Data mining, data warehousing, decision support and knowledge discovery make up the universe of D S * ( dsstar ), the only executive business newsletter supporting strategic employment of these technologies.

The On-Line Executive Journal for Data-Intensive Decision Support
*** February 2, 1999: Vol. 3, No. 5 ***
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IN THIS ISSUE:

INTERPRETING DATA MINING RESULTS
BY ED COLET
INFORMIX UNVEILS ITS ROADMAP
A NEW PARADIGM FOR RETAIL SYSTEMS: SQL-RETAIL

ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

INTERPRETING DATA MINING RESULTS: THE INFLUENCE OF HEURISTICS
by Ed Colet

Ed Colet is the Acting Director of Research at Virtual Gold Inc., responsible for developing analytical methods for data mining and for investigating human factors and usability issues of business intelligence systems. At present, he is in the final stage of completing a doctoral dissertation in the Cognition and Perception program at New York University's Department of Psychology. Ed has also worked for IBM Research at the T.J. Watson Research Center. At IBM, Ed was a member of the group that developed Advanced Scout, the data mining application for NBA teams. His research interests focus on statistical methods and human factors.

Colet observes: "Data mining's promise is the ability to discover interesting patterns that are hidden in large amounts of data. Depending on the particulars of the underlying data mining algorithm, the basis of 'interestingness' is formally based on some aspects of probability theory. An interesting pattern is a pattern that occurs despite a statistically low probability. The data mining system will output such patterns. The next step is the interpretation of these patterns by a user. A user's judgment of how interesting a pattern really is, itself involves an implicit judgment of probability."

INFORMIX UNVEILS ROADMAP TO DELIVER NEXT WAVE OF THE INDUSTRY'S FASTEST, SMARTEST DATA ENGINES

Informix Corporation, a technology leader in enterprise database-powered solutions, has disclosed a two-year product roadmap for its flagship database servers -- the next significant step in its strategy to deliver solutions to the fastest growing segments of the database market. Central to the product roadmap are plans to launch new versions of Informix's database servers for customers seeking business advantage through high-end data warehousing, high-performance OLTP, and high-volume e-commerce.

MICROSTRATEGY HELPS LEXIS-NEXIS BETTER SERVE ITS CUSTOMERS

MicroStrategy Incorporated, a worldwide provider of mission-critical decision support systems, has announced that its customer, LEXIS-NEXIS, a leading provider of information services to more than 1.6 million subscribers worldwide, is using MicroStrategy's DSS Suite to improve customer service and support.

A NEW PARADIGM FOR RETAIL SYSTEMS; SQL-RETAIL INVITES RETAILERS TO THINK OUT OF THE BOX

SQL-Retail brings together the new Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 database, data warehouse technology from MicroStrategy, and client/server Microsoft Windows-based applications, all pre-installed on scalable Compaq servers running Windows NT. SQL-Retail provides full merchandising and supply chain management functionality for a total "out-of-the-box" solution.

VERSANT HELPS AIRLINE DELIVER CUSTOMER BENEFITS; BRITISH AIRWAYS SELECTS VERSANT FOR 21ST CENTURY CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

Versant Corporation, a provider of high performance enterprise database management systems, has announced that British Airways one of the world's leading airlines, has selected the Versant Object Database Management System (ODBMS) for its next generation Origin and Destination (O&D) Revenue Management System.

FEDEX TAPS INTO DATA WAREHOUSE: COMPANY USES SOFTWARE TO SPEED UP MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

When your business has nearly 5 million customers and shipping activity in 212 countries, it might seem impossible to know and understand those customers. But for Federal Express, a long-range vision and a carefully executed marketing data warehouse have shifted the company's focus from product to customer.

ORACLE GETS A SHOT OF JAVA
by Wylie Wong

Oracle continued its push to the Internet by announcing support for a new Java programming interface for developers and by releasing a Web-based tool that lets users query databases and create ad hoc reports.

WEB OPENS ENTERPRISE PORTALS
by Dana Gardner, Emily Fitzloff, & Rebecca Sykes

Unlocking the vast wealth of knowledge stored in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, Web sites, data warehouses, legacy mainframes, and client/server systems is at the top of the list for every major corporation today.

