DSstar Nov 16, 1999: Vol. 3, No. 46

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Nov 16, 1999 / Vol. 3, No. 46

The On-Line Executive Journal for Data-Intensive Decision Support

IN THIS ISSUE:

HOW TO MEASURE ASSOCIATIONS WITH CORRELATION RATIOS
META DATA COALITION DRIVES NEW INITIATIVES
WHO OWNS CUSTOMER DATA?

Executive Editor-at-Large Inderpal Bhandari presents a guest editorial by Virtual Gold's Acting Director of Research:

A prevalent issue in a data mining analysis is computing a measure of association between attributes or variables. The way the underlying algorithms compute this measure can vary widely from one application to another...In this column, I briefly describe the basic approach to computing a Pearson value, and point out that there are some caveats to be aware of - especially in the types of data typically analyzed with data mining software.

At this year's Comdex trade show in Las Vegas a title fight is expected between database software heavyweights. Oracle 8i and Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 -- both long-awaited products -- are slated for release, and the two products take radically different approaches to managing data.

Research indicates that a majority of UK organizations are getting real business benefits from data warehousing but that a large minority still have no plans to implement one.

In July 1999, the membership of the Meta Data Coalition ratified the MDC-OIM 1.0, which provides the basic meta-model for representing databases and the interrelationships between them. The new initiatives will extend the model into several key areas such as business models and information portals.

One of the most closely followed customer behavior measurements is so-called "click data." Web site publishers, advertising agencies and companies who buy those ads have relied heavily on that data to build their businesses, and until now they have been generous about sharing it freely with each other. Now one of the Internet's biggest advertisers is raising the question of whether that data belongs to anyone but the advertisers, and the resulting debate could shape the future of the advertiser-publisher relationship.

The Data Mining Group (DMG), a consortium of technology organizations, has announced that IBM has joined the DMG in its endeavors to extend the Predictive Modeling Markup Language (PMML), the XML-based open standard for defining predictive models.

Alta Technology Announces Rackmount Linux Cluster Modules
The rackable cluster combines scalable performance and management capabilities to form multi-processor systems. Implementing standard PCI technology and the Linux operating system, R-Cluster technology provides supercomputer performance at a lower cost of ownership.

Ardent Software And Hyperion Team Up
Ardent's DataStage MetaBroker for Hyperion Essbase will enhance and extend the breadth of analytic applications built on Hyperion Essbase in areas such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management(CRM), and e-business.

DataSage Founder, CEO Dave Blundin Named Top Innovator
Blundin joins an elite group of entrepreneurs and thought leaders under the age of 40 cited for their potential to make significant technological innovations in the 21st century.

Oracle To Acquire Carleton Corporation
Oracle Corporation and Carleton Corporation announced that the two companies have signed a definitive merger agreement for Oracle to acquire Carleton, producer of data quality and mainframe data extraction software for customer-focused data warehousing applications.

OLAP@Work and DMR Consulting Group Team for OLAP Solutions
DMR will use OLAP@Work products to further enhance its focus on Microsoft-based business intelligence and data warehousing including applications targeted at customer care, customer intelligence, target marketing and relationship management.

Oracle Releases New Express Server 6.3
A component of Oracle's data warehousing and business intelligence strategies, Express Server 6.3 delivers a new forecasting technology and analysis capabilities for applications designed to increase market penetration and product profitability.

Firstlogic Partners with Informatica
The i.d.Centric customer data quality solution offers users address verification, name parsing and genderization, and matching technology through a link built into Informatica's PowerCenter and PowerMart data-integration platform.

The Open Group Approves A New Management Application Standard
The Open Group, a vendor and technology-neutral consortium dedicated to enterprise integration, is approving a new management application standard: the Application Instrumentation and Control (AIC) Standard. The standard, submitted by J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated and Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) purports to help IT managers focus on managing IT resources to meet business objectives.

Sybase And Saratoga Financial Systems Partner
Under this agreement, Saratoga Financial Systems will offer customers the ability to perform in-depth examination of their customer and product data.

NCR And Syncra Systems To Provide Web-Based CPFR Solutions
NCR Corporation and Syncra Systems, Inc. announced plans for an alliance to provide Internet-based business-to- business solutions for Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) between retailers and manufacturers.

"(T)hose companies who use a data warehouse seem to be receiving the business benefits they were looking for."

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Nov 16, 1999 / Vol. 3, No. 46

* VERY IMPORTANT *