mounting pile of info. These are subjects that effect our global business world on almost every level and deserve our attention.
Follow the Inteltrax news stream by visiting www.inteltrax.com
Patrick Roland, Editor, Inteltrax June 20, 2011
Thanks to Digital Reasoning, a sponsor of Beyond Search
Recommind and Predictive Coding
June 15, 2011
The different winners of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont horse races cast some doubt on predictive analytics. But search and content processing is not a horse race. The results are going to be more reliable and accurate, or that is the assumption. One thing is 100 percent certain: A battle over the phrase “predictive coding” in the marketing of math that’s in quite a few textbooks is brewing.
First, you will want to read US 7,933,859, Systems and Methods for Predictive Coding.” You can get your copy via the outstanding online service at USPTO.gov. The patent was a zippy one, filed on May 25, 2010, and granted on April 26, 2011.
There were quite a few write ups about the patent. We noted “Recommind Patents Predictive Coding” from Recommind’s Web site. The company has a Web site focused on predictive coding with the tag line “Out predict. Out perform.” A quote from a lawyer at WilmerHale announces, “This is a game changer in eDiscovery.”
Why a game changer? The answer, according to the news release, is:
Recommind’s Predictive Coding™ technology and workflow have transformed the legal industry by accelerating the most expensive phase of eDiscovery, document review. Traditional eDiscovery software relies on linear review, a tedious, expensive and error-prone process . . . . Predictive Coding uses machine learning to categorize and prioritize any document set faster, more accurately and more defensibly than contract attorneys, no matter how much data is involved.
Some push back was evident in “Predictive Coding War Breaks Out in US eDiscovery Sector.” The point in this write up is that other vendors have been offering predictive functions in the legal market.
Our recollection is that a number of other outfits dabble in this technological farm yard as well. You can read the interview with Google-funded Recorded Future and Digital Reasoning in my Search Wizards Speak series. I have noted in my talks that there seems to be some similarity between Recommind’s systems and methods and Autonomy’s, a company that is arguably one of the progenitors of probabilistic methods in the commercial search sector. Predecessors to Autonomy’s Integrated Data Operating Layer exist all the way back to math-crazed church men in ye merrie old England before steam engines really caught on. So, new? Well, that’s a matter for lawyers I surmise.
With the legal dust up between i2 Ltd. and Palantir, two laborers on the margins of the predictive farm yard, legal fires can consume forests of money in a flash. You can learn more about data fusion and predictive analytics in my Inteltrax information service. Navigate to www.inteltrax.com.
Stephen E Arnold, June 15, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
EMC: Lots of Initiatives and Now an Appliance
June 1, 2011
EMC has been busy. The company has announced a wide range of initiatives. The flow of announcements has been overwhelming. We did notice “SAS Will Be Available On A Database Appliance From EMC,” SAS has announced that it will begin to offer SAS High Performance Analytics. The system will be available on an EMC database appliance.
The blog asserted:
This new offering from SAS on the EMC Greenplum Data Computing Appliance will provide an environment for customers to perform analytical exploration and development on all data to complement their regular analytic operations.
Clients will be able to form models that take into account their data from each department and showcase all the possible scenarios. Being able to see the whole picture definitely gives customers a more accurate picture to enable to them to make better decisions. In addition when compared to current technology, SAS High-performance Analytics blows the competition out the water and solves problems in seconds rather than hours. This appliance could be in the running for best in class.
However, with appliances proliferating in some organizations, management of yet another toaster is, in our experience, beginning to generate some pushback.
April Holmes, June 1, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
The Analytics Path: Search Sits at the Kerb
May 30, 2011
According to the Technology Review article “The Future of Analytics” IBM is working on the next generation of Analytics technology and has set out of develop technology that can handle the massive amounts of data. The team led by Chid Apte:
“is developing algorithms and other techniques that can extract meaning from data, and it is trying to find ways to use these methods to solve business challenges.”
In his interview with Tom Simonite, Apte indicated that the company was trying to take company data as well as social information data and work with clients to see how both sources can be used to handle business problems. The team even helped to develop the popular QA technology that was used on the Watson on Jeopardy and they hope to bridge this QA problem solving technology into their system.
Apte concluded by emphasizing the ever present need for a better way to handle large scale data. If IBM can pull it off they will have hit the jackpot.
IBM has a Tundra truck stuffed with business intelligence, statistics, and analytics tools. IBM has no product. IBM, in my view, has an opportunity to charge big bucks to assemble these components into a system that makes customers wheeze, “No one ever got fired for buying IBM.”
Well, it used to be true. And it is probably true for MIT grads. Today? Maybe. Tomorrow? Maybe not.
April Holmes, May 30, 2011
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, the resource for enterprise search information and current news about data fusion
JackBe Joins the Business Intelligence Is Easy Parade
May 13, 2011
In our sister publication Inteltrax, you can read about the machinations in the data fusion sector. We wanted to highlight this news story because it sheds some light on the attempt to make really complicated enterprise solutions look like child’s play. Child’s play, in our experience, is a good description for kids like Wolfie Mozart or the 11 year old Srinivasa Ramanujan. Other times child’s play is somewhat less sophisticated. I remember my finger-painting classics my mother taped to the fridge.
According to the eWeek.com article:
“JackBe Presto Enables Information With Ease” the JackBe Presto 3.1 development platform is not just your normal real-time intelligence product. According to the article unlike other business intelligence products Presto 3.1 allows users to build on their existing data structures and transformation tools, instead of replacing them.”
The article asserted that Presto can handle both internal and external data sources and also comes equipped with a number of tools to ensure that managers can easily utilize the data for their specific needs. I noted this passage:
Developers and power users can use these tools to quickly create applications that are easily reworked as needed to react to rapidly changing business conditions and requirements.
Presto’s App Store provides users with valuable applications which can be shared in addition to being deployed and giving users even more flexibility. In addition Presto can run on the cloud. Presto 3.1 may not fit in every organization but for most it would seem that the pros far outweigh the cons.
Is this business intelligence activity child’s play? For some licensees, sure. For others, the colors of my finger-painting masterpieces was often muddy and a bit of a mess. Make sure you have a Shirley Temple on your project, a young Shirley Temple, that is.
Alice Holmes, May 13, 2011
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