Data & AI

Embrace and leverage data science for innovative solutions. This presentation is designed to bring together business and data science members to achieve maximum outcomes.

https://youtu.be/Th-BXcfNO88

Data and analytics are drivers for success in every industry – that’s a fact. And the amount of data consumers create and businesses consume is exploding at rates unfathomable just a decade ago. So how do you keep up? Better yet, how do you harness the power of your data to get ahead and stay ahead of your competition. Three legends in the data and analytics space share innovative ways analytics is shaping the next set of industry disruptors. Don’t miss the conversation in the Innovation Sandbox.

Meet the experts!

By Michael L. Gonzales, PhD
Director of Research for Advanced Analytics, Prolifics
Written in collaboration with and for Eckerson Group.

Many believe that we’ve entered a new era of technical progress that forces companies on a path of continuous innovations. Cognitive computing is considered not only part of this new era, but potentially the core technical driver due to its ability to improve human decision-making through automation and augmentation. This paper will define cognitive computing, describe why cognitive computing is an IT-enabling competitive advantage for companies, and outline the necessary steps that IT must take if they hope to leverage the technology.

A Disruptive Climate

In the early 80’s Microsoft announced to the world that computing power was moving from mainframes to desktops and companies that want to be industry leaders must make that move.¹ Apple seems to be willing to continue a long running success of introducing disruptive innovations even at the expense of their own products. The iPhone cannibalized iPod sales and the iPad is eating away at iMac.² Google has been buying up companies in seemingly diverse industries: from smart thermostat to robotics to artificial intelligent companies. The objective is to corner the market on skilled resources in order to create the next generation of human-computer interaction.³

These are examples of disruptive strategies that companies execute with the goal to reshape or otherwise transform entire industries and the market places in which they compete. As companies redefine the market on their terms, they essentially throw the entire space into a period of disruption. Many analysts concede that technical progress is the catalyst for more innovations, which perpetuates disruption and a fierce competitive business climate.

So what do disruptive strategies have to do with Cognitive Computing? Futurists⁴, vendors, and leading companies believe that cognitive technology is a disruptive force in an information-intense age. Put simply: Cognitive Computing enables companies to identify and implement innovative, potentially game- changing products and services.

About the Author

Michael L. Gonzales, Ph.D., is an active practitioner in the IT space with over 30 years of industry experience serving in roles of chief architect and senior solutions strategist. He specializes in the formulation of business analytics for competitive advantage in global organizations. Recent engagements include companies in the top global 100.

Dr. Gonzales holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas with a concentration in Information and Decision Science. He has presented and published his research at leading IT international conferences, including: Decision Sciences Institute, Americans Conference on Information Systems, and Hawaii International Conference on Systems Science. His research streams include analytics against extremely large data and success factors for IT-enabled competitive advantage.

Dr. Gonzales is a successful author, industry speaker and is currently the Director of Research for Advanced Analytics for a leading IT consulting firm, Prolifics, Inc.

About Eckerson Group

Eckerson Group is a research and consulting firm that helps business and analytics leaders use data and technology to drive better insights and actions. The firm helps companies develop strategies and roadmaps that maximize their investment in data and analytics. Its consultants and researchers each have more than 20 years of experience in the field and are uniquely qualified to help business and technical leaders succeed with business intelligence and analytics, big data management, data governance, performance management, and the internet of things.

¹ Hagel, John et al, Shaping Strategy in a World of Constant Disruption, HBR, October, 2008.
² Fox, Justin, Apple Versus the Strategy Professors, HBR, January, 2013.
³ Rowinski, Dan, Google’s Game of Moneyball In the Age of Artificial Intelligence, January, 2014.
⁴ Mayes, Randall, The Future, The Futurist, November-December, 2014.

This conversation is about IT, OT and IoT! Did you know there are billions of physical objects around the world connected to the internet – collecting data, communicating with each other? That opens a world of opportunities for businesses. Combine that with advanced analytics and the possibilities feel endless. But is IoT practical for you and your business? Our group of leaders in IoT and innovation from Wachter, ARROW and Prolifics explore IoT across industries and platforms. Don’t miss this engaging conversation – It’s all things IoT, including a connected mop!

Get to know our experts.

