Our Experience Converting an IBM Forecasting Solution from R to IBM SPSS Modeler


Book Description

This IBM® RedpaperTM publication presents the process and steps that were taken to move from an R language forecasting solution to an IBM SPSS® Modeler solution. The paper identifies the key challenges that the team faced and the lessons they learned. It describes the journey from analysis through design to key actions that were taken during development to make the conversion successful. The solution approach is described in detail so that you can learn how the team broke the original R solution architecture into logical components in order to plan for the conversion project. You see key aspects of the conversion from R to IBM SPSS Modeler and how basic parts, such as data preparation, verification, pre-screening, and automating data quality checks, are accomplished. The paper consists of three chapters: Chapter 1 introduces the business background and the problem domain. Chapter 2 explains critical technical challenges that the team confronted and solved. Chapter 3 focuses on lessons that were learned during this process and ideas that might apply to your conversion project. This paper applies to various audiences: Decision makers and IT Architects who focus on the architecture, roadmap, software platform, and total cost of ownership. Solution development team members who are involved in creating statistical/analytics-based solutions and who are familiar with R and IBM SPSS Modeler.




Introduction to R in IBM SPSS Modeler


Book Description

This IBM RedpaperTM publication focuses on the integration between IBM® SPSS® Modeler and R. The paper is aimed at people who know IBM SPSS Modeler and have only a very limited knowledge of R. Chapters 2, 3, and 4 provide you with a high level understanding of R integration within SPSS Modeler enabling you to create or recreate some very basic R models within SPSS Modeler, even if you have only a basic knowledge of R. Chapter 5 provides more detailed tips and tricks. This chapter is for the experienced user and consists of items that might help you get up to speed with more detailed functions of the integration and understand some pitfalls.




Systems of Insight for Digital Transformation: Using IBM Operational Decision Manager Advanced and Predictive Analytics


Book Description

Systems of record (SORs) are engines that generates value for your business. Systems of engagement (SOE) are always evolving and generating new customer-centric experiences and new opportunities to capitalize on the value in the systems of record. The highest value is gained when systems of record and systems of engagement are brought together to deliver insight. Systems of insight (SOI) monitor and analyze what is going on with various behaviors in the systems of engagement and information being stored or transacted in the systems of record. SOIs seek new opportunities, risks, and operational behavior that needs to be reported or have action taken to optimize business outcomes. Systems of insight are at the core of the Digital Experience, which tries to derive insights from the enormous amount of data generated by automated processes and customer interactions. Systems of Insight can also provide the ability to apply analytics and rules to real-time data as it flows within, throughout, and beyond the enterprise (applications, databases, mobile, social, Internet of Things) to gain the wanted insight. Deriving this insight is a key step toward being able to make the best decisions and take the most appropriate actions. Examples of such actions are to improve the number of satisfied clients, identify clients at risk of leaving and incentivize them to stay loyal, identify patterns of risk or fraudulent behavior and take action to minimize it as early as possible, and detect patterns of behavior in operational systems and transportation that lead to failures, delays, and maintenance and take early action to minimize risks and costs. IBM® Operational Decision Manager is a decision management platform that provides capabilities that support both event-driven insight patterns, and business-rule-driven scenarios. It also can easily be used in combination with other IBM Analytics solutions, as the detailed examples will show. IBM Operational Decision Manager Advanced, along with complementary IBM software offerings that also provide capability for systems of insight, provides a way to deliver the greatest value to your customers and your business. IBM Operational Decision Manager Advanced brings together data from different sources to recognize meaningful trends and patterns. It empowers business users to define, manage, and automate repeatable operational decisions. As a result, organizations can create and shape customer-centric business moments. This IBM Redbooks® publication explains the key concepts of systems of insight and how to implement a system of insight solution with examples. It is intended for IT architects and professionals who are responsible for implementing a systems of insights solution requiring event-based context pattern detection and deterministic decision services to enhance other analytics solution components with IBM Operational Decision Manager Advanced.




