This white paper was designed to present new ideas for measuring and acting on customer value in retail banking. Written by SAS and Peppers & Rogers Group, it presents practical, real-world advice on how retail banks can increase profitability from customer value insight without a business model overhaul. Specifically, the paper provides guidance to help you refocus strategy, retool the mechanics of measurement and realign the organization around customers.

Anticipated regulatory changes will demand more transparency from capital markets firms. They can deliver this transparency and accountability more readily and gain a competitive advantage by creating a model and scenario library linking the front office, middle office and risk management teams. This paper outlines an approach for creating a common model, security and scenario library for modeling structured, fixed-income securities and equities for use by front office, middle office and risk management teams.

Despite improved security, fraud is still a major concern in the banking industry. This is due to elaborate cybercrimes like international money mule operations as well as the use of new mobile devices like smartphones. The growth in cybercrime – encompassing mobile, online and ACH transactions – puts analytics front and center at helping banks stay ahead of fraudsters. This paper illustrates why using multiple analytical approaches across all organizational transactions helps banks achieve better monitoring of fraudulent activities and more accurate customer behavior profiles. As a result, banks can keep customers safe from financial harm while protecting their own reputations.

Until now, most companies have found it difficult to deliver the reliable, accurate and near real-time insight required to support critical decisions. This paper explains how you can use in-database analytics to not only accelerate your time to insight, but also gain greater confidence in the accuracy of your decisions and maintain the security and integrity of your data.

No industry has faced greater changes and challenges than the financial services industry – and no other industry has greater opportunity, either. The articles in this collection address both the opportunities and obstacles that the financial services industry may encounter in the coming months and years as the banking industry looks to embed itself firmly in the digital age, with all the possibilities and perils that it brings.

The integration of risk and finance as part of the budgeting process is not a matter of "if it will be required," but "when the regulators will mandate it" as part of their ongoing review process. This paper describes a bank's typical budgeting and planning process and offers some insights into how the risk and finance functions can be integrated into this process.

Lately, liquidity risk has received serious attention from regulators, banks and investors alike. And rightly so, as everyone witnessed how an exogenous credit crisis compounds itself into a major liquidity crisis (or funding problem), propagating very quickly through the global financial markets, leading to insolvency of major financial institutions. This paper discusses challenges faced by financial institutions in the area of liquidity risk measurement and management as well as the SAS response to these challenges – an integrated risk solution that can meet the immediate requirements banks have, while providing a framework to support future business needs.

This collection of expert articles addresses the question: How do people behave around risk? The answer is that our response to risk is typically a weak one. Read this report to learn how to rise above the crowd and meet risk head on with more effective risk assessment and management approaches.

Current economic conditions heighten the need for financial services firms to accurately gauge required levels of regulatory compliance and economic capital to support business strategy and risk appetite. More regulations are on the way, demanding transparency, accurate information about company operations, robust and comprehensive risk management, regulatory compliance and efficient governance. What does this mean for many organizations? This paper takes a step back to examine how all components of a successful company must work in an integrated manner in order to produce the best results, and how SAS approaches governance, risk, compliance and performance management issues by providing a comprehensive framework for analyzing and managing risks in the context of corporate strategy and performance.

A wave of regulatory reform is forcing banks to revisit the technology used to measure and manage risk. This presents an opportunity to develop IT capabilities that provide a more nuanced view of how and where banks utilize their financial resources. This paper, written jointly by SAS and Boston Consulting Group, examines this issue in the context of a framework and process designed to help banks improve their risk-IT architectures.

Faced with a daunting combination of challenges following the worldwide economic crisis, financial institutions are being forced to rethink their entire approach to their business model, and as regulators place financial institutions under increasingly intense scrutiny, investments in risk that go beyond the mandatory may generate quantifiable benefits. This paper examines how better risk systems will not only help an institution manage risk more effectively, but also make the institution more productive and efficient, enabling them to cut down on manual workarounds, reduce intensiveness of resource usage, improve timeliness and enable better collaboration and communication across organizational boundaries.

This paper attempts to answer a series of practical questions that typically confront CROs in small institutional settings, including: How do I quantify the benefits of making an investment (say a technology investment) to reduce the current amount of capital assigned to operational risk? How do I provide greater internal and external transparency around the cost of capital attributed to operational risk? Further, how do I explain these benefits to the management committee or to a board of directors in order to obtain funding for that investment?

Recently, the focus in banks has shifted from mergers and acquisitions to organic growth – attracting and retaining good customers. This white paper describes how to apply customer value to the retail banking business model as a continuous loop of insight, action, assessment and learning for continuous improvement. It also proves the advantage of a more interactive view of customer value.

The rapid expansion of new products and new channels for customer access has opened up new opportunities to satisfy customer needs. However, this expansion has also opened up the opportunity for fraud that cuts across an institution’s product lines, channels and even geographic regions, as fraud rings attempt to exploit any vulnerabilities they can find. As a result, financial institutions of all sizes are discovering that they need to rethink their approach to managing fraud. This white paper by the Fraud Management Institute discusses both the vision of enterprise fraud strategy that many institutions find so attractive, and the reality they face in implementing an enterprisewide strategy effectively.

