The Big Picture for Big Data
Several weeks ago, Information Management had the opportunity to sit down for a wide-ranging discussion with Dr. Rob Walker, vice president of decision management at Pegasystems, the Cambridge, MA-based provider of BPM and CRM solutions. Walker, who holds a PhD in computer science and began his career pioneering predictive analytics at Capgemini in the 1980s, shared his perspectives on the growth of big data and the challenges faced by companies as they struggle to derive real business value from the multitude of data management technologies that ‘big data’ represents.
How application performance metrics keep healthcare software healthy
The application performance metrics you measure for a healthcare application should be focused on improving the customer end-user experience and positively affecting the quality of patient care. Metrics that measure how software applications perform is critical to improving patient care, satisfying regulatory requirements and allowing medical professionals to do a critical job without undue interference.
Top 10 Methods to Improve ETL Performance Using SSIS
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is the tool in the ETL family that is useful for developing and managing an enterprise data warehouse. A data warehouse by its own characterization works on a huge volume of data and performance is a big challenge when managing a huge volume of data for any Architect or DBA. The author in this article discusses on improving ETL performance or design a high performing ETL system with the help of SSIS.
Next step for connected devices? Connect the devices
The thinking is that the big opportunity will be for platforms, or hubs, like SmartThings, vying to tie together the so-called Internet of Things (a press friendly name for the connected device category), said IDC analyst Jonathan Gaw. With consumers actually starting to pay attention to connected products, the need will come for an easy way to manage all of them, despite their different manufacturers and ecosystems, Gaw said. To be clear, connected devices still have a long way to go before they become a mainstay, or even more than an occasional fixture, in American homes.
The first 3D printed organ -- a liver -- is expected in 2014
Advances in the 3D printing of human tissue have moved fast enough that San Diego-based bio-printing company Organovo now expects to unveil the world's first printed organ -- a human liver -- next year. Like other forms of 3D printing, bio-printing lays down layer after layer of material -- in this case, live cells -- to form a solid physical entity -- in this case, human tissue. The major stumbling block in creating tissue continues to be manufacturing the vascular system needed to provide it with life-sustaining oxygen and nutrients.
Penny Pritzker, on Hearing the Whole Story
"And when we get close to saying we want to hire someone, I will talk to them about what could get them fired. If you want to get fired, here’s what you need to do: first, lie, cheat or steal. But the other thing that will get you fired is if you have a problem and you keep it to yourself. Problems are going to happen, and it’s my job to help you with your problem. What I’ve learned is that the most troublesome people don’t tell you 100 percent of the story, and keep some facts to themselves."
2013: The Year Of Security Certification Bashing
The idea that a certification means that a person was capable of passing the test at one time is a sad statement, as it indicates stagnation in one of the least stagnant of professions. No one who worked with packet filtering firewalls has stayed in that era. The progress of the industry simply will not allow it. Most certifications require either upgrade tests or continuing professional education credits to keep the certification in good standing. This is the same method in use by other professions, such as attorneys, doctors, and accounts.
NCSU study says Android vulnerabilities are mostly from manufacturers
Researchers analyzed the customized apps that manufacturers build on top of the baseline version of Android shipped from Google. The apps provide unique features and a look and feel that's meant to make the smartphone stand out in the market. Eighty percent of the apps that come with devices are created by the manufacturers, not Google. "It is worrisome to notice that vendor customizations were, on the whole, responsible for the bulk of the security problems suffered by each device," the study said.
Data Profiling and Data Governance: How Good is This Data?
When dealing with large volumes of data coming in from a variety of sources, in different formats, and delivered by different methods a data profiling automation solution becomes a necessity to efficiently analyze data. Data profiling functionality can often be found as part of a larger data quality technology suite. Profiling tools can quickly process and analyze large data sets and automatically produce a baseline profile, thus replacing the need to run manual queries.
Building a Real-time, Personalized Recommendation System with Kiji
A typical Kiji application will include some number of KijiScoring servers, which are stateless Java processes that can be scaled out, and that are able to run a ScoringFunction using a single entity’s data as input. A Kiji application will funnel client requests through the KijiScoring server, which determines whether or not data is fresh. If necessary, it will run a ScoringFunction to refresh any recommendations before they are passed back to the client, and write the recomputed data back to HBase for later use.
