Software Defined Data Center Analytics

Software Defined Data Center Analytics will play a critical role in keeping your SDDC up and running with acceptable performance. Multiple real time data feeds used across a variety of management solutions represent the only viable method to keeping up with the rate of change in the SDDC.

Software Defined Data Center Analytics|The Virtualization Practice


The Virtualization Practice

Getting the most out of business analytics

One of the most prevalent uses of Hadoop architecture by enterprises is to create business intelligence and analytics tools that can be leveraged to identify areas that could be improved to foster greater efficiency and productivity. According to a study jointly conducted by Gartner and the Financial Executives Research Foundation, business intelligence and analytics were top areas of focus among surveyed CFOs. Overall, 15 of the top 19 processes that were identified as needing improvement by the study's participants could be addressed through the use of these resources. In addition, 59 percent of the survey's respondents cited the ability to facilitate operational decision making processes as an area that required more technological advancement. Furthermore, half of all participants stated that the capacity to effectively monitor business performance was an investment need as well.

The report indicated that enterprises could improve their business analytics deployment by facilitating communication between data scientists and the C-suite executives who make operational decisions. Specifically, executives should be aware of how these tools work and how to best utilize them to maximize their effectiveness.

An IT executive recently presented several steps companies can take to avoid common analytics pitfalls and optimize their business intelligence initiatives, including:

  • Enterprises should broaden the focus of a business analytics program to the entire enterprise to find new connections and relationships. This includes expanding data collection efforts and taking a holistic view of analytics projects.
  • Companies should look inward to find their data analytics leader. Many executives may be tempted to find a high profile hire who will jump-start operations, but an existing employee will already be familiar enough with the company's needs and culture to foster a successful data-driven culture.

Enterprises can attain significant benefits from their Hadoop analytics and business intelligence programs. However, getting the most out of these processes requires a broad vision, internal communication and a strong business culture dedicated to the pursuit of data analytics.

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The importance of data accuracy for Hadoop banking analytics

Business analytics solutions, such as those built upon Hadoop architecture, can be a major resource for members of the financial industry. With these tools at their disposal, banks leadership could gain major insights into their operations and market places as well as improving their efforts to effectively engage potential clients.

However, these organizations need access to accurate customer data to gain the full benefits of business analytics solutions. According to a recent Experian QAS survey, many financial institutions have struggled to ensure the accuracy of the data they gather, Credit Union Journal reported. Ninety-one percent of the organizations that participated in the survey suspected that the information they collected was inaccurate in some fashion. While respondents reported that as much as 18 percent of their data could not be ensured for accuracy on average, 27 percent of the total number of participating enterprises could not say how much of their information was compromised.

There are several steps that financial institutions can take to increase the accuracy of their data:

  • Establish regular database maintenance tasks to manage files
  • Integrate automated verification tools to ensure that client and prospect data is up to date
  • Create a full data workflow to prioritize high-volume entry points

Information services expert Thomas Schutz noted in Bank Systems & Technology that banks and other financial institutions could improve the accuracy of their collected information by condensing the number of databases they maintained. This will prevent duplicate entries from being entered into multiple systems. One of the problems with operating multiple databases is that updated information may not be spread to each system, leaving some with inaccurate consumer data. In addition, Schutz recommended that banks place more emphasis on training personnel to enter and access data in a streamlined and uniform process. This will eliminate entry errors and inconsistencies, maintaining the accuracy of gathered data across the enterprise and ensuring that it maximizes the effectiveness of their Hadoop initiatives.

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Actuate BIRT Analytics – Introduction

Actuate Launches BIRT Analytics Offering Fast, Free-form Visual Data Mining and Predictive Analytics for Business Users – http://bit.ly/V4zwZE BIRT Analytics…

Actuate Launches BIRT Analytics Offering Fast, Free-form Visual Data Mining and Predictive Analytics for Business Users – http://bit.ly/V4zwZE BIRT Analytics…

Advanced Analytics: Making Decisions at the Speed of Business

Retailers today are faced with addressing the new behaviors of an evolving customer base by leveraging the changing landscape and its new dynamics.  Retail consumers online are sharing, friend validating, researching, learning and developing a point of view ─ offline they are touching, brand comparing and brand associating.  Retailers now more than ever before have to think in terms of “integrated commerce” and leverage Big Data for big results in the marketplace.

Forward-thinking organizations are discovering the possibilities of unconstrained analytics and quickly realizing the potential of accelerating the spread of analytics across the company ─ ultimately driving the speed of acquiring new customers, responding to consumer and market change, and increasing their “share of wallet”. Retail analysts want to spend more time in the analytic discovery process, and less time acquiring and preparing data, so they can uncover new market opportunities and reduce risks. Their goal is to create a sustain­able competitive advantage that lets retailers predict con­sumer shopping patterns, increase market basket size by small percentages and better target new customers  – quickly translating into millions or billions of dollars.

paraccelHortonworks partner ParAccel has an Analytic Platform with parallel, bi-directional integration between ParAccel and Hortonworks Data Platform enabling cooperative analytic processing, leveraging the data and analytic functions of both sys­tems. The ParAccel Analytic Platform is built to run deep “in-database” analytics on massive amounts of data across systems ─ extending Hortonworks Data Platform for big data analytics. Joint customers find the integrated platforms provide a powerful, cost-effective solution for big data management and advanced analytics.

The architecture creates an open environment where analysts can bring in data from data warehouses and leverage data in Hortonworks Data Platform before or in the middle of a query. ParAccel also recently added support for HCatalog, making this integration speedy and efficient. It’s a great solution for offloading analytics from traditional platforms or bringing in internet, sensor data or normalized (structured) social media data. These out of the box modules give analytic-driven retailers access to the full range of data needed to make the right marketing, merchandising, and store operations decisions every time at the speed of business.

Learn more – join Hortonworks in the upcoming ParAccel webinar “Advanced Analytics on Hadoop Data” May 21st at 10 am PT.

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