As an emerging technology, social network analysis (SNA) offers capabilities that often surpass other analytical solutions in their ability to integrate different pieces of data to form a more complete picture of emerging fraud threats. This research paper, which was written by the Fraud Management Institute, discusses SNA – what it is, what makes it an attractive option and the challenges that go with SNA deployment.

In May 2010, the Economist Intelligence Unit published Rebuilding trust: Next steps for risk management in financial services. This follow-on supplement to the main report examines the steps that retail banks are taking to reinforce their risk management capabilities in response to the global financial crisis.

In May 2010, the Economist Intelligence Unit published Rebuilding trust: Next steps for risk management in financial services. This follow-on supplement to the main report examines the steps that investment banks are taking to reinforce their risk management capabilities in response to the global financial crisis.

Financial institutions must strengthen their anti-money laundering programs to identify and report suspicious activity, meet new regulatory mandates and manage compliance risk. Read this white paper to learn how SAS Anti-Money Laundering can help you detect unknown behavior patterns, gain a clearer view into transactions and report suspicious activity.

The regulatory landscape for financial institutions is changing more rapidly than ever before. Governments and regulatory bodies are introducing new laws and rules, and increasing the burden of compliance. This white paper summarizes the nature and scale of these regulatory shifts, shows what firms have to do to comply with new regulations, and discusses the role that business intelligence and analytics have to play.

This white paper presents the linear and copula model approaches to the calculation of risk aggregations and economic capital. It also discusses use of risk contributions as a basis for allocating economic capital and demonstrates how to integrate economic capital into risk-adjusted performance.

Executives charged with the task of putting banking on a safer, more promising footing in the wake of a global economic slowdown need to be armed with trustworthy, complete facts and analysis. This paper looks at how adopting a business analytics framework enables decisions to be based on true knowledge and predictive insight – adjusted for known risks, across the institution's business units, functional areas and channels.

There are some factors that require careful consideration before the development and implementation of a risk-based pricing framework. This paper outlines those factors and provides a quick methodology to begin instantiating risk-based pricing when other processes, such as an economic capital framework, have not yet been implemented.

An industry best practice for estimating the market risk of trading operations involves projecting profit-and-loss distributions of portfolios of financial instruments over short time horizons and then summarizing that information into single numbers, such as value at risk (VaR) and expected shortfall. Easy to understand and conceptually straightforward, VaR has long been an industry standard for estimating market risk. The means by which it is calculated and used in practice to manage risk, however, present a number of modeling, data management and reporting challenges. This paper addresses ways in which SAS can help clients overcome these challenges to better measure and manage their market risk.

The Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a global survey, which was sponsored by SAS, to explore perceptions of accountability among C-level executives, primarily in the banking and insurance industries. This report summarizes the findings of that survey. In particular, the report examines the degree to which business leaders in financial services feel accountable to society compared with other stakeholders. It also evaluates the impact stakeholders have on decision-making, especially when it comes to risk management.

As the recent global financial crisis revealed, the financial industry needs better, more comprehensive stress testing. An integral part of a firm's risk management approach, stress tests can give a clearer view about dangerous scenarios often described as a "perfect storm" or "black swan" event. They can also be used as part of branding and marketing. This white paper gives insight into different types of stress tests, and illustrates the importance of integrating stress test measures with value at risk (VaR) measures. It also describes risk architecture and data management considerations.

The banking sector has a significant role to play in our planet's future sustainability. Customers are saying that it's the right thing to do, suppliers are coming on-board and staff are engaged. Shareholders, too, have recently added their voice, understanding that the lack of a sustainability strategy poses a very real threat to reputational risk and hence shareholder value. This paper highlights the challenges for sustainable banking -- that is, building a future that integrates consumer, supplier and shareholder demands while decreasing the impact on the worlds resources. It also outlines a strategic approach to seizing the opportunities and realizing the benefits that have been gained and are anticipated as the strategy unfolds.

Most companies recognize that effective risk management depends on developing a clearly articulated statement of risk appetite and a robust framework to cascade this through the organization. This white paper, based on research conducted by Longitude Research, explores how having a thorough understanding of the amount and types of risk that the organization is willing to take in pursuit of a desired level of return provides boards and senior management with clear direction and ensures alignment of expectations across a broad range of key internal and external stakeholders.

Throw out the rule book and start over with a clean slate. The economy has slowed, regulations have increased and the way customers choose and interact with financial institutions changes quickly. Banks must go to the drawing board and genuinely re-engage with their customers. This paper reports on a comprehensive BAI study, providing an in depth overview of how to understand and engage with five valuable client segments. It includes customers' opinions on financial institutions, their level of satisfaction with their primary bank and details what financial institutions need to know about these key customer segments in order to engage with them effectively.

An exclusive InformationWeek Financial Services survey performed in July 2010 and sponsored by SAS discovered that the majority of financial firms surveyed aren’t prepared for continued exponential data growth and ever-shrinking latency for complex analytic tasks. The report also looks at financial services firms’ attitudes and approaches to various types of risk, their current analytics platform and infrastructure, and their current plans for managing both risk and increasing amounts of data to meet future business goals and demands.

This white paper is an excerpt from the book Credit Risk Assessment: The New Lending System for Borrowers, Lenders, and Investors by Clark R. Abrahams and Mingyuan Zhang. In this paper, the authors survey various opinions concerning the causes of the current financial crisis; its impact, consequences and implications; and the role of loan underwriting, which they see as being at the core of the problem. The authors also share their ideas for a new, comprehensive and systematic approach to credit granting that combines the best of science, proven credit principles and common sense.

