Analytics Solutions from SAP The Edge Editions of SAP InfiniteInsight Overview Enabling Predictive Insights with Mouse Clicks, Not Computer Code
Table of Contents 3 The Case for Predictive Analysis 5 Fast Data Preparation With Explorer Functionality in the Edge Modeling Edition 9 Sophisticated Predictive Modeling for Automatic Builds 2 / 12
The Case for Predictive Analysis Wondering what the future holds is human nature. Knowledge of the future would be the fast track to a throne. But few corporations have used predictive analytics due to its cost and complexity. How times have changed. The future is here. With the Edge editions of SAP InfiniteInsight software, you gain unprecedented insight into your customers without wrangling with algorithms or writing code. In an age of rising customer expectations and increasingly aggressive competition, organizations can no longer rely only on business intelligence tools that give a snapshot of the past. They need an accurate picture of the present. A sneak preview of what s coming up would be better still. The Edge editions of SAP InfiniteInsight software provide this clarity and foresight into future trends with usable predictive analysis for real operational environments. The software is available in two editions: SAP InfiniteInsight, Edge modeling edition SAP InfiniteInsight, Edge analytics edition 3 / 12
Key benefits of the Edge editions of SAP InfiniteInsight software include: Predictive models that are more accurate through the use of full data sets rather than data samples Performance gains of anywhere between 10x and 1000x through analytics powered by in-memory computing technology A superior price-performance ratio as a result of the extreme columnar data compression within SAP IQ database software Automated predictive models and built-in industry templates that support analytics for communications, financial services, and retail operations The Edge editions of SAP InfiniteInsight provide foresight into future trends with usable predictive analysis for real operational environments. 4 / 12
Fast Data Preparation With Explorer Functionality in the Edge Modeling Edition Before you can build a predictive model, you must prepare your data and transform it into a format that analytical engines can process. Unfortunately, this step usually eats up 40% to 50% of the total time spent on a predictive analytics project. To make matters worse, the step has to be repeated each and every time you want to create a predictive model. BUILD A SEMANTIC LAYER FOR YOUR PREDICTIVE ANALYSIS NEEDS The explorer functionality within the Edge modeling edition of SAP InfiniteInsight can eliminate this bottleneck. In a nutshell, power users define a broad set of reusable business components, called analytical records, that can be applied automatically over and over again to create the analytical data sets used for modeling. This innovative approach is orders of magnitude faster and vastly reduces human error, which plagues traditional handcrafted techniques. Speed is not the only advantage. By defining your analytical record correctly the first time, you know your analytical data sets will be correct every time. 5 / 12
You can think of an analytical record as the 360-degree view of the domain you are interested in analyzing (for example, consumer accounts). It can include hundreds, perhaps thousands, of attributes of potential interest, each of which could influence the results your predictive models return. Attributes can be as simple as a zip code or as sophisticated as a derived attribute indicating a customer s average number of debit transactions exceeding a set threshold in a given period. You select the analytical record, the time period of interest, and a target (for example, customers who added an SMS text plan in the last three months). Then with a mouse click, the explorer functionality within the Edge modeling edition automatically constructs the analytical data set with all of its complex and time-sensitive calculations. SAP InfiniteInsight is the foundation you need to build predictive models that are orders of magnitude more accurate than you ve built before. 6 / 12
Speed is not the only advantage. By defining your analytical record correctly the first time, you know your analytical data sets will be correct every time. The explorer functionality within the Edge modeling edition of SAP InfiniteInsight is the foundation you need to build predictive models that are far more accurate than you ve ever built before. And you can improve them as often as you like without having to invest significant amounts of time or effort. CREATE MORE ATTRIBUTES TO BUILD BETTER MODELS Predictive insight can be boosted by introducing data aggregates as potential predictive variables in an analytical data set. For example, a telecommunications operator might calculate the average number of calls per day and then slice those results by call type, destination, or time of day. The explorer functionality within the Edge modeling edition can unlock business-relevant information residing in unstructured formats like text. 7 / 12
