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 9, 1999: Vol. 3, No. 6 ***
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Article retrieval instructions are at the end of this file.
For subscription information, email dssub@tgc.com
-------------------- * --------------------

IN THIS ISSUE:

LEARNING CURVES & RETURNS ON INVESTMENT
BY ED COLET
DATA WAREHOUSE VS PATTERN WAREHOUSE: PART I
BY KAMRAN PARSAYE
SPSS ANNOUNCES AGGRESSIVE CLEMENTINE DEVELOPMENT PLANS

ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY

LEARNING CURVES AND RETURNS ON INVESTMENT
by Ed Colet, Virtual Gold, Inc

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 is a new and emerging technology that has been applied to a wide variety of domains. An important issue is to understand the effect that the introduction of new data mining technology can have on an organization. As providers and users of new technology we all hope that ultimately benefits accrue and we reap a healthy return on investment (ROI). Generally speaking, the benefits over time of the introduction of new technology most likely will follow a characteristic curve. Specifically speaking, understanding the nature of this curve has implications for how and when to evaluate ROI."

THE DATA WAREHOUSE VS THE PATTERN WAREHOUSE: PART I
by Kamran Parsaye, Information Discovery, Inc

Kamran Parsaye, PhD, is CEO of Information Discovery, Inc. He is one of the original developers of the concept of "data mining", having developed commercial programs for this purpose in the mid 1980's. He originated the concept of an "intelligent database", and is the author of "Intelligent Database Tools & Applications" published by John Wiley. Dr. Parsaye has a wide range of experience in the software industry, both as a research scientist and as a high-technology business leader, having provided guidance and direction to top level management of leading industrial and financial organizations, as well as key government entities such as the US AirForce. He received his BS and MS degrees in Mathematics from King's College, London, and his PhD in Computer Science from the University of California, Los Angeles. His books on databases are used in universities world-wide.

Dr. Parsaye writes: "The concept of a data warehouse was championed in the 1980’s as a repository for corporate data elements. The idea was to create a central storage facility where everyone in the corporation could go and get "data" on demand, whenever they needed it. And the central repository would help increase corporate data quality and consistency because everyone obtained data from a single source. This idea has now achieved worldwide acceptance, and almost every Fortune 500 company has several datawarehouse projects."

SPSS ANNOUNCES AGGRESSIVE CLEMENTINE DEVELOPMENT PLANS; NEW OWNERS TO ADD SCALABILITY, DEPLOYMENT AND STATISTICS

SPSS has announced development plans that are expected to keep Clementine, the flagship data mining product of recently acquired Integral Solutions Ltd, at the forefront of the data mining market.

ALTERIAN TECHNOLOGY SELECTED TO UNDERPIN EXPERIAN CONTACT STRATEGY MANAGEMENT SOLUTION

Alterian Limited, an innovative provider of data analysis and data mining products, has announced that its database technology has been selected to underpin a new contact strategy management solution developed by Experian.

SAS EXPERIMENT DESIGN INTERFACE BRINGS POWERFUL, INTUITIVE ANALYSIS TO ENGINEERS AND RESEARCHERS

SAS Institute Inc., a market leader in statistical data analysis and integrated data warehousing and decision support, has announced the production release of a desktop (PC and workstation) 'point-and-click' interface for engineers and researchers who design and analyze standard experimental designs.

INTERNATIONAL DATA CORP NAMES HYPERION SOLUTIONS THE ANALYTIC APPLICATIONS REVENUE LEADER

A recent report released by International Data Corp. (IDC) cites Hyperion Solutions Corp. as the clear leader in analytic applications, with nearly 18 percent market share.

HNC FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS ANNOUNCES PROFITVISION FOR LARGE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

HNC Financial Solutions has unveiled a new version of ProfitVision that leverages an Oracle-based client-server architecture, UNIX-based high-speed WAN access, and MicroStrategy's powerful decision-support technology to enhance the performance of the enterprise-wide profitability analysis system for large financial institutions.