Wealth management organizations must take a data driven, analytical approach toward building trust and loyalty with high net worth clients. This white paper highlights three essential elements needed to create a foundation for successful client communications. Also, it discusses a process for implementing these elements -- resulting in strong client relationships.

Deregulation and competition have many telecommunications providers struggling to sustain or restore profitability. This white paper outlines ways that activity-based management reflects the actual costs involved in attracting, supporting and keeping a customer. You will learn about the shift from commodities to customers in the marketplace and the importance of customer profitability as a measure of economic value.

Facing a more competitive environment than ever, communications service providers have needed to redefine their sales and marketing approaches. As in many industries, the traditional, product-centric approach doesn't align with what subscribers want or need, which can remind customers that it's not about them. In this white paper, Ken King of SAS describes how a marketing analytics engine can resolve these issues and deliver better results with the same resources. In addition to creating a 360-degree view of customers, one service provider found that its marketing analytics engine trimmed campaign development time from three weeks to one and improved campaign close rates by more than 250 percent.

The benefits of subscriber data management (SDM) techniques are relatively well known, but providers could significantly extend the value of SDM by adding a layer of analytics. Analytics can bridge the gaps between the telco and IT domains in a service provider's data architecture to create new insights based on a more comprehensive view. In this white paper, Ken King of SAS discusses six key ways service providers can use analytics to develop more enduring and profitable customer relationships.

Despite a dizzying rush of fresh technological innovation, old-fashioned customer development strategies remain key determinants of success in the newest round of competition between communication services providers. This white paper explores the potential of "bundling" services in the communications industry. Specifically, it addresses the implications of bundling for the customer experience and how it can impact customer lifetime value.

Communications service providers (CSPs) are at a technological crossroads. Recent dramatic improvements in computing power's price and performance mean CSPs no longer have to conserve resources and use analytics sparingly on just a tiny fraction of data. With high-performance analytics, CSPs can capture the value of all their rich data to make faster, better decisions – as they create sustainable cost structures and operational foundations for the future.

This white paper describes how new media channels have reshaped the industry and challenged traditional business models. Learn why organizations must have greater clarity about their audiences' desires and behaviors and how they can cultivate analytical insights for use in media assets and advertisements.

Using website traffic tools, social media monitoring, search activity metrics and specific housing industry metrics – coupled with SAS® data management and analytics – the digital marketing firm Organic has been able to distill data from six diverse streams into one logical monthly index for Pulte Homes (one of the nation’s largest home builders), Centex and their key competitors. This paper summarizes a webcast where market intelligence specialists from Organic and SAS described the process of creating the Consideration of Brand Index (COBI) and how text analytics can be used to identify the concepts and sentiments represented in that online activity.

This white paper looks at a proof-of-value (POV) process that a pragmatic organization embarked on with SAS to better understand how SAS forecasting and inventory optimization could improve the results from an already installed enterprise resource planning system. It not only shows surprising results, it provides a layman's pathway to attaining those results.

These days, a retailer needs its organization to respond to the market as a single entity, not a collection of disparate departments. This report highlights an important tool to enable this responsiveness – an enterprise-wide BI strategy. The value of this strategy is to ensure that each department is operating from the same set of data, delivered at the same time. Delivery mechanisms can and will likely differ depending on the physical location of the data consumer, but the data itself is consistent across channels, geographies, departments and roles.

This paper explores the topic of big data and how this “ammunition” is quickly dividing retailers into “the haves” and the “have nots”. Today’s biggest retailers with vast resources can afford to invest in customer intelligence and shopper marketing, resulting in increased basket size, shopping visits and retention over time. But for everyone but the very large retailers, the state of affairs is very unsatisfactory. What does the future hold for independent retailers and wholesalers, and the brand manufacturers that are frustrated by their increasing dependence on the very largest retailers?          

New volumes and types of smart grid data can significantly enhance utilities' planning capabilities, inform better market segmentation and improve engagements with customers. But the task is challenging, considering all the new data inputs combined with the complexity of GIS, SCADA, smart meter and CIS systems. To be successful, IT leaders must decide precisely what they need to accomplish with smart grid data. Then they can create an architecture and data governance model that enables easy, wide-ranging data access and relies on analytics to provide reliable energy and outstanding customer service.

To avoid the potential negative impact of the next incidence of a worldwide credit crunch or liquidity squeeze, energy and utility companies should undertake a thorough aggregation of their corporation's enterprise-wide risk and apply advanced analytics to model and simulate portfolio-level exposures. This white paper examines the value for energy companies of an integrated energy trading and risk management (ETRM) approach to capture market risk and monitor counterparty creditworthiness, and the need for a robust risk solution to gain a consistent, aggregated view of data.

Data integration, risk assessment and quantification of uncertainty are key issues in petroleum exploration and development. Oil companies are being forced to explore in more geologically complex and remote areas to exploit deeper hydrocarbon deposits. As the problems become too complex in areas of intrinsically poor data quality, and the cost associated with poor predictions (dry holes) increases, the need for proper integration of disciplines, data fusion, risk reduction and uncertainty management become very important. SAS Analytics provide potential answers to questions related to risk and uncertainty, as well as endorse reserves information and ensure that exploitation plans are adhered to in accordance to predefined targets. With SAS Analytics, you can use a plethora of upstream data to empower effective, efficient and timely decisions that affect reserves exploitation.