What s more, the explorer functionality within the Edge modeling edition of SAP InfiniteInsight is able to unlock business-relevant information residing in unstructured formats like text analyzing data from your call center call logs, chats, e-mail correspondence, and social communities like Facebook or Twitter. Text analytics provides valuable data that can be included in your analytical record and the resulting analytical data sets to boost predictive power. With the explorer functionality within the Edge modeling edition of SAP InfiniteInsight, there is no limit to the number of aggregates or attributes you can add to your analytical data sets. Many of our customers have included hundreds, even thousands, of aggregates, which are recalculated every time you improve your predictive model. With SAP InfiniteInsight, Edge modeling edition, there is no limit to the number of aggregates or attributes you can add to your analytical data sets. 8 / 12
Sophisticated Predictive Modeling for Automatic Builds PRODUCE ACCURATE MODELS IN DAYS, NOT MONTHS SAP InfiniteInsight, Edge modeling edition, automates the building of sophisticated predictive models for multiple data mining functions. We ll help you get to the right algorithm for your business problem quickly with a model built for accuracy and optimal results. You will also get clear, informative business and executive summary reports that equip you to discuss the drivers behind your models with your team. BUILD MODELS ON TOP OF THOUSANDS OF ATTRIBUTES Unlike traditional regression algorithms, the Edge modeling edition of SAP InfiniteInsight can reliably handle a very large number of input attributes (over 10,000) automatically. It provides indicators and displays graphs to let you assess the quality and robustness of improved models quickly. It displays graphically the individual contributions each variable makes to a model as well as the relative importance of each variable toward the explanation of The Edge modeling edition clearly indicates which attributes contain no relevant information and which are redundant and therefore not needed. 9 / 12
a given business question. The software also clearly indicates which attributes contain no relevant information and which are redundant and therefore not needed. This can help you select the variables most important in explaining any given business question. At the same time, it keeps you from focusing on data that contains no information. Models can be applied directly to a single input data set in simulation mode to determine the predictive score for an individual business question in real time. Since the software s models are robust, discovering outliers allows you to change the data, for example, by using more variables to build a model. Because predictive scores often feed into complex business rules and decision engines, SAP InfiniteInsight, Edge modeling edition, has open interfaces to support integration to enterprise applications. These can include your call center or Web site through Java and predictive modeling markup language (PMML) as well as legacy environments. To allow predictive scores to feed into complex business rules, SAP InfiniteInsight has open interfaces to integrate with enterprise applications. 10 / 12
COMBINE PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS AND SAP IQ SAP InfiniteInsight, Edge analytics edition, includes powerful predictive analysis functionality as well as SAP IQ database software, a column-based analytics server purpose-built for predictive analytics. contains becomes that column s index. This combination results in a data compression rate of up to 70%, allowing more data to be analyzed in the predictive models with better accuracy and at a higher speed. Analytics queries often involve only a specific set of attributes. To take advantage of this, SAP IQ stores and retrieves attributes by columns, rather than by rows. Since each column is stored separately, the data it The Edge editions of SAP InfiniteInsight are powerful solutions, delivering predictive analytics to corporations for great competitive advantage. 11 / 12
The predictive analytics software within the Edge analytics edition of SAP InfiniteInsight utilizes the in-memory computing option of SAP IQ to provide an extensive library of built-in numerical, statistical, and predictive analytics functions. This means every query can be analyzed immediately by SAP IQ. As a result, query speeds on large data sets are between 100 times and 1000 times faster than speeds achieved by solutions based on traditional relational databases. FIND OUT MORE The Edge editions of SAP InfiniteInsight are powerful solutions that enable corporations to gain competitive advantage by harnessing predictive analytics to realize cost savings and generate greater revenues. For more information, visit www.sap.com/pc/analytics /predictive-analytics/software/infiniteinsight/index.html. 12 / 12 Studio SAP 30441enUS (14/04)
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