Category: Actian

Feed: Actian. Author: Rae Coffman-Bueb. Promoting better mental and physical health for all employees, year-roundAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), global prevalence of anxiety and depression increased by 25% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our leadership team has navigated the pandemic with kindness and understanding, offering staff the time off they need to rest and rejuvenate, while also putting programs in place to empower employees to focus on their mental and physical health. That’s why in May, we introduced Actian in Action as part of our broader Mental Health Awareness Month initiative. As an organization that, ... Read More

Feed: Actian. Author: Traci Curran. Embarking on a big data project can be daunting. If you believe that you need insight into your business activity, that you have to collect a large “big data” stash, and that you need to analyze it all to generate worthwhile insight, you will likely feel swamped by the task ahead to get any meaningful value from this project.Big data, especially open data, has huge potential. Many businesses hold the same data – that is, data gathered from open-data sites – and combine it with their own data to find something unique. Being able to ... Read More

Feed: Actian. Author: Traci Curran. You can’t measure what you can’t see. If you consider this in terms of data, you also can’t analyze, curate, or leverage data blind spots to help create actionable insight.For many business technologists and business intelligence professionals, blind spots and data gaps create functional frustration and make it harder for teams to deliver data-driven value back to the business. But what does this mean in practice? How does lacking visibility impact line-of-business objectives, and what can businesses do to get information operations back on track? The Current State of Sight Recent survey data makes it ... Read More

Feed: Actian. Author: Traci Curran. Cloud economics is a relatively new term, but it is growing in importance as businesses increasingly move their data to the cloud. As more organizations look for new ways to model their business in support of scalability and agility, it has become imperative that they better understand the short and long-term costs of cloud services.There are many factors to consider when evaluating the economics of a move to the cloud, but one of the most important is Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). What Exactly is Cloud Economics? Cloud economics is the study of the financial ... Read More

Feed: Actian. Author: Traci Curran. As organizations strive to get more value from the data they collect, it has become increasingly important that data scientists and developers have easy access to information collected in multiple sources in various sizes and formats. For many businesses, creating a data lake has become the first step in this process, forming a useful repository for large amounts of data that can be analyzed and tested down the road.However, while these repositories can create new opportunities for extracting business insights, data lakes on their own may not always be the answer. While they provide a ... Read More

Feed: Actian. Author: Traci Curran. The cloud is everywhere. Steady pre-pandemic growth transitioned into massive uptake over the last two years, and according to research firm Gartner the market shows no signs of slowing—by the end of 2022, spending on public cloud services is set to reach almost $500 billion worldwide.The challenge? Not all IT professionals are convinced about the utility, efficacy, and security of the cloud. Consider database administrators (DBAs). Tasked with managing multiple on-site databases, many of which contain privileged information or are subject to regulatory and compliance oversight. Coupled with the fairly radical shift in operational knowledge, ... Read More

Feed: Actian. Author: Traci Curran. Data collection and analysis have become increasingly important as multiple industries continue to drive their digital transformation initiatives. Whether it’s to improve customer experience, target marketing efforts, or just better understand how their business is performing, data is at the heart of it all.However, to make data work for you, you need the right people using it. This is where citizen data scientists come in. What is a Citizen Data Scientist, and What Do They Do? A citizen data scientist is generally a departmental knowledge worker who may lack formal data science training but possesses ... Read More

Feed: Actian. Author: Traci Curran. According to a recent report from research firm Gartner, “organizations that effectively support business technologists are 2.6 times more likely to accelerate digital transformation.” It makes sense: Because these professionals exist in the space between IT departments and non-tech teams, they can design and deploy solutions that deliver on both business and technology objectives.But achieving these goals comes with a challenge: effectively managing the exponentially-increasing volume and variety of data created by business operations and customer interactions. The Evolving Role of Data in Business Technology The democratization and commercialization of technology brought IT into the ... Read More

Feed: Actian. Author: Traci Curran. Data-driven roles are in demand. According to research firm Deloitte, the number of postings for positions in data science, data engineering, machine learning (ML), and visualization now surpasses those for more familiar skill sets such as customer service, marketing, and public relations (PR).For database administrators (DBAs), business technologists, and data engineers, this increasing demand comes with the opportunity to explore new roles within their organization and expand existing skill sets to make better use of emerging technologies. But what comes next? Beyond the growing need for skilled data staff, what does the future hold for ... Read More

Feed: Actian. Author: Jennifer Jackson. A typical buyer’s journey moves through distinct phases starting with Awareness, continuing on to Consideration, Purchase, and Onboarding/Post-Purchase, and hopefully ending in Advocacy. Much of the journey is carried out digitally – up to 67%, according to some estimates. Data breadcrumbs are left behind along a digital path, as people search online, sign up for activities, open emails, buy products and post reviews. Each of these signals tells a story.But how can marketers make sense of the story? That takes skill – and a helping hand from modern technology. First, marketers do what they can ... Read More