Big Data, Data Mining, and Machine Learning. Value Creation for Business Leaders and Practitioners

Upgrade your programming language to more effectively handle high-frequency data Machine Learning and Big Data with KDB+/Q offers quants, programmers and algorithmic traders a practical entry into the powerful but non-intuitive kdb+ database and q programming language. Ideally designed to handle the speed and volume of high-frequency financial data at sell- and buy-side institutions, these tools have become the de facto standard; this book provides the foundational knowledge practitioners need to work effectively with this rapidly-evolving approach to analytical trading. The discussion follows the natural progression of working strategy development to allow hands-on learning in a familiar sphere, illustrating the contrast of efficiency and capability between the q language and other programming approaches. Rather than an all-encompassing “bible”-type reference, this book is designed with a focus on real-world practicality ­to help you quickly get up to speed and become productive with the language. Understand why kdb+/q is the ideal solution for high-frequency data Delve into “meat” of q programming to solve practical economic problems Perform everyday operations including basic regressions, cointegration, volatility estimation, modelling and more Learn advanced techniques from market impact and microstructure analyses to machine learning techniques including neural networks The kdb+ database and its underlying programming language q offer unprecedented speed and capability. As trading algorithms and financial models grow ever more complex against the markets they seek to predict, they encompass an ever-larger swath of data ­– more variables, more metrics, more responsiveness and altogether more “moving parts. ” Traditional programming languages are increasingly failing to accommodate the growing speed and volume of data, and lack the necessary flexibility that cutting-edge financial modelling demands. Machine Learning and Big Data with KDB+/Q opens up the technology and flattens the learning curve to help you quickly adopt a more effective set of tools.

Delve into your data for the key to success Data mining is quickly becoming integral to creating value and business momentum. The ability to detect unseen patterns hidden in the numbers exhaustively generated by day-to-day operations allows savvy decision-makers to exploit every tool at their disposal in the pursuit of better business. By creating models and testing whether patterns hold up, it is possible to discover new intelligence that could change your business's entire paradigm for a more successful outcome. Data Mining for Dummies shows you why it doesn't take a data scientist to gain this advantage, and empowers average business people to start shaping a process relevant to their business's needs. In this book, you'll learn the hows and whys of mining to the depths of your data, and how to make the case for heavier investment into data mining capabilities. The book explains the details of the knowledge discovery process including: Model creation, validity testing, and interpretation Effective communication of findings Available tools, both paid and open-source Data selection, transformation, and evaluation Data Mining for Dummies takes you step-by-step through a real-world data-mining project using open-source tools that allow you to get immediate hands-on experience working with large amounts of data. You'll gain the confidence you need to start making data mining practices a routine part of your successful business. If you're serious about doing everything you can to push your company to the top, Data Mining for Dummies is your ticket to effective data mining.

Harness the power of social media to predict customer behavior and improve sales Social media is the biggest source of Big Data. Because of this, 90% of Fortune 500 companies are investing in Big Data initiatives that will help them predict consumer behavior to produce better sales results. Written by Dr. Gabor Szabo, a Senior Data Scientist at Twitter, and Dr. Oscar Boykin, a Software Engineer at Twitter, Social Media Data Mining and Analytics shows analysts how to use sophisticated techniques to mine social media data, obtaining the information they need to generate amazing results for their businesses. Social Media Data Mining and Analytics isn't just another book on the business case for social media. Rather, this book provides hands-on examples for applying state-of-the-art tools and technologies to mine social media – examples include Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Wikipedia, Reddit, Flickr, Web hyperlinks, and other rich data sources. In it, you will learn: The four key characteristics of online services-users, social networks, actions, and content The full data discovery lifecycle-data extraction, storage, analysis, and visualization How to work with code and extract data to create solutions How to use Big Data to make accurate customer predictions Szabo and Boykin wrote this book to provide businesses with the competitive advantage they need to harness the rich data that is available from social media platforms.

Data Science and Big Data Analytics is about harnessing the power of data for new insights. The book covers the breadth of activities and methods and tools that Data Scientists use. The content focuses on concepts, principles and practical applications that are applicable to any industry and technology environment, and the learning is supported and explained with examples that you can replicate using open-source software. This book will help you: Become a contributor on a data science team Deploy a structured lifecycle approach to data analytics problems Apply appropriate analytic techniques and tools to analyzing big data Learn how to tell a compelling story with data to drive business action Prepare for EMC Proven Professional Data Science Certification Corresponding data sets are available at www.wiley.com/go/9781118876138. Get started discovering, analyzing, visualizing, and presenting data in a meaningful way today!

Leverage big data to add value to your business Social media analytics, web-tracking, and other technologies help companies acquire and handle massive amounts of data to better understand their customers, products, competition, and markets. Armed with the insights from big data, companies can improve customer experience and products, add value, and increase return on investment. The tricky part for busy IT professionals and executives is how to get this done, and that's where this practical book comes in. Big Data: Understanding How Data Powers Big Business is a complete how-to guide to leveraging big data to drive business value. Full of practical techniques, real-world examples, and hands-on exercises, this book explores the technologies involved, as well as how to find areas of the organization that can take full advantage of big data. Shows how to decompose current business strategies in order to link big data initiatives to the organization’s value creation processes Explores different value creation processes and models Explains issues surrounding operationalizing big data, including organizational structures, education challenges, and new big data-related roles Provides methodology worksheets and exercises so readers can apply techniques Includes real-world examples from a variety of organizations leveraging big data Big Data: Understanding How Data Powers Big Business is written by one of Big Data's preeminent experts, William Schmarzo. Don't miss his invaluable insights and advice.

