Data Science and Big Data Analytics. Discovering, Analyzing, Visualizing and Presenting Data

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.

Unique insights to implement big data analytics and reap big returns to your bottom line Focusing on the business and financial value of big data analytics, respected technology journalist Frank J. Ohlhorst shares his insights on the newly emerging field of big data analytics in Big Data Analytics. This breakthrough book demonstrates the importance of analytics, defines the processes, highlights the tangible and intangible values and discusses how you can turn a business liability into actionable material that can be used to redefine markets, improve profits and identify new business opportunities. Reveals big data analytics as the next wave for businesses looking for competitive advantage Takes an in-depth look at the financial value of big data analytics Offers tools and best practices for working with big data Once the domain of large on-line retailers such as eBay and Amazon, big data is now accessible by businesses of all sizes and across industries. From how to mine the data your company collects, to the data that is available on the outside, Big Data Analytics shows how you can leverage big data into a key component in your business's growth strategy.

The guide to targeting and leveraging business opportunities using big data & analytics By leveraging big data & analytics, businesses create the potential to better understand, manage, and strategically exploiting the complex dynamics of customer behavior. Analytics in a Big Data World reveals how to tap into the powerful tool of data analytics to create a strategic advantage and identify new business opportunities. Designed to be an accessible resource, this essential book does not include exhaustive coverage of all analytical techniques, instead focusing on analytics techniques that really provide added value in business environments. The book draws on author Bart Baesens' expertise on the topics of big data, analytics and its applications in e.g. credit risk, marketing, and fraud to provide a clear roadmap for organizations that want to use data analytics to their advantage, but need a good starting point. Baesens has conducted extensive research on big data, analytics, customer relationship management, web analytics, fraud detection, and credit risk management, and uses this experience to bring clarity to a complex topic. Includes numerous case studies on risk management, fraud detection, customer relationship management, and web analytics Offers the results of research and the author's personal experience in banking, retail, and government Contains an overview of the visionary ideas and current developments on the strategic use of analytics for business Covers the topic of data analytics in easy-to-understand terms without an undo emphasis on mathematics and the minutiae of statistical analysis For organizations looking to enhance their capabilities via data analytics, this resource is the go-to reference for leveraging data to enhance business capabilities.

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.

Use big data analytics to efficiently drive oil and gas exploration and production Harness Oil and Gas Big Data with Analytics provides a complete view of big data and analytics techniques as they are applied to the oil and gas industry. Including a compendium of specific case studies, the book underscores the acute need for optimization in the oil and gas exploration and production stages and shows how data analytics can provide such optimization. This spans exploration, development, production and rejuvenation of oil and gas assets. The book serves as a guide for fully leveraging data, statistical, and quantitative analysis, exploratory and predictive modeling, and fact-based management to drive decision making in oil and gas operations. This comprehensive resource delves into the three major issues that face the oil and gas industry during the exploration and production stages: Data management, including storing massive quantities of data in a manner conducive to analysis and effectively retrieving, backing up, and purging data Quantification of uncertainty, including a look at the statistical and data analytics methods for making predictions and determining the certainty of those predictions Risk assessment, including predictive analysis of the likelihood that known risks are realized and how to properly deal with unknown risks Covering the major issues facing the oil and gas industry in the exploration and production stages, Harness Big Data with Analytics reveals how to model big data to realize efficiencies and business benefits.

Key decisions determine the success of big data strategy Dynamic Customer Strategy: Big Profits from Big Data is a comprehensive guide to exploiting big data for both business-to-consumer and business-to-business marketing. This complete guide provides a process for rigorous decision making in navigating the data-driven industry shift, informing marketing practice, and aiding businesses in early adoption. Using data from a five-year study to illustrate important concepts and scenarios along the way, the author speaks directly to marketing and operations professionals who may not necessarily be big data savvy. With expert insight and clear analysis, the book helps eliminate paralysis-by-analysis and optimize decision making for marketing performance. Nearly seventy-five percent of marketers plan to adopt a big data analytics solution within two years, but many are likely to fail. Despite intensive planning, generous spending, and the best intentions, these initiatives will not succeed without a manager at the helm who is capable of handling the nuances of big data projects. This requires a new way of marketing, and a new approach to data. It means applying new models and metrics to brand new consumer behaviors. Dynamic Customer Strategy clarifies the situation, and highlights the key decisions that have the greatest impact on a company's big data plan. Topics include: Applying the elements of Dynamic Customer Strategy Acquiring, mining, and analyzing data Metrics and models for big data utilization Shifting perspective from model to customer Big data is a tremendous opportunity for marketers and may just be the only factor that will allow marketers to keep pace with the changing consumer and thus keep brands relevant at a time of unprecedented choice. But like any tool, it must be wielded with skill and precision. Dynamic Customer Strategy: Big Profits from Big Data helps marketers shape a strategy that works.