DISTRIBUTION COMPANY FINDS NUCLEUS MARTS ESSENTIAL DURING CORPORATE ERP IMPLEMENTATION; SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES BURDEN ON IT RESOURCES

A large distribution company has utilized Sand Technology Systems International's Nucleus Prototype Mart and Nucleus Exploration Mart to quickly build and deploy departmental data marts for sales and marketing.

ACTION ITEMS

Data Warehousing Drives SAS Institute Sales Worldwide
SAS Institute Inc., a leader in integrated data warehousing and decision support, has announced strategic sales to prominent organizations worldwide. Data warehousing and data mining were key technologies driving these sales to companies in manufacturing, telecommunications, banking and finance, and insurance, as well as to local-government organizations.

Informatica Offers Free, In-Depth Case Study of Award-Winning Data Warehouse Project, Provides Model for Simplifying Complex Data Warehouse Implementations
Informatica Corporation, provider of one of the leading software platforms for powering enterprise business intelligence and analytic applications, has made "The Simple Solution to Complex Data Warehousing" available on its Website.

Concert Communications Services Chooses Actuate for Comprehensive, Worldwide Web Reporting Solution
Actuate Software Corp., a leader in Enterprise Reporting, has announced that Concert Communications Services, a leading provider of global telecommunication services, has integrated the Actuate Reporting System as part of its worldwide dynamic data warehouse and reporting system, called CRISP (Concert Reporting Infrastructure, System and Processes).

Sagent Technology Offers Educational Data Mart Design Clinics; Sagent Professional Services' Experts Share Real-World Experience At Free Events
Sagent Technology, Inc., provider of a leading turnkey solution for bringing data marts to the Web, announced that it will conduct a free, six-city educational Data Mart Design Clinic. These half-day events, designed by Sagent Professional Services' data mart experts, are purely educational and offer a practical approach to identifying, understanding and solving the most pressing problems in data warehousing, based on the fundamental principle that design is key to successful implementation of a data warehouse.

Data Marts Get Translator
As part of an initiative to break down the language barriers that complicate international business operations, Uniscape this month will deliver the first of a series of multilingual data analysis tools that will allow business managers to analyze data, regardless of its original language.

Cognos and EJBell Team to Bring World Class Business Intelligence Solutions to The Mid-Atlantic
EJBell Systems, Inc. announced its selection as a Cognos Business Intelligence Partner. Under the agreement, EJBell is certified as a developer of business intelligence solutions and reseller of Cognos data access and reporting tools.

Gensym Announces New Neural Network Product for Process Industry Applications
Gensym Corporation, a leading provider of software and services for intelligent operations management, has announced the availability of a new neural-network product, NeurOn-Line Studio (NOL Studio). Designed for process intensive industries such as petroleum refining or pharmaceutical manufacturing, NOL Studio leverages Gensym's expertise in neural network technology to facilitate process analysis, modeling, and optimization.

DataStage Powers Business Intelligence for MatchLogic`s Internet Marketing Services
Ardent Software, Inc. a leading global data management software company, has announced that MatchLogic, an integrated digital marketing services innovator and independent subsidiary of Excite, Inc., is using Ardent's DataStage, the industry's leading extraction, transformation and loading (ETL) tool as a key component of its Internet advertising solutions. DataStage enables MatchLogic to provide its clients with data warehousing for effective branding, customer acquisition, and customer retention over the Internet.

HP, Along With Oracle, Redefines High-end Data-Warehouse Landscape with Record-setting Price/Performance and Query Processing Power
Hewlett-Packard Company has announced world-record power, throughput and price/performance results for the 300GB TPC-D benchmark with its latest-generation HP 9000 high-end server and the industry-leading Oracle database.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

"The successful management of customer relationships is essential to survival in today's financial services market, and accurate profitability information is the key."

• Michael S. Chiappetta, executive director, Profitability Products, HNC Financial Solutions

CONFERENCES & SEMINARS 02.9.99

D S * INFORMATION

• Subscriptions & Removal information
• D S * STAFF
• INDEX OF D S * BACK ISSUES

All comments regarding editorial content should be sent to: dseditor@tgc.com