Quote for the day:
"One of the most important tasks of a manager is to eliminate his people's excuses for failure." -- Robert Townsend
Several weeks ago, Information Management had the opportunity to sit down for a wide-ranging discussion with Dr. Rob Walker, vice president of decision management at Pegasystems, the Cambridge, MA-based provider of BPM and CRM solutions. Walker, who holds a PhD in computer science and began his career pioneering predictive analytics at Capgemini in the 1980s, shared his perspectives on the growth of big data and the challenges faced by companies as they struggle to derive real business value from the multitude of data management technologies that ‘big data’ represents.
The application performance metrics you measure for a healthcare application should be focused on improving the customer end-user experience and positively affecting the quality of patient care. Metrics that measure how software applications perform is critical to improving patient care, satisfying regulatory requirements and allowing medical professionals to do a critical job without undue interference.
Top 10 Methods to Improve ETL Performance Using SSIS
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) is the tool in the ETL family that is useful for developing and managing an enterprise data warehouse. A data warehouse by its own characterization works on a huge volume of data and performance is a big challenge when managing a huge volume of data for any Architect or DBA. The author in this article discusses on improving ETL performance or design a high performing ETL system with the help of SSIS.
Next step for connected devices? Connect the devices
The thinking is that the big opportunity will be for platforms, or hubs, like SmartThings, vying to tie together the so-called Internet of Things (a press friendly name for the connected device category), said IDC analyst Jonathan Gaw. With consumers actually starting to pay attention to connected products, the need will come for an easy way to manage all of them, despite their different manufacturers and ecosystems, Gaw said. To be clear, connected devices still have a long way to go before they become a mainstay, or even more than an occasional fixture, in American homes.
The first 3D printed organ -- a liver -- is expected in 2014
Advances in the 3D printing of human tissue have moved fast enough that San Diego-based bio-printing company Organovo now expects to unveil the world's first printed organ -- a human liver -- next year. Like other forms of 3D printing, bio-printing lays down layer after layer of material -- in this case, live cells -- to form a solid physical entity -- in this case, human tissue. The major stumbling block in creating tissue continues to be manufacturing the vascular system needed to provide it with life-sustaining oxygen and nutrients.
Penny Pritzker, on Hearing the Whole Story
"And when we get close to saying we want to hire someone, I will talk to them about what could get them fired. If you want to get fired, here’s what you need to do: first, lie, cheat or steal. But the other thing that will get you fired is if you have a problem and you keep it to yourself. Problems are going to happen, and it’s my job to help you with your problem. What I’ve learned is that the most troublesome people don’t tell you 100 percent of the story, and keep some facts to themselves."
2013: The Year Of Security Certification Bashing
The idea that a certification means that a person was capable of passing the test at one time is a sad statement, as it indicates stagnation in one of the least stagnant of professions. No one who worked with packet filtering firewalls has stayed in that era. The progress of the industry simply will not allow it. Most certifications require either upgrade tests or continuing professional education credits to keep the certification in good standing. This is the same method in use by other professions, such as attorneys, doctors, and accounts.
NCSU study says Android vulnerabilities are mostly from manufacturers
Researchers analyzed the customized apps that manufacturers build on top of the baseline version of Android shipped from Google. The apps provide unique features and a look and feel that's meant to make the smartphone stand out in the market. Eighty percent of the apps that come with devices are created by the manufacturers, not Google. "It is worrisome to notice that vendor customizations were, on the whole, responsible for the bulk of the security problems suffered by each device," the study said.
Data Profiling and Data Governance: How Good is This Data?
When dealing with large volumes of data coming in from a variety of sources, in different formats, and delivered by different methods a data profiling automation solution becomes a necessity to efficiently analyze data. Data profiling functionality can often be found as part of a larger data quality technology suite. Profiling tools can quickly process and analyze large data sets and automatically produce a baseline profile, thus replacing the need to run manual queries.
Building a Real-time, Personalized Recommendation System with Kiji
A typical Kiji application will include some number of KijiScoring servers, which are stateless Java processes that can be scaled out, and that are able to run a ScoringFunction using a single entity’s data as input. A Kiji application will funnel client requests through the KijiScoring server, which determines whether or not data is fresh. If necessary, it will run a ScoringFunction to refresh any recommendations before they are passed back to the client, and write the recomputed data back to HBase for later use.
Quote for the day:
"One of the most important tasks of a manager is to eliminate his people's excuses for failure." -- Robert Townsend