Data Science is true Geek Out material – what’s not to like about pulling meaningful, actionable insights out of your data that can benefit your business in a big way. That is, when it’s done correctly! With a severe shortage of qualified data science professionals in today’s market, knowing what you can about this hot topic is good for you and your organization. So, if you’re a data scientist, want to be one, or want to hire one, this Geek Out is for you. Prolifics Chief Data Scientist Michael Gonzales, PhD and Prolifics Account Executive Jennifer Johnson team up to talk about data science techniques and walk you through a real data science example – looking for that hidden treasure buried in data.

Take advantage of a unique opportunity to participate in a one-hour whiteboard session with Dr. Gonzalez – Free. Email us now at solutions @prolifics.com.

Innovation is not just a word – it’s a necessity to surviving and achieving in the new normal. How are others How can you? Don’t miss the conversation!

Entity Resolution (ER) is an important tool used to address data issues, from the most serious – stopping international fraud – to the most basic – finding duplicate names in your customer list. Now, advancements in artificial intelligence and automation for ER make it more useful and valuable than ever.

What is Entity Resolution

Entity resolution is the analysis of multiple “entities,” which includes people, places, events and objects/assets, to determine how those items are – or are not – linked. The power of ER is to look at non-obvious connections within a data set and make those connections obvious. Jeff Jonas, CEO of Senzing, an artificial intelligence (AI) company focused on ER, puts it in simpler terms: “ER determines who is who and who is related to who in data.”

As a simple example from Senzing, here are different entity profiles housed in a company.

In this scenario, there could be anywhere from one to five separate entities. Entity resolution is important because it tries to create a single version of the “truth” for any given entity that the business deals with. Senzing Entity Resolution software uses “entity-centric learning,” a form of artificial intelligence, to make new judgments – and change previous resolutions – in real time, based on new information coming in or leaving.

Three major uses for ER

Fraud – Bad guys are continually trying to get away with things, and they’re becoming more and more sophisticated with multiple false or misleading identities and the type of transactions they try to carry out. Most larger companies have fraud alerts, but what they don’t have is the time or manpower to analyze every alert, let alone find otherwise non-obvious connections with other data. ER software can be programmed for automatic entity resolution based on the number and types of attributes linked. The ER system then runs mock scenarios to see how outcomes would change under the resolution – helping to indicate if and where the fraud exists.

Data governance – Companies want clean, understandable data for a host of analytical purposes. For many types or organizations, the largest amount of data relates to customers. Customer data is often duplicated across and within many systems: transaction history, credit card info, loyalty programs and so on. ER gives companies a big step toward clean data and greater insight when it comes to “know your customer” (KYC). This makes for much more efficient and successful sales and marketing campaigns as well as generating a better overall customer experience. ER has the added benefit of saving money on data storage costs by eliminating multiple duplicate records.

CCPA/GDPR – California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and laws like them give individuals a level of control over how companies use their collected data. This includes what’s generally referred to as the “right to be forgotten” – having a company delete the requestor’s information as mandated by the applicable law. Hefty fines can be imposed for non-compliance. ER takes the request form and compares it against the company’s databases to connect related information into one record, which can then be deleted, all while providing an audit trail.

Other uses include ensuring regulatory compliance, applicant and vendor screening, and modernizing record and registration systems.

How Prolifics can help

Prolifics has joined forces with Senzing to further Jeff Jonas’ goal of making high quality ER available to mainstream companies. Senzing offers a plug-and-play, real-time AI for ER desktop app and a more advanced API version for developers. Senzing’s ER is a type of middleware. Prolifics can provide the data solutions and services to prepare your data for ER, and the services and solutions to get the desired operational outcomes implemented after entity resolution. You don’t need a million-dollar-plus budget, expensive ER experts, or a large number of IT resources to deploy Senzing ER. Connect with Prolifics at solutions@prolifics.com.

For more information, watch Jeff Jonas’ visit to the Innovation Sandbox. And don’t miss his story about running a marathon with his mom!

Data Fabric and Data Lineage are two terms we see a lot – on websites, in blogs and technical papers – but what’s the relevance? What do we really need to understand about our data and its power?

Manta and Talend send their data experts to visit the Innovation Sandbox. Ernie Ostic (M) and Rolf Heimes (T) answer questions about data and explore its significance in today’s new normal – all delivered with a dose of their personal style and passion for the topic.

Watch now.

National Geographic named him the Wizard of Big Data. He works on innovation, national security and privacy with government leaders, think tanks and executives all over the world. And now, Jeff Jonas is talking with you from inside the Innovation Sandbox!