The utility industry is adopting analytics as a way to make more informed decisions, break down information silos and share findings across organizations. This paper reveals the results of a survey of different types of utilities and their analytics usage. It measures the industry's current analytics usage, biggest barriers to analytics deployment and details ways to overcome common challenges (such as budget and time constraints) to ensure utilities that use analytics are successful.

Smart metering will create an array of logistical and operational challenges and opportunities for energy retailers and distribution network operators. The data from smart meters, and additional data from home appliances and distribution networks, will produce truly big data – forcing the utilities industry to revolutionize its approach to analytics. From the customer perspective, smart metering will deliver tangible benefits – more accurate billing, fewer onsite visits and innovative supplier services. To succeed in this new landscape, SAS suggests using high-performance analytics. With an analytics solution, utilities can get closer to customers – creating insight, building loyalty and driving more effective acquisition initiatives – and build solid foundations to prepare for the future world of smart grid.

The Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a global survey, which was sponsored by SAS, to explore perceptions of accountability among C-level executives, primarily in the banking and insurance industries. This report summarizes the findings of that survey. In particular, the report examines the degree to which business leaders in financial services feel accountable to society compared with other stakeholders. It also evaluates the impact stakeholders have on decision-making, especially when it comes to risk management.

This paper illustrates how analytic-driven reporting systems and text mining software can help improve the safety of workers and mining processes in the oil and gas industries. Analytic-driven reporting systems and text mining can  identify quickly and accurately the key metrics that are captured from accident and hazard reports. This can shorten review cycles by automating the manual tasks of reading detailed comment blocks and textual fields, and help discover factors that may have been overlooked in the pursuit of safety improvements.

Most companies recognize that effective risk management depends on developing a clearly articulated statement of risk appetite and a robust framework to cascade this through the organization. This white paper, based on research conducted by Longitude Research, explores how having a thorough understanding of the amount and types of risk that the organization is willing to take in pursuit of a desired level of return provides boards and senior management with clear direction and ensures alignment of expectations across a broad range of key internal and external stakeholders.

By examining a project conducted with ConocoPhilips to find early indicators of problems in complex industrial processes, this paper presents an innovative statistical method to aid in diagnosing situations and solving problems, leading to the result of decreasing costs and increasing productivity through predictive maintenance.

Utilities will soon begin adopting analytics technologies that will allow them to become more proactive in decision making and to adjust their strategy based on predictive views of the future. As a result, utilities will be able to capitalize on smart grid technologies, side-step potential problems and better handle the steep challenges facing an industry in transition. Learn more in this excerpt from the December 2012 GTM Research report titled The Soft Grid 2013-2020: Big Data and Utility Analytics for Smart Grid. Research for this report was conducted over a six-month span and included primary and secondary research as well as extensive interviews with industry players and utilities.

Utility forecasters cannot assume that one methodology will provide the best forecast from one year to the next. To improve forecast performance, reduce uncertainties and generate value in the new data-intensive environment, they must be able to decide which models, or combinations of models, are best. And they must be able to determine more indicators of the factors that affect load. This paper uses a case study to illustrate how utility forecasters can take advantage of hourly or sub-hourly data from millions of smart meters by using new types of forecasting methodologies. It investigates how a number of approaches using geographic hierarchy and weather station data can improve the predictive analytics used to determine future electric usage. It also demonstrates why utilities need to use geographic hierarchies, and why their solutions should allow them to retrain models multiple times each year.

Faced with a daunting combination of challenges following the worldwide economic crisis, financial institutions are being forced to rethink their entire approach to their business model, and as regulators place financial institutions under increasingly intense scrutiny, investments in risk that go beyond the mandatory may generate quantifiable benefits. This paper examines how better risk systems will not only help an institution manage risk more effectively, but also make the institution more productive and efficient, enabling them to cut down on manual workarounds, reduce intensiveness of resource usage, improve timeliness and enable better collaboration and communication across organizational boundaries.

Underwriting fraud is a growing trend in the insurance industry, spanning across all lines of business and customers – from individual policyholders to large global organizations. This white paper will cover the different types of underwriting fraud and discuss how insurance companies are implementing technology and analytics to ensure rating integrity and prevent billions of dollars in premium leakage.

Claims payouts and loss adjustment expenses can account for up to 80% of an insurance company’s revenue. The way an insurance company manages the claims process is fundamental to its profits and long term sustainability. Equally important is the role claims processing plays in customer satisfaction, renewal and retention. This white paper discusses how predictive insurance claims processing can help insurers make the right decision, at the right time to the right party.

For insurance firms that operate on the traditional selling model, customer loyalty is rapidly decreasing as competition from banks, direct channel and aggregator websites make it easier for the customer to find the cheapest price. How can a firm create a differentiating customer experience that enables it to compete on some basis other than price? This white paper describes six key steps and the enabling technologies for insurers that want to cultivate deeper, more loyal and more valuable relationships with customers.

