Last Friday, SAS introduced the Visual Analytics solution. Last fall, I saw the demo of this tool and I have to say it’s really cool! It’s part of their High Performance Analytics (HPA) product family. I’m curious to see it in my own environment and start showing you guys some of it’s cool features. For now … check out this great video about the tool. Some cool things about it … This tool allows users to visually explore data based on any variety of measures – on the Web or an iPad. This tool quickly handles large volumes of data Some of the more notable features are the auto-charting and geographical analysis. Data Preparation Wizards Enables users to join data, create custom calculations and load massive amounts of data into the SAS® LASR™ Analytic Server. You can use Hadoop with it. Auto-chartingTool selects the best chart based on the user selected data. Plus – shown in figure above – the tool scales the image to help the user see smaller chunks. For instance, the above data has the years 1980 thru 2011 – but it’s too much to display at once. the chart is showing 1989 to 20111. Smart! […]
Tag: data
Social Network Analysis – SAS on the CrimeWatch
Check out my post on AllAnalytis.Com about how SAS is using analytics to fight fraudsters. Looks out crooks! Plus there was an e-chat yesterday with Angela and Dennis Toomey. [Hint: Read from the bottom.] Lots of cool information about the techno…
SAS Global Forum 2012: Will I See You There?
Check out the results of my SAS Enterprise Guide code – 41 days til SAS Global Forum 2012 in Orlando, Florida! I’m excited – I can’t wait to meet some of my Web friends face-to-face finally! Oh and also catch up with some of my old buddies! Why Should I Attend SAS Global Forum? Here’s the reasons I like to attend: Like Minded PeopleWorking in smaller organizations, I was sometimes was one of a handful of data geeks running loose in the halls. It’s great to meet 3,000+ others who actually know what “code or let SAS EG do it?” means. The SAS users are one of the things that make this a great product to use. There are several meetups planned (think it use to be called Birds of a Feather) – I want to check out the joint SAS-L, SASCommunity, and SAS Discussion meetup. Plus after you arrive there are others – for instance, new SAS users, SAS BI users, etc. Oh and the .. Kick Back Party … you know you want to show off all your groovy dance moves! Don’t worry I’ll have my camera! Exchange of IdeasEach time I attend – I come away with […]
SAS Enterprise Guide: Cut and Paste Excel Data into SAS Dataset
Yes, you can import a spreadsheet into SAS Enterprise Guide and it’s super simple. However, there are times when I have been building datasets from several pieces of data. Come into my lab … now that I’m a data scientist! Careful, don’t knock over any of my beakers or touch my experiments – you might cause an explosion. Create the Framework To build your new dataset just decide how you want it to look – how many columns, what they will hold, and so on. Here’s how you do it in SAS Enterprise Guide: Go to the File > New > Data. A New Data window appears. In the Name field, type the name of your new dataset and then select the library you want it in. This needs to be a local library unless you have permissions to create a dataset in the metadata library. [A completely different subject … ] The next window allows you to create the columns. You can edit Column Properties to change the name, label, format, informat, and length. You can add and delete columns. Obviously – you can be your own little wizard and conjure up the dataset of your dreams! Now for Some Excel Tricks […]
Reporting 101: Lessons Learned
Wow – it’s a very exciting time to have an analytics career! You may have read the Preparing Yourself for Analytics Job Tsunami post at BeyeNetwork last week, which basically said we are headed for a shortage of analytics or data-minded people. Oh … music to my little analytic-trained, big-data-lovin’ ears! The article was pointing to the McKinsey & Company thoughts from last May about the arrival of big data and what it would mean. I liked this particular point: “There will be a shortage of talent necessary for organizations to take advantage of big data. By 2018, the United States alone could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical skills as well as 1.5 million managers and analysts with the know-how to use the analysis of big data to make effective decisions.“ -McKinsey Global Institute May 2011 Analysts with the Know-How to use the Analysis My favorite moment with customers is when I show them their data as a chart or graph and they say something like ”This is what I’ve been trying to say!” or “No wonder this situation is happening.” Suddenly, the issue they have been having with employee productivity, another department, or […]
SAS Add-In to MS Office: Refreshing the Data & Breaking the Link
If you use SAS Add-In to Microsoft Office – specifically Excel, then you already know how awesome it is to link to the SAS data on the server. First, if you are using data that needs to be refreshed – just a click of the button brings you the new rows and your report or charts are updated immediately. Awesome! Let the analysis begin … Refreshing Your MS Office Report with SAS Data Using the SAS Add-In to MS Excel (or Word or PowerPoint), you can build charts from the SAS data sets. You may have a report that you create each month based on an Oracle table that is extracted into SAS. On the first day of each month the data is made available, which is great because you report is due the next day and your manager gets upset when it’s not on his desk. [He’s a fan of your work – what can you say?] Let’s make your job a little easier so you can get back to answering your fan mail. Using the SAS Data button from the SAS ribbon, you can peruse the SAS Server to find the desired data. With the found data, you […]
Peek Inside SAS BI Book: Building Business Intelligence with SAS
You may be aware by now, our new SAS BI book Building Business Intelligence with SAS:Content Development Examples launched last week on the SAS Press site. That’s right, SAS Press or Amazon will be delighted to bring a copy of this SAS BI book to your door. When Angela and I set out to write this book, one of the first things we discussed was how new users get access to the SAS BI toolset and have no idea of its astonishing capabilities. This book guides you through each one so you understand it. Intermediate and advanced users will also find this book as a valuable reference. Several times, Angela & I have both found ourselves pulling out the draft copy to reference an advanced technique. This book fulfills a unique spot in the marketplace; there is no other single book that leads you through each SAS BI component with step-by-step examples along with hundreds of tips and techniques to make you successful! SAS Institute offers over nine SAS BI courses to cover all the topics we have jammed packed into this book. Making this an excellent study guide for those planning to take the SAS BI Content Development Exam. Your SAS […]
Business Intelligence and Data Management Resources
Last week I was interviewed in an e-chat with Shawn Hessinger, AllAnalytics.Com, about deploying BI tools to help build your business. It was a great interview and lots of amazing discussion with some really smart people. He summarized the discussion in this article: 6 Steps to a Successful BI Deployment. [If you visit the site please leave a comment about how smart the discussion sounded ] AllAnalytics has a lot of great information about managing data, using business intelligence and just general analytics topics. It’s a data geek’s paradise – and you know who you are! Also – in my BlogRoll (right corner, near the bottom) I note a lot of other awesome blogs and sites with yummy information for you.