Learning to Love Data Science: Explorations of Emerging Technologies and Platforms for Predictive Analytics, Machine Learning, Digital Manufacturing and Supply Chain Optimization

by Mike Barlow

Overview

Until recently, many people thought big data was a passing fad. "Data science" was an enigmatic term. Today, big data is taken seriously, and data science is considered downright sexy. With this anthology of reports from award-winning journalist Mike Barlow, you’ll appreciate how data science is fundamentally altering our world, for better and for worse.

Barlow paints a picture of the emerging data space in broad strokes. From new techniques and tools to the use of data for social good, you’ll find out how far data science reaches.

With this anthology, you’ll learn how:

• Analysts can now get results from their data queries in near real time
• Indie manufacturers are blurring the lines between hardware and software
• Companies try to balance their desire for rapid innovation with the need to tighten data security
• Advanced analytics and low-cost sensors are transforming equipment maintenance from a cost center to a profit center
• CIOs have gradually evolved from order takers to business innovators
• New analytics tools let businesses go beyond data analysis and straight to decision-making

Mike Barlow is an award-winning journalist, author, and communications strategy consultant. Since launching his own firm, Cumulus Partners, he has represented major organizations in a number of industries.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781491936580
Publisher:	O'Reilly Media, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/21/2015
Pages:	159
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Mike Barlow is an award-winning journalist, author and communications strategy consultant. Since launching his own firm, Cumulus Partners, he has represented major organizations in numerous industries.

Mike is coauthor of The Executive’s Guide to Enterprise Social Media Strategy (Wiley, 2011) and Partnering with the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers (Wiley, 2007).
He is also the writer of many articles, reports, and white papers on marketing strategy, marketing automation, customer intelligence, business performance management, collaborative social networking, cloud computing, and big data analytics.

Over the course of a long career, Mike was a reporter and editor at several respected suburban daily newspapers, including The Journal News and the Stamford Advocate. His feature stories and columns appeared regularly in The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Newsday, and other major US dailies.

Mike is a graduate of Hamilton College. He is a licensed private pilot, an avid reader, and an enthusiastic ice hockey fan. Mike lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, with his wife and two children.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Editor's Note xiii

Preface xv

1 The Culture of Big Data Analytics 1

It's Not Just About Numbers 1

Playing by the Rules 3

No Bucks, No Buck Rogers 5

Operationalizing Predictability 7

Assembling the Team 9

Fitting In 13

2 Data and Social Good 17

Hearts of Gold 17

Structuring Opportunities for Philanthropy 19

Telling the Story with Analytics 21

Data as a Pillar of Modern Democracy 22

No Strings Attached, but Plenty of Data 24

Collaboration Is Fundamental 25

Conclusion 28

3 Will Big Data Make IT Infrastructure Sexy Again? 31

Moore's Law Meets Supply and Demand 31

Change Is Difficult 33

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch… 36

Throwing Out the Baby with the Bathwater? 37

API-ifiying the Enterprise 40

Beyond Infrastructure 41

Can We Handle the Truth? 42

4 When Hardware Meets Software 45

Welcome to the Age of Indie Hardware 45

Mindset and Culture 48

Tigers Pacing in a Cage 49

Hardware Wars 51

Does This Mean I Need to Buy a Lathe? 53

Obstacles, Hurdles, and Brighter Street Lighting 54

5 Real-Time Big Data Analytics 59

Oceans of Data, Grains of Time 59

How Fast Is Fast? 61

How Real Is Real Time? 64

The RTBDA Stack 66

The Five Phases of Real Time 68

How Big Is Big? 71

Part of a Larger Trend 71

6 Big Data and the Evolving Role of the CIO 73

A Radical Shift in Focus and Perspective 74

Getting from Here to There 76

Behind and Beyond the Application 77

Investing in Big Data Infrastructure 79

Does the CIO Still Matter? 81

From Capex to Opex 81

A More Nimble Mindset 82

Looking to the Future 84

Now Is the Time to Prepare 85

7 Building Functional Teams for the loT Economy 87

A More Fluid Approach to Team Building 90

Raising the Bar on Collaboration 92

Worlds Within Worlds 93

Supply Chain to Mars 95

Rethinking Manufacturing from the Ground Up 97

Viva la Revolutión? 98

8 Predictive Maintenance: A World of Zero Unplanned Downtime 101

Breaking News 102

Looking at the Numbers 102

Preventive Versus Predictive 105

Follow the Money 106

Not All Work Is Created Equal 107

Building a Foundation 109

It's Not All About Heavy Machinery 110

The Future of Maintenance 111

9 Can Data Security and Rapid Business Innovation Coexist? 113

Finding a Balance 113

Unscrambling the Eggs 115

Avoiding the "NoSQL, No Security" Cop-Out 118

Anonymize This! 119

Replacing Guidance with Rules 122

Not to Pass the Buck, but… 124

10 The Last Mile of Analytics: Making the Leap from Platforms to Tools 127

Inching Closer to the Front Lines 128

The Future Is So Yesterday 128

Above and Beyond BI 130

Moving into the Mainstream 133

Transcending Data 137