The Economist Intelligence Unit conducted a global survey, which was sponsored by SAS, to explore perceptions of accountability among C-level executives, primarily in the banking and insurance industries. This report summarizes the findings of that survey. In particular, the report examines the degree to which business leaders in financial services feel accountable to society compared with other stakeholders. It also evaluates the impact stakeholders have on decision-making, especially when it comes to risk management.

The auto insurance industry is facing an unprecedented number of challenges brought on by heavy price competition and increased claims costs. In response, insurers across the globe are either considering – or have already implemented – innovative telematics solutions. Through wireless technology, telematics devices record and transmit data in real time back to insurers. Insurers can use this data to develop more accurate pricing, improve the granularity of risk management techniques and reduce losses by enabling better claims assessments. As this white paper reveals, telematics – used in conjunction with information technology and analytics – can enable insurers to turn the data explosion into a major competitive advantage.

The reinsurance industry faces an unprecedented number of challenges. The frequency and severity of man-made and natural catastrophes are increasing. In addition, reinsurers are faced with new regulatory issues (e.g., Solvency II), a continuing global soft market and legacy issues, such as exposure to mold and asbestos claims. To combat these challenges, reinsurers are turning to technology for catastrophe modeling, data analytics and geographic information systems (GIS) to better understand the data and their risk exposure. This white paper will explain how reinsurers can gain a competitive advantage by using data management and analytics.

Most companies recognize that effective risk management depends on developing a clearly articulated statement of risk appetite and a robust framework to cascade this through the organization. This white paper, based on research conducted by Longitude Research, explores how having a thorough understanding of the amount and types of risk that the organization is willing to take in pursuit of a desired level of return provides boards and senior management with clear direction and ensures alignment of expectations across a broad range of key internal and external stakeholders.

A recent SMA study shows that many in the insurance industry see great potential for capitalizing on the opportunities that the social media universe presents. This paper -- which is based on SMA's experience, research and insights -- explains SMAs position that insurers seeking to capitalize on the business potential of social media need a comprehensive solution for social media analytics that integrates easily with enterprise analytics solutions, accommodates big data, and offers flexible options for deployment, including cloud based models. SMA also recommends that SAS Social Media Analytics be on insurers' short lists for consideration.

Opportunistic fraud is an ongoing issue for insurers, but the more significant challenge comes in the form of organized fraud. This paper is based on SMA's ongoing research on information and analytics in insurance, which has led the company to conclude that combating organized fraud will require insurers to implement an integrated, enterprisewide fraud prevention and management strategy that capitalizes on advanced technology solutions, including advanced analytics and a fully automated case management system.

Today's insurance organizations are focused on growing their customer base, attracting new policyholders while retaining those they already have. However, according to an exclusive UBM TechWeb survey of 280 Insurance & Technology readers, the majority of insurers are not yet effectively leveraging data, tools and technology to gain customer insight and carry out successful marketing campaigns, both key to achieving profitable organic growth. This paper discusses the results of that survey, examining how insurers are meeting today's customer-focused marketing challenges.

Insurance fraud costs insurers tens of billions of dollars each year and, in turn, increases premiums in all lines of insurance. During the last 15 years, insurers have invested substantially in anti-fraud initiatives to reduce their exposure to fraud losses. Technology-based tools are being used both inside the company and outsourced to a variety of vendors to detect and investigate schemes by opportunistic individuals, insurance company employees and enterprising organized rings. This white paper presents the results of a study conducted by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and sponsored by SAS to better understand how insurers currently use anti-fraud technology, what strategies they are employing and their plans for expanding technology capabilities in the next year. 

Social media can be a gold mine of useful information to improve marketing, brand management, customer service, fraud investigation and more. But what should insurance companies know about harvesting this information for business purposes? This question was the focus of a roundtable co-hosted by Insurance & Technology magazine and SAS. The 21 participants in the event, representing some of the biggest names in the insurance business, were promised anonymity in exchange for their candor – which led to lively discussions about the best and worst of social media and what to do with it. This paper provides insights from that event.

The use of advanced, high-performance analytics capabilities and the potential they have to augment and enrich customer insights, financial management, risk assessment and day-to-day operations mean that analytics is fast becoming THE competitive battleground for insurers. This white paper by Strategy Meets Action discusses the role of high-performance analytics in the insurance industry and explains why insurers seeking to capitalize on the transformational new paradigms and opportunities that big data and high-performance analytics can deliver would be wise to consider the capabilities that SAS provides.

Insurance companies are striving to turn their focus from policies and products to customers. However, to an insurer the customer can come in many disguises – the insured, the policyholder, and the agent or broker. Add the Internet and other direct distribution channels, and insurers are finding it harder and harder to determine who and what is profitable. This white paper discusses how integrating analytics into performance management can enable organizations to measure the profitability of their customers, agencies and multiple distribution channels.

Information technology is finally up to the task of cost-effective clinical research. But there are still some significant barriers to gaining all the benefits of this technology – in particular, interoperability. This white paper explores the need for a consistent industry architecture that allows life sciences firms to connect their enterprises to enjoy better data integration, process consistency and communication of results. You will also learn about the requirements for such an architecture and the benefits it can provide.'