ACTION ITEMS

Informix I-Spy Delivers Monitoring And Optimization Solution For Informix Data Warehouses
I-Spy, a new component of the Informix Decision Frontier Solution Suite, is a smart data warehouse monitoring and optimization tool designed for Informix data engines. I-Spy helps administrators and architects increase the business value of enterprise data warehouses and data marts through enhanced utilization efficiency, design improvements and a lower cost of maintenance.

Business Intelligence/Data Warehousing Research Consortium Formed
Palo Alto Management Group (PAMG), publisher of the landmark Database Solutions study series, and leading market researcher World Research, Inc. of San Jose have reached an agreement to launch a consortium devoted to the research and study of trends and issues in the Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing markets.

Braun Consulting Partners with the Data Warehousing Institute; New Partnership Supports Firm`s Commitment to Business Intelligence
Braun Consulting, Chicago-based experts in data warehousing and information technology business solutions, announced that it has become a partner with The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI), a leading professional organization in the field of business intelligence. Braun Consulting's new alliance with TDWI marks a joint commitment to decision makers on the proper deployment of data warehousing strategies and technologies.

Informix Delivers a New Technology for Visual Business Intelligence; Informix Visionary Enables Dynamic Visual Access to Strategic Corporate Data
Visionary is a no-code, enabling technology that brings powerful visual information and exploration capabilities to Informix Dynamic Server with Universal Data Option. Informix Visionary provides a window, or portal, into all corporate data and is the ideal means of accessing a federated data environment.

Clementine Wins Best of 1998 Award; Data Warehousing Tools Bulletin Singles-Out Leading Data Mining Product
SPSS Inc.'s newly acquired Clementine product has been named Best Data Mining Product of 1998 by Data Warehousing Trends Bulletin. This award was announced in the January issue just after the December 1998 acquisition of Integral Solutions Ltd. and the Clementine product by SPSS.

Oracle Announces General Availability of Oracle Discoverer Viewer For the Web
Oracle Corp. has announced the general availability of Oracle Discoverer Viewer for the Web, a key component of Oracle's complete and integrated family of business intelligence products. Discoverer is Oracle's award- winning ad hoc query, reporting and analysis tool designed by end users for end users.

Frontier Cellular Chooses Lightbridge's Customer Intelligence Solutions to Proactively Retain Customers
Lightbridge, Inc., a provider of customer acquisition and retention solutions for the global telecommunications industry, has announced that Frontier Cellular, a division of Frontier Corporation and a provider of integrated wireless communications services to customers across Upstate New York, will use Lightbridge's Churn Prophet and Channel Wizard solutions to reduce customer churn and improve channel performance.

PrismTech Selects Adaptive Media's Envision3D to Offer Web-Based 3D Visualization of OpenBase; Real-Time Visualization of Complex Data, Warehouse-Driven
Adaptive Media, Inc., a provider of real-time, Web-based visualization software for the extended enterprise, has announced that PrismTech Limited, a provider of software products that facilitate application inter-operability and data warehousing, has selected Envision3D to provide real-time, Web-based visualization of OpenBase objects.

Informatica Upgrades Data Mart Tools
Informatica Corp. recently released the latest versions of its data mart deployment tools and its data integration hub, with new features designed to make both more appealing to large corporate enterprises.

Data Mart, Warehouse Integration Drive Ardent Software XML Strategy
While many companies are using the Extensible Markup Language (XML) to extend the reach of stand-alone products and to enable their integration with other companies' products, Ardent Software is taking the opposite tack. Fresh off the acquisition trail, Ardent is using XML as a means of unifying all of its own recently acquired technologies.

Cognos Enters Agreement to Acquire LEX2000; Extends Leadership in Business Intelligence to Financial Data Marts
Cognos, a leading strategic vendor of enterprise business intelligence solutions, has announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire LEX2000 Inc., a developer of financial data mart and reporting software, for approximately US$10 million in a combination of cash and stock.

SAS Crafts Knowledge Management Plan
The SAS Institute in early February will introduce extensions to its decision-support software for finer-grained knowledge management. Called the SAS Collaborative Business Intelligence Solution, the SAS knowledge management initiative is based on an "enablement layer" capable of culling and disseminating information from data warehouses across an enterprise.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"Once we got into this new marketing paradigm, marketing dollars weren't so much sunk costs as investments."

• Tom Wicinski, managing director of marketing analysis at FedEx's Memphis office

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