analytics

Getting better performance out of supply chain and operations activities is not at the top of everyone’s priority list, but it should be. In today’s world, moving things smartly and efficiently – regardless of whether they are people, product or petabytes – is paramount to success.

This challenge is not a new one. But, the pressures of meeting customer demands, fulfilling their mission requirements, and maintaining high service levels is significantly complicated at a time of diminishing budgets. Even though government organizations recognize the importance of making their operations more efficient, leaders must prove the benefit of the change before investing time, people, and money in system and process improvements. Keep reading →


Big data can drive big capabilities. But it takes day-to-day practices that can help build and sustain an analytics culture.

A report released today by the Partnership for Public Service aims to educate federal managers on how agencies can do just that. The report, From Data to Decisions II: Building an Analytics Culture, examines how to best use data – not anecdotes – to base decisions. Keep reading →


NASA has pulled together the content from 10 different websites under a mandated technology transfer program that makes it available via a new web portal promoting its patents and commercialized technologies.

The new portal, launched late last month, showcases 1635 out of NASA’s 6329 patents that have been commercialized by American businesses, many of them small companies. A NASA Spinoff section lists commercialized technologies from the 10 agency field centers, such as ventilators for critically injured patients and custom machines that advance composite manufacturing. Keep reading →

Lately it seems that everyone is talking about “big data,” and for good reason – the potential to gain greater insight into the way decisions are made has implications throughout businesses, governments and societies the world over. Capitol Hill just took a deep dive into the big data pool, to look at what this relatively new concept really means and how we can leverage it to address the greatest challenges of our day.

Last week, IBM joined government leaders on Capitol Hill to discuss how we can apply new technologies – called analytics – to big data so that we make critical decisions to improve and better the lives of the citizens we serve. Keep reading →

The FBI has something new on its most wanted list: A way to monitor, map and analyze social media intelligence around the world in real time.

According to a request for information document issued Jan. 19 on a Federal Business Opportunities website, the FBI and its Strategic Information and Operations Center are looking for ideas from private industry on ways it might provide “a secure, lightweight web application portal, using mash-up technology” with the ability to “rapidly assemble critical open source information and intelligence.” Keep reading →

Few events are more thoroughly parsed for what is said and not said than the President’s annual State of the Union speech, and last night’s speech was no exception.

The advent of Twitter and a variety of technologies and analytic tools, however, have made it easier than ever to track the president’s every word — and the reactions of the public listening to them. Two good examples come to mind. Keep reading →

With so much football playoff news lately, the one story that got my attention was one about the award-winning WhatIfSports.com simulation engine which concluded that the New England Patriots win 55% of the time by an average score of 27-25, based on 10,000 simulations. It’s not a stretch to see how sports simulations, and the data analytics behind them, might also be used to improve government performance.

Every week WhatIfSports.com simulates thousands of NFL games. WhatIfSports offers anyone a “test drive” of their simulators at no cost in a section called SimMatchUp. Users choose to play any two MLB baseball teams against each other going back to the 1885, NFL football teams back to 1941, NHL hockey teams back to 1917, NBA basketball teams back to 1950, and NCAA basketball teams dating back to different years depending on the team. All simulators produce complete box scores and full play-by-play.

With a 16-game season, users have the option of building a running game with Barry Sanders and Walter Payton, an aerial attack with Joe Montana and Randy Moss, or a tenacious defense with the 1985 Chicago Bears. Users set depth charts, game plans, offensive and defensive settings, deal with player fatigue and more. Keep reading →

Data analytics are proving to be a powerful tool for improving the results of government program, according to a new report released today, “From Data To Decisions: The Power of Analytics.”

The report, which examines how several federal agencies used data, is a joint effort between the Partnership for Public Service and the Public Sector Business Analytics & Optimization practice at the IBM Center for The Business of Government. Keep reading →


“November 5, 2011 – Anonymous hackers promise to destroy Facebook.” See Live Feed.

A headline and story this morning that caught my eye: Hackers Again Target Transit Police Union Site. The hacker group Anonymous again targeted a California transit agency that came under fire last week for turning off cell phone service in its stations to thwart a potential protest. Hackers gained access to the web site and posted personal information about more than 100 officers. Keep reading →

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