Pressured by new regulations, public image issues, negative publicity and a desire to promote better use of health data, pharmaceutical companies and other clinical trial sponsors are starting initiatives to expose and share their clinical trial information. Recent announcements to share previously confidential data include those by GlaxoSmithKline and the CEO Roundtable on Cancer. In addition to positive media attention and altruistic reasons, pharmaceutical companies also see this as an opportunity to improve the research process and increase the opportunities to identify scientific breakthroughs helping both their companies as well as the larger healthcare environment. Providing access to clinical trial data with the ability to aggregate information for meta-analyses greatly increases the likelihood for identifying new medical breakthroughs as well as decreasing the time to market for effective, safe treatments. But data sharing and data transparency initiatives still face significant challenges both in their creation and execution. This paper outlines the potential value of data-sharing initiatives and the hurdles to successfully creating a data sharing environment. Learn what components are needed and how best to support or participate in this next step in the evolution of clinical research.

Discovery organizations are identifying a lot of promising compounds, but clinical research processes haven't kept pace with timely testing of all those potential therapies. This white paper describes how SAS Drug Development supports true innovation across the clinical trial process. You will learn how to assemble data to foster better collaboration, get up-to-date information during clinical trials and make informed decisions earlier in the trial process.

A strong contracts analytics solution can be invaluable in helping pharmaceutical companies monitor the performance of their financial relationships with private and public health plans and maximize their marketing to patients and physicians. This paper describes how organizations can use statistical analysis, forecasting and predictive modeling to gain capabilities to communicate confidently with stakeholders, fine tune business processes and make more profitable negotiating decisions. This, in turn, leads to stronger customer relationships and competitive advantage.

JMP Genomics software from SAS provides a suite of comprehensive tools for dynamic exploration and analysis of data from traditional microarray studies or summarized data from second-generation sequencing platforms. Its unique pedigree combines the JMP statistical discovery platform with industry-leading SAS® Analytics tailored for processing large genomics data sets. With release 4.1, JMP Genomics adds a 64-bit edition, new import and expression analysis features, enhanced genome visualization capabilities and more. This white paper describes the new and enhanced tools.

Organizations that manage clinical research operations based on personnel experience and basic technologies such as spreadsheets lack the quantitative insight to make the best and most informed decisions. This paper illustrates how the application of business and advanced analytics to clinical trial operations represents a new and improved approach to reducing the cost and time associated with managing clinical research projects, specifically for trial design, site selection and clinical supply management and forecasting.

Pharma firms have resisted technology-driven predictive marketing mix analysis even though those systems are being used successfully by their peers in other industries. But why? SAS and Pharmaceutical Executive commissioned Strategic Market Research to conduct confidential telephone depth interviews with senior pharma marketing executives to find out why there is a gap between the perceived need for marketing mix predictive analytics and use of the latest technology available to do that kind of analysis.

The pharmaceutical industry is facing trends that will continue to erode profitability if the sales and marketing model does not change.  Prevailing market forces, regulatory constraints and the scrutiny of senior management make it more critical than ever to show results—fast.  But how do you determine which actions will most effectively build brand equity, accelerate the path from product launch to peak sales, maintain physician loyalty and contribute to the overall company mission? In this white paper, industry leaders weigh in on how pharmaceutical companies can exploit predictive analytics to improve their commercial programs.

There is a gap between the need for data integration and fully integrated systems. To find out why, SAS and Pharmaceutical Executive conducted confidential telephone interviews with senior pharmaceutical executives and CROs. This article discusses recommendations on how to achieve optimal clinical data integration, based on those interviews.

For its 8th annual Health Care & Life Sciences Executive Conference, SAS brought together great minds from across the industry – provider, pharma, payer and policy segments – to discuss the promise of data and analytics in improving medical decisions, costs and outcomes, particularly as the industry is being reshaped in the U.S. by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. This paper summarizes the Executive Leadership Panel Discussion, which offered insights from various industry perspectives: government, the research and provider communities, and health care IT.

The life sciences industry is under pressure to accelerate time-to-market for new compounds – at lower cost. Traditionally, the process of managing clinical trials data has been cumbersome and resource-intensive. Industry analysts have stated that automated data integration and validation can trim 30 to 50 percent from the clinical trial cycle. This white paper makes a case for implementing data standards and applying automated processes for managing data throughout the clinical trials process, from study design to regulatory submissions. It also describes how SAS Clinical Data Integration provides value for sponsors, CROs and regulatory authorities through mature data transformation capabilities, embedded CDISC capabilities, the ability to automate repeatable processes and the flexibility to support the evolution of both new and custom models.

With limited resources, rising costs and an expanded need for services and health coverage for the uninsured,  the pressure is on to accurately forecast publically funded medical costs. Improper forecasting can result in unbalanced budgets or state programs such as education or public safety being denied needed funding.  This paper describes how intelligent forecasting can aid in the development of accurate and effective healthcare budgets.

Senior federal leadership are facing mounting budget and organizational challenges, and are increasingly turning to high-performance analytics to make data-based decisions that are vital to mission-effectiveness. This paper summarizes the responses of more than 140 federal managers to a survey launched by The Government Business Council (GBC) with sponsorship from SAS. Gain insights into their experiences with data analytics, how it is being used in the decision making process and how they are incorporating the processes needed to be in line with the Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act (GPRAMA).

Government departments and agencies at all levels must demonstrate transparency, accountability and effectiveness. The bottom line is that funding is now tied to the clear demonstration of results. This paper explores how departments and agencies are defining meaningful measures and incorporating performance management methodologies to understand program effectiveness, drive performance improvements and realize significant cost savings.