Packed with more than forty percent new and updated material, this edition shows business managers, marketing analysts, and data mining specialists how to harness fundamental data mining methods and techniques to solve common types of business problems Each chapter covers a new data mining technique, and then shows readers how to apply the technique for improved marketing, sales, and customer support The authors build on their reputation for concise, clear, and practical explanations of complex concepts, making this book the perfect introduction to data mining More advanced chapters cover such topics as how to prepare data for analysis and how to create the necessary infrastructure for data mining Covers core data mining techniques, including decision trees, neural networks, collaborative filtering, association rules, link analysis, clustering, and survival analysis

The leading introductory book on data mining, fully updated and revised! When Berry and Linoff wrote the first edition of Data Mining Techniques in the late 1990s, data mining was just starting to move out of the lab and into the office and has since grown to become an indispensable tool of modern business. This new edition—more than 50% new and revised— is a significant update from the previous one, and shows you how to harness the newest data mining methods and techniques to solve common business problems. The duo of unparalleled authors share invaluable advice for improving response rates to direct marketing campaigns, identifying new customer segments, and estimating credit risk. In addition, they cover more advanced topics such as preparing data for analysis and creating the necessary infrastructure for data mining at your company. Features significant updates since the previous edition and updates you on best practices for using data mining methods and techniques for solving common business problems Covers a new data mining technique in every chapter along with clear, concise explanations on how to apply each technique immediately Touches on core data mining techniques, including decision trees, neural networks, collaborative filtering, association rules, link analysis, survival analysis, and more Provides best practices for performing data mining using simple tools such as Excel Data Mining Techniques, Third Edition covers a new data mining technique with each successive chapter and then demonstrates how you can apply that technique for improved marketing, sales, and customer support to get immediate results.

A comprehensive guide to learning technologies that unlock the value in big data Cognitive Computing provides detailed guidance toward building a new class of systems that learn from experience and derive insights to unlock the value of big data. This book helps technologists understand cognitive computing's underlying technologies, from knowledge representation techniques and natural language processing algorithms to dynamic learning approaches based on accumulated evidence, rather than reprogramming. Detailed case examples from the financial, healthcare, and manufacturing walk readers step-by-step through the design and testing of cognitive systems, and expert perspectives from organizations such as Cleveland Clinic, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, as well as commercial vendors that are creating solutions. These organizations provide insight into the real-world implementation of cognitive computing systems. The IBM Watson cognitive computing platform is described in a detailed chapter because of its significance in helping to define this emerging market. In addition, the book includes implementations of emerging projects from Qualcomm, Hitachi, Google and Amazon. Today's cognitive computing solutions build on established concepts from artificial intelligence, natural language processing, ontologies, and leverage advances in big data management and analytics. They foreshadow an intelligent infrastructure that enables a new generation of customer and context-aware smart applications in all industries. Cognitive Computing is a comprehensive guide to the subject, providing both the theoretical and practical guidance technologists need. Discover how cognitive computing evolved from promise to reality Learn the elements that make up a cognitive computing system Understand the groundbreaking hardware and software technologies behind cognitive computing Learn to evaluate your own application portfolio to find the best candidates for pilot projects Leverage cognitive computing capabilities to transform the organization Cognitive systems are rightly being hailed as the new era of computing. Learn how these technologies enable emerging firms to compete with entrenched giants, and forward-thinking established firms to disrupt their industries. Professionals who currently work with big data and analytics will see how cognitive computing builds on their foundation, and creates new opportunities. Cognitive Computing provides complete guidance to this new level of human-machine interaction.

The era of Big Data as arrived, and most organizations are woefully unprepared. Slowly, many are discovering that stalwarts like Excel spreadsheets, KPIs, standard reports, and even traditional business intelligence tools aren't sufficient. These old standbys can't begin to handle today's increasing streams, volumes, and types of data. Amidst all of the chaos, though, a new type of organization is emerging. In The Visual Organization, award-winning author and technology expert Phil Simon looks at how an increasingly number of organizations are embracing new dataviz tools and, more important, a new mind-set based upon data discovery and exploration. Simon adroitly shows how Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Twitter, and other tech heavyweights use powerful data visualization tools to garner fascinating insights into their businesses. But make no mistake: these companies are hardly alone. Organizations of all types, industries, sizes are representing their data in new and amazing ways. As a result, they are asking better questions and making better business decisions. Rife with real-world examples and case studies, The Visual Organization is a full-color tour-de-force.

Data Mining Algorithms is a practical, technically-oriented guide to data mining algorithms that covers the most important algorithms for building classification, regression, and clustering models, as well as techniques used for attribute selection and transformation, model quality evaluation, and creating model ensembles. The author presents many of the important topics and methodologies widely used in data mining, whilst demonstrating the internal operation and usage of data mining algorithms using examples in R.