CDI TechVent for Next Generation Data Catalogs

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The recent CDI TechVent for Next Generation Data Catalogs was an eye opener.  A summary by Wayne Eckerson is available here plus a link to the replay:
https://lnkd.in/gDqQ25Ci

This session, led by Wayne Eckerson features a panel with experts Nitin Singhal of Snaplogic and David Hendrawirawan of Data Integrity First. The subject of data catalogs was grounded with purpose, challenge, history and architecture. Then a panel discussed trends and best practices. In addition, selected vendors presented their products and show how data catalogs have impacted their customers. Definitely watch this video to get up to date with data catalogs and their role in Modern Data Architecture.

Southern Data Science Conference

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Atlanta, Georgia – April 12, 2019

The Southern Data Science Conference was a super informative conference with a focus on state of the art data science coupled with opportunities to network and to use data science for good.  The conference follows a unique pattern — all presentations are done in a single large room with presenters quickly changing off.  This method avoids a lengthy time for participants to go from room to room.  I was pleasantly surprised by how well the approach worked.

The conference draws on speakers from across the country – not just the Atlanta area.  Organizations such as:  Google, Amazon, Lucidworks, Netflix, Microsoft, SalesForce, Hitachi, Target and Vertica provided speakers.

TensorFlow was discussed in multiple sessions and I became excited the TensorFlow 2.0 is available.  This is a conference where actual code is presented – in that case Python rules as the universal language for showing data science examples.

Presentations by Netflix and Pandora gave an inside view on the creation of recommendation engines.  Both of these firms have different recommendation engines for different parts of their websites.  Each recommendation engine then calls upon dozens of recommendation algorithms to generation recommendation and then a ranking function selects the best recommendation.  Pandora also employs a massive music knowledgebase.  HomeDepot, well represented at the conference, indicated that it also employs numerous recommendations engines based on product categories and other functions.  These concepts are helping in my efforts to improve the recommendation engines that I have developed.

The primary background of data scientists is math and statistics.  Earlier I thought that DBAs, database developers, BI analysts would be the source of data scientists.  Instead, I see that this group is now the source of “Data Engineers” who build data pipelines to satisfy the needs of the Data Scientists.

In conclusion, this is a worth while conference for those who want to improve data science acumen.  I learned a lot, took over 40 pages of notes and made many valuable contacts.

 

Chief Data Officer (CDO) Summit

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The Chief Data Officer (CDO) Summit was a valuable meeting.  This summit which is hosted multiple times per year in the Minneapolis-St Paul area focuses on data and analytics use by organizations.  I always come away with some worth while information as I discuss hot data topics.  The meeting follows this proven format:

  • Sign in
  • Networking while enjoying drinks and hors d’oeurves
  • Round table discussions with guided questions and discussion leaders
  • Speaker
  • Meal

Representatives from many organizations attended:  Target, Best Buy, 3M, Sleep Number, American Express, Medtronics, State of Minnesota and Allianz Life (my employer).  We were joined by the organizers and sponsors – firms providing consulting services, data related tools and database software.

The theme of the meeting was Data Governance – certainly a topic of interest to me.  I am always looking to learn what other organizations are doing.  The guided discussion topics were:

  • What level of executive support does Data Governance receive at your organization?
  • What is your organization’s greatest challenge in the area of Data Governance?
  • What quick Data Governance wins has your organization achieved and how did you do it?

Levels of executive support for Data Governance ranged from resistance to all out top executive sponsorship.  Clearly Data Governance is gaining momentum and more organizations have the support of the CEO and other executives.  The greatest challenge is maintaining momentum and relevance – Data Governance must compete with many other initiatives to sustain visibility.  Data quality improvements are examples of quick wins which can be promoted and lead to further actions.

The CDO Summits are certainly worth while.  I recommend that you participate if you have the opportunity.

Minneanalytics Big Data Technology Summit

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The Minneanalytics Big Data Technology Summit was a great success.  Over 700 participants gathered at the Normandale Partnership Center to learn about data analytics topics in this full day event.  As an attendee I could feel excitement in the air as I mingled with data professionals, students and vendors.

Over 60 speakers presented data analytics topics in key note presentation, panel discussions and classroom sessions.  Some topics centered on technical approaches such as: big data, IoT, Machine Learning, Chatbots, Streaming, Clustering, R and Python.  Other topics centered on uses of data: monetizing data, improving cities, marketing and human resources recruiting.

Speakers represented companies like General Mills, Best Buy and Target.  Vendor sponsors included Snowflake Computing, MapR, Teradata and Datastax.  Colleges were also represented: University of Minnesota and Normandale Community College.

This was definitely a worthwhile event for me – as are the other Minneanalytics events.  I recommend joining Minneanalytics and registering for events early – they fill up fast.

 

Minnesota Analytics Community

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Minnesota – An Analytics Leader

Minnesota is a leader in data, big data and analytics. Professional associations, colleges, government agencies, companies and individuals are fueling the growth. Please contact me, if you have an announcment or story for the Minnesota Data and Analytics Community.
 

DAMA Minnesota

The Minnesota Chapter of DAMA International™ is a non-profit organization that promotes education in the areas of data and analytics. Educational meetings are conducted monthly. In addition, the chapter hosts an annual DAMA Day which provides a full day of education. With a membership of over 700, the DAMA chapter helps to make Minnesota a leader in data and analytics.

Check DAMA Minnesota's website for additional information.

 

Big Data Analytics Meetups in Minnesota

Minnesotans love to gather to share and learn about data analytics. These Big Data Meetups are a great way to learn and to network with fellow Minnesota people and companies who have a big data analytics focus. Big Data Meetup groups include:

  • Minnetonka Big Data Analytics Meetup - great data mining information
  • Minnesota Big Data Developers
  • SAS Users Group
  • Twin Cities Data Visualization Group
  • Twin Cities Enterprise NoSQL
  • Twin Cities In-memory Computing
  • Twin Cities Predictive Modeling and Machine Learning Meetup

    There are many more Meetups on this subject and more. Be a contributor and join in to the community that is the best fit for you.

     

Minneanalytics

Minneanalytics is a non-profit organization that promotes Minnesota leadership in analytics. It promotes multiple events each year that include multiple speakers on topics such as:

  • Healthcare Analytics
  • Predictive Analytics
  • Big Data
  • Hadoop
  • Data Warehouse

 

TDWI Minnesota Chapter

TDWI (The Data Warehousing Institute) is a national education and training organization that focuses on data and analytics. The purpose of the Minneapolis Chapter is to enable local BI/DW professionals to:

  • Meet regularly (usually quarterly) with each other on a regional basis
  • Share best practices in a small group setting
  • Establish a strong network of peers
  • Gain technical advice and career direction

     

Website Upgrade 2015

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DavidHaertzen.com is being upgraded over the 2015 holiday season to provide greater functionality through use of WordPress.

New features are being added including:

  • Blog – categorized by subject such as:  Big Data, Analytics, Cloud and Data Warehouse
  • Resources – information that will be helpful to our readers such as: articles, case studies, white papers and presentations
  • Capabilities – a description of what I do: consulting, research, courseware creation and more

I hope that you benefit from the new website format.

Best wishes in 2016.

David Haertzen