Microsoft’s Dallas Copies BusinessObjects Information OnDemand

Just over two years ago, BusinessObjects launched Information OnDemand, an online store allowing you to buy information from premium providers such as Dun & Bradstree, the US Census Bureau, NewsTin, etc. And now Microsoft have launched their “Dallas” project, a variation on the same theme: “Microsoft’s Information Services business, enabling developers and information workers to instantly find, purchase, and manage datasets to power... [Read More...]

Most Annoying Business Words of the Year — Animated

Jonathan Becher recently posted the results of research conducted by Accountemps (“WHAT’S THE BUZZ? Survey Reveals Most Overused Workplace Terms”) where 150 senior executives from the nation’s 1000 largest companies were asked: “What is the most annoying or overused phrase or buzzword in the workplace today?” Just for fun, here are the results in a flash animation below (click on the words to see them “swoop”... [Read More...]

Interview with DecisionStats.com

Ajay Ohri of DecisionStats.com has a selection of interviews with people in the BI/analytics space, including James Taylor and John Fox, the creator of R Commander. Here’s an interview he did with me last week covering trends in predictive analytics, cloud computing, social network analysis, etc. Ajay- Describe your career in science from school to Senior Director in SAP to blogger/speaker. How do you think we can convince students of the benefits... [Read More...]

One KPI Is Never Enough to Manage… A Country?

This article in the International Herald Tribune (slowly becoming the “global edition of the New York Times”) gives an overview of why gross domestic product (GDP) is an inadequate measure of a country’s success. There are some interesting parallels with corporate KPIs and the use of profit as an indicator of corporate success: “The panel, chaired by two Nobel economists, Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University and Amartya Sen of Harvard... [Read More...]