Current economic conditions heighten the need for government to accurately gauge regulatory compliance and capital to support business strategy and risk appetite. More regulations are on the way, demanding transparency, accurate information about government operations, robust and comprehensive risk management, regulatory compliance and efficient governance. What does this mean for government organizations? This paper takes a step back to examine how all components of government must work in an integrated manner in order to produce the best results, and how SAS approaches governance, risk, compliance and performance management issues by providing a comprehensive framework for analyzing and managing risks in the context of government strategy and performance.

Taxpayers are requiring more financial accountability from all levels of government. In addition, government has been scrutinizing its own business practices. Many agencies and departments are attempting to connect services delivered with program funding through performance-based budgeting (PBB). This white paper discusses approaches and techniques that government agencies can use to implement a successful PBB program. You will also learn about the benefits of PBB, including an improved focus on mission and goals instead of revenues and expenses.

In June 2008, SAS brought together executives and consultants across a range of federal agencies to discuss their experiences with performance management initiatives. Some were planning and performance management executives within government agencies. Some were business or IT consultants working with federal agencies.  From all of their accounts, three key themes emerged. Successful performance management initiatives must realign the cultural framework, set the strategic vision and establish the supporting information infrastructure. This paper explores issues and best practices around performance management in government from the people who live and breathe it every day.  

Government fraud is at an all-time high – and growing rapidly. Given the new nature of fraud, traditional, program-focused methods of detecting fraud are insufficient. Modern-day fraud activities often span multiple departments, making fraud an enterprise problem – not just a program-specific problem. But what if governments could improve budgets by implementing enterprise level, state-of-the-art fraud detection programs designed to keep pace with increasingly sophisticated perpetrators? This paper describes how to solve the growing problems of traditional fraud detection through an enterprise approach to fighting fraud – one that enables an integrated view of data and coordination of fraud detection across government programs through a common technology infrastructure.

The economic crisis confronting governments is forcing a revisiting of traditional budget formulation in order to achieve maximum results from reduced resources; however, existing budgeting tools and processes are outdated and incapable of providing the information needed for proper evaluation of government programs. Learn how a program-centric approach to evaluating outcomes and predicting future outcomes must become the norm for future government programs in order to set priorities, provide needed services and prioritize investment of government resources.

Far greater collaboration is needed across the boundaries of governmental agencies than what exists today. Certainly, distinct organizational units will persist for functional and legal reasons, but they should operate in unison, rather than as silos. GRC is an approach in which an organization integrates its governance, risk and compliance activities to meet or exceed performance goals, while staying within the bounds of prudent risk taking, policies, laws, regulations and agreements. This white paper describes how an enterprise GRC solution can provide a deeper understanding of common goals and what needs to be accomplished at all levels in every operating unit of a governmental organization.

To gain an edge over their competitors and raise profits, many business owners illegally define their employees as exempt independent contractors, costing state and federal governments untold billions of dollars annually and putting workers at risk. The information needed to identify employee misclassification is spread across many departments in state and federal government, as is the responsibility for enforcement, making detection and prevention difficult – if not impossible. Authorities must incorporate strategies and detection tools that take an enterprise approach to combat employee misclassification. This paper explains how, using the SAS® Fraud Framework for Government, some governments are consolidating information and utilizing sophisticated analytics to provide robust detection capabilities across all government programs and services to identify perpetrators and end this illegal practice.

Alignment is the most significant benefit organizations seek in their performance management initiatives, but it is the least realized. This paper explains why alignment is so elusive and offers three steps to achieving it. It also includes a guide to the technologies that enable alignment throughout the enterprise.

By examining a project conducted with ConocoPhilips to find early indicators of problems in complex industrial processes, this paper presents an innovative statistical method to aid in diagnosing situations and solving problems, leading to the result of decreasing costs and increasing productivity through predictive maintenance.

Government health care industry faces a wide variety of challenges – from budget troubles to congressional scrutiny. Plus, the industry is moving towards adopting electronic health records, meaningful use standards and health information exchanges. Managing all this change doesn't mean the quality of care can drop. This paper provides an in-depth report on the status of analytics in the government health care industry, along with an overview of key obstacles to adoption, plus big opportunities in store for those organizations that use analytics to its fullest.

In October 2010, SAS sponsored a TechWeb survey of 327 federal, state and local government decision makers to examine the state of fraud and explore key directional trends in using business analytics to combat it. This paper covers the results of that survey, which found that while many agencies regard their ability to use data analysis to combat fraud, abuse and improper payments as good or excellent, most organizations are not fully mature in the use of analytics.

Thomas Kimner, a Risk Manager with the Americas Risk Practice at SAS, testified before a congressional subcommittee regarding the use of data mining for regulation and oversight of government programs. He spoke with Tom Temin and Jane Norris of Federal News Radio and provided some additional thoughts on the value of data mining in TARP oversight. The following is a transcript of their conversation on Oct. 12, 2009.

Intelligence analysts face incredible challenges in detecting growing threats by analyzing overwhelming amounts of "Big Data." Using traditional tools and manual approaches, analysts are trying to find that "needle in a haystack" based on only a few fragments of data. In 2012, SAS participated in the US government's "Identity Discovery Challenge" and delivered the right answers and relevant supporting details to win the Challenge. This paper explores how government agencies can leverage advanced analytics to link disconnected data and provide answers to complex questions. Rather than requiring analysts to know precisely what to look for at any given moment, advanced analytics with built-in alert systems can be set up to proactively identify, prioritize and present information to analysts based on pattern identification and quantification of risk.

