In-memory analytics allows the system to hold more historical information in a manner that can be instantly accessed By doing this, it increases the speed of analytic operations Application Case 4.2: Dell Is Staying Agile and Effective with Analytics in the 21st Century 1. What was the challenge Dell was facing that led to their analytics journey? Dell noticed that customers were spend ing a significant amount of time evaluating roducts before they contacted sales. Dell wanted to ensure that this evaluation of products was positive for the company, and wanted to make sure that they were providing accurate information in a format that was exped ient for customers. The problem was that the company had a huge variety of information available, and figuring out how to understand that information required additional research What solution did Dell develop and implement? What were the results? To solve this problem, Dell created a single data mart that contained information from a wide variety of sources. This data mart became the singular repository for information that was used for making decisions in the company. This decision had many positive results, includ ing saving significant amounts in operational costs as well as driving increased revenues 3. As an analytics company itself, Dell has used its service offerings for its own business. Do you think it is easier or harder for a company to taste its own medicine? Explain Student responses will vary. Some will argue that having easy access to tools makes them more likely to be used. Others will argue that users may not adopt technology that they feel they are already using, even if they are not Application Case 4.3: A Mine on Terrorist Funding low can data mining be used to fight terrorism? Comment on what else can be done beyond what is covered in this short application case The application case discusses use of data mining to detect money laundering and other forms of terrorist financing. Other applications could be to track the behavior and movement of potential terrorists, as well as text mining emails blogs, and social media threads Do you think data mining, while essential for fighting terrorist cells, also jeopard izes individuals rights of privacy? Copyright C2018 Pearson Education, Inc.13 Copyright © 2018Pearson Education, Inc. In-memory analytics allows the system to hold more historical information in a manner that can be instantly accessed. By doing this, it increases the speed of analytic operations. Application Case 4.2: Dell Is Staying Agile and Effective with Analytics in the 21st Century 1. What was the challenge Dell was facing that led to their analytics journey? Dell noticed that customers were spending a significant amount of time evaluating products before they contacted sales. Dell wanted to ensure that this evaluation of products was positive for the company, and wanted to make sure that they were providing accurate information in a format that was expedient for customers. The problem was that the company had a huge variety of information available, and figuring out how to understand that information required additional research. 2. What solution did Dell develop and implement? What were the results? To solve this problem, Dell created a single data mart that contained information from a wide variety of sources. This data mart became the singular repository for information that was used for making decisions in the company. This decision had many positive results, including saving significant amounts in operational costs as well as driving increased revenues. 3. As an analytics company itself, Dell has used its service offerings for its own business. Do you think it is easier or harder for a company to taste its own medicine? Explain. Student responses will vary. Some will argue that having easy access to tools makes them more likely to be used. Others will argue that users may not adopt technology that they feel they are already using, even if they are not. Application Case 4.3: A Mine on Terrorist Funding 1. How can data mining be used to fight terrorism? Comment on what else can be done beyond what is covered in this short application case. The application case discusses use of data mining to detect money laundering and other forms of terrorist financing. Other applications could be to track the behavior and movement of potential terrorists, as well as text mining emails, blogs, and social media threads. 2. Do you think data mining, while essential for fighting terrorist cells, also jeopardizes individuals’ rights of privacy?