A fresh take on financial data visualization for greater accuracy and understanding Your data provides a snapshot of the state of your business and is key to the success of your conversations, decisions, and communications. But all of that communication is lost – or incorrectly interpreted – without proper data visualizations that provide context and accurate representation of the numbers. In Visualizing Financial Data, authors Julie Rodriguez and Piotr Kaczmarek draw upon their understanding of information design and visual communication to show you how to turn your raw data into meaningful information. Coverage includes current conventions paired with innovative visualizations that cater to the unique requirements across financial domains, including investment management, financial accounting, regulatory reporting, sales, and marketing communications. Presented as a series of case studies, this highly visual guide presents problems and solutions in the context of real-world scenarios. With over 250 visualizations, you’ll have access to relevant examples that serve as a starting point to your implementations. • Expand the boundaries of data visualization conventions and learn new approaches to traditional charts and graphs • Optimize data communications that cater to you and your audience • Provide clarity to maximize understanding • Solve data presentation problems using efficient visualization techniques • Use the provided companion website to follow along with examples The companion website gives you the illustration files and the source data sets, and points you to the types of resources you need to get started.

Tap into the power of data science with this comprehensive resource for non-technical professionals Data Science: The Executive Summary – A Technical Book for Non-Technical Professionals  is a comprehensive resource for people in non-engineer roles who want to fully understand data science and analytics concepts. Accomplished data scientist and author Field Cady describes both the “business side” of data science, including what problems it solves and how it fits into an organization, and the technical side, including analytical techniques and key technologies.  Data Science: The Executive Summary covers topics like:  Assessing whether your organization needs data scientists, and what to look for when hiring them When Big Data is the best approach to use for a project, and when it actually ties analysts’ hands Cutting edge Artificial Intelligence, as well as classical approaches that work better for many problems How many techniques rely on dubious mathematical idealizations, and when you can work around them Perfect for executives who make critical decisions based on data science and analytics, as well as mangers who hire and assess the work of data scientists, Data Science: The Executive Summary also belongs on the bookshelves of salespeople and marketers who need to explain what a data analytics product does. Finally, data scientists themselves will improve their technical work with insights into the goals and constraints of the business situation.

Turn unstructured data into valuable business insight Unstructured Data Analytics provides an accessible, non-technical introduction to the analysis of unstructured data. Written by global experts in the analytics space, this book presents unstructured data analysis (UDA) concepts in a practical way, highlighting the broad scope of applications across industries, companies, and business functions. The discussion covers key aspects of UDA implementation, beginning with an explanation of the data and the information it provides, then moving into a holistic framework for implementation. Case studies show how real-world companies are leveraging UDA in security and customer management, and provide clear examples of both traditional business applications and newer, more innovative practices. Roughly 80 percent of today's data is unstructured in the form of emails, chats, social media, audio, and video. These data assets contain a wealth of valuable information that can be used to great advantage, but accessing that data in a meaningful way remains a challenge for many companies. This book provides the baseline knowledge and the practical understanding companies need to put this data to work. Supported by research with several industry leaders and packed with frontline stories from leading organizations such as Google, Amazon, Spotify, LinkedIn, Pfizer Manulife, AXA, Monster Worldwide, Under Armour, the Houston Rockets, DELL, IBM, and SAS Institute, this book provide a framework for building and implementing a successful UDA center of excellence. You will learn: How to increase Customer Acquisition and Customer Retention with UDA The Power of UDA for Fraud Detection and Prevention The Power of UDA in Human Capital Management & Human Resource The Power of UDA in Health Care and Medical Research The Power of UDA in National Security The Power of UDA in Legal Services The Power of UDA for product development The Power of UDA in Sports The future of UDA From small businesses to large multinational organizations, unstructured data provides the opportunity to gain consumer information straight from the source. Data is only as valuable as it is useful, and a robust, effective UDA strategy is the first step toward gaining the full advantage. Unstructured Data Analytics lays this space open for examination, and provides a solid framework for beginning meaningful analysis.

Integrate big data into business to drive competitive advantage and sustainable success Big Data MBA brings insight and expertise to leveraging big data in business so you can harness the power of analytics and gain a true business advantage. Based on a practical framework with supporting methodology and hands-on exercises, this book helps identify where and how big data can help you transform your business. You'll learn how to exploit new sources of customer, product, and operational data, coupled with advanced analytics and data science, to optimize key processes, uncover monetization opportunities, and create new sources of competitive differentiation. The discussion includes guidelines for operationalizing analytics, optimal organizational structure, and using analytic insights throughout your organization's user experience to customers and front-end employees alike. You'll learn to “think like a data scientist” as you build upon the decisions your business is trying to make, the hypotheses you need to test, and the predictions you need to produce. Business stakeholders no longer need to relinquish control of data and analytics to IT. In fact, they must champion the organization's data collection and analysis efforts. This book is a primer on the business approach to analytics, providing the practical understanding you need to convert data into opportunity. Understand where and how to leverage big data Integrate analytics into everyday operations Structure your organization to drive analytic insights Optimize processes, uncover opportunities, and stand out from the rest Help business stakeholders to “think like a data scientist” Understand appropriate business application of different analytic techniques If you want data to transform your business, you need to know how to put it to use. Big Data MBA shows you how to implement big data and analytics to make better decisions.