Enabling Real-time Analytics on IBM z Systems Platform


Book Description

Regarding online transaction processing (OLTP) workloads, IBM® z SystemsTM platform, with IBM DB2®, data sharing, Workload Manager (WLM), geoplex, and other high-end features, is the widely acknowledged leader. Most customers now integrate business analytics with OLTP by running, for example, scoring functions from transactional context for real-time analytics or by applying machine-learning algorithms on enterprise data that is kept on the mainframe. As a result, IBM adds investment so clients can keep the complete lifecycle for data analysis, modeling, and scoring on z Systems control in a cost-efficient way, keeping the qualities of services in availability, security, reliability that z Systems solutions offer. Because of the changed architecture and tighter integration, IBM has shown, in a customer proof-of-concept, that a particular client was able to achieve an orders-of-magnitude improvement in performance, allowing that client's data scientist to investigate the data in a more interactive process. Open technologies, such as Predictive Model Markup Language (PMML) can help customers update single components instead of being forced to replace everything at once. As a result, you have the possibility to combine your preferred tool for model generation (such as SAS Enterprise Miner or IBM SPSS® Modeler) with a different technology for model scoring (such as Zementis, a company focused on PMML scoring). IBM SPSS Modeler is a leading data mining workbench that can apply various algorithms in data preparation, cleansing, statistics, visualization, machine learning, and predictive analytics. It has over 20 years of experience and continued development, and is integrated with z Systems. With IBM DB2 Analytics Accelerator 5.1 and SPSS Modeler 17.1, the possibility exists to do the complete predictive model creation including data transformation within DB2 Analytics Accelerator. So, instead of moving the data to a distributed environment, algorithms can be pushed to the data, using cost-efficient DB2 Accelerator for the required resource-intensive operations. This IBM Redbooks® publication explains the overall z Systems architecture, how the components can be installed and customized, how the new IBM DB2 Analytics Accelerator loader can help efficient data loading for z Systems data and external data, how in-database transformation, in-database modeling, and in-transactional real-time scoring can be used, and what other related technologies are available. This book is intended for technical specialists and architects, and data scientists who want to use the technology on the z Systems platform. Most of the technologies described in this book require IBM DB2 for z/OS®. For acceleration of the data investigation, data transformation, and data modeling process, DB2 Analytics Accelerator is required. Most value can be achieved if most of the data already resides on z Systems platforms, although adding external data (like from social sources) poses no problem at all.




SPSS Statistics For Dummies


Book Description

The fun and friendly guide to mastering IBM’s Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Written by an author team with a combined 55 years of experience using SPSS, this updated guide takes the guesswork out of the subject and helps you get the most out of using the leader in predictive analysis. Covering the latest release and updates to SPSS 27.0, and including more than 150 pages of basic statistical theory, it helps you understand the mechanics behind the calculations, perform predictive analysis, produce informative graphs, and more. You’ll even dabble in programming as you expand SPSS functionality to suit your specific needs. Master the fundamental mechanics of SPSS Learn how to get data into and out of the program Graph and analyze your data more accurately and efficiently Program SPSS with Command Syntax Get ready to start handling data like a pro—with step-by-step instruction and expert advice!




Performance and Capacity Implications for Big Data


Book Description

Big data solutions enable us to change how we do business by exploiting previously unused sources of information in ways that were not possible just a few years ago. In IBM® Smarter Planet® terms, big data helps us to change the way that the world works. The purpose of this IBM RedpaperTM publication is to consider the performance and capacity implications of big data solutions, which must be taken into account for them to be viable. This paper describes the benefits that big data approaches can provide. We then cover performance and capacity considerations for creating big data solutions. We conclude with what this means for big data solutions, both now and in the future. Intended readers for this paper include decision-makers, consultants, and IT architects.




Interpreting Quantitative Data with SPSS


Book Description

This is a textbook for introductory courses in quantitative research methods across the social sciences. It offers a detailed explanation of introductory statistical techniques and presents an overview of the contexts in which they should be applied.




Optimization and Decision Support Design Guide: Using IBM ILOG Optimization Decision Manager


Book Description

Today many organizations face challenges when developing a realistic plan or schedule that provides the best possible balance between customer service and revenue goals. Optimization technology has long been used to find the best solutions to complex planning and scheduling problems. A decision-support environment that enables the flexible exploration of all the trade-offs and sensitivities needs to provide the following capabilities: Flexibility to develop and compare realistic planning and scheduling scenarios Quality sensitivity analysis and explanations Collaborative planning and scenario sharing Decision recommendations This IBM® Redbooks® publication introduces you to the IBM ILOG® Optimization Decision Manager (ODM) Enterprise. This decision-support application provides the capabilities you need to take full advantage of optimization technology. Applications built with IBM ILOG ODM Enterprise can help users create, compare, and understand planning or scheduling scenarios. They can also adjust any of the model inputs or goals, and fully understanding the binding constraints, trade-offs, sensitivities, and business options. This book enables business analysts, architects, and administrators to design and use their own operational decision management solution.




Performance and Capacity Themes for Cloud Computing


Book Description

This IBM® RedpaperTM is the second in a series that addresses the performance and capacity considerations of the evolving cloud computing model. The first Redpaper publication (Performance Implications of Cloud Computing, REDP-4875) introduced cloud computing with its various deployment models, support roles, and offerings along with IT performance and capacity implications associated with these deployment models and offerings. In this redpaper, we discuss lessons learned in the two years since the first paper was written. We offer practical guidance about how to select workloads that work best with cloud computing, and about how to address areas, such as performance testing, monitoring, service level agreements, and capacity planning considerations for both single and multi-tenancy environments. We also provide an example of a recent project where cloud computing solved current business needs (such as cost reduction, optimization of infrastructure utilization, and more efficient systems management and reporting capabilities) and how the solution addressed performance and capacity challenges. We conclude with a summary of the lessons learned and a perspective about how cloud computing can affect performance and capacity in the future.