Although the federal government workforce has been steadily growing, in the near future, an aging, skilled workforce will retire, taking their skills and knowledge with them. Couple this with impending budget cuts that will necessitate reductions in force, and agency executives need to plan ahead and take action in a very deliberate, strategic way to avoid organizational upheaval and resource gaps that will threaten agency missions. Government executives need to look into the future and make informed plans and decisions to ensure their agency continues to have the right staff with the right skillsets and experience. This paper explains how, by analyzing data, managers can make better decisions that help them prepare for the looming workforce crisis, and a robust workforce analytical solution enables executives to quickly aggregate and analyze massive volumes of workforce data.

The economic crisis confronting governments is forcing a revisiting of traditional budget formulation in order to achieve maximum results from reduced resources; however, existing budgeting tools and processes are outdated and incapable of providing the information needed for proper evaluation of government programs. Learn how a program-centric approach to evaluating outcomes and predicting future outcomes must become the norm for future government programs in order to set priorities, provide needed services and prioritize investment of government resources.

For state governments, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is creating unprecedented management challenges in reporting, transparency and accountability. To meet the President's five crucial objectives for the stimulus funding, governors, state budget officers, controllers and stimulus czars can apply a business analytics approach to managing grants; SAS for recovery optimization and management for state governments provides data integration, reporting and advanced analytics that can be quickly deployed to complement existing grants management systems with minimum disruption.

Alignment is the most significant benefit organizations seek in their performance management initiatives, but it is the least realized. This paper explains why alignment is so elusive and offers three steps to achieving it. It also includes a guide to the technologies that enable alignment throughout the enterprise.

For HHS programs, this paper explains the benefits of a provider-centric view that integrates and analyzes all of the information on provider-patient interaction. This holistic view provides the opportunity to be proactive in cost avoidance and quality of care, and to become more efficient with processes across a host of subject areas inside HHS programs. Moreover, it lays the foundation for continual improvement of patient health outcomes through enhanced care management practices.

This paper introduces a Process Analytical Technology (PAT) maturity model that maps various tools and methodologies that can help you understand the drivers of product quality and, as a result, reduce defects. In particular, you will learn about pragmatic data analysis and reporting approaches that improve mainstream users' understanding of manufacturing processes.

Many companies are beginning to realize that warranty data is an integral part of the customer's voice. It is essential not just to the bottom line, but to customer satisfaction and brand reputation. To understand how companies analyze warranty data, SAS commissioned a study to look at the warranty reporting and analysis systems of 20 companies. This paper summarizes the study and provides three case studies of companies that are now reaping the benefits of automated analytics.

This white paper looks at a proof-of-value (POV) process that a pragmatic organization embarked on with SAS to better understand how SAS forecasting and inventory optimization could improve the results from an already installed enterprise resource planning system. It not only shows surprising results, it provides a layman's pathway to attaining those results.

World-class organizations have realized that the service supply chain is different than the traditional production supply chain. This white paper examines the difference between these two supply chains. You will learn how some organizations are developing service supply chain techniques to solve their unique challenges. You'll also learn which business methodologies foster the best return on investment in service supply chain improvements.

To be competitive, today's supply chain organizations must create cost-reduction initiatives. This report provides an in-depth review of best practices in supply chain planning and provides processes, methodologies and action items used by best-in-class organizations to drive their success. Read this to benchmark your practices.

By examining a project conducted with ConocoPhilips to find early indicators of problems in complex industrial processes, this paper presents an innovative statistical method to aid in diagnosing situations and solving problems, leading to the result of decreasing costs and increasing productivity through predictive maintenance.

Fraudulent warranty claims raise costs for manufacturers and negatively affect customer satisfaction. To combat the problem, manufacturers can integrate traditional business rules with anomaly detection, advanced analytics and social network analysis to automatically score each claim, customer and service provider. This paper shares insights from the webinar Claims Detectives: Using Analytics to Arrest Errors and Fraud. Learn how using a hybrid analytical approach to uncover claims errors and fraud can deter unethical behavior, identify training issues, enhance customer satisfaction and service provider relationships, and improve product quality and reliability.

By applying the same predictive rigor to asset maintenance as is typically used in demand forecasting, predictive asset maintenance can help closely align production forecasts with the forecast of market demand for supply. Manufacturing professionals in leading companies are using analytics to improve asset utilization and optimize overall return-on-assets financial metrics. Learn how to make data-driven decisions about the need for (and timing of) future asset investments, preserve precious working capital and manage risk more effectively.

In the past, a dissatisfied customer told 10 friends; now they tell 10,000. People are talking about their experiences with your products – and your competitors' products. Some may be ambassadors and advocates, others are detractors and malcontents – but all of their voices are in the mix, shaping customers' buying decisions. At a time when product recalls, government intervention and lawsuits are front-page news, customers are questioning brands that seemed to have been above reproach. Descriptive statistics, text analytics and social network analysis provide a way for you to determine how customers purchasing decisions are affected by what they see on the Internet. This paper describes how analytics can be applied to social media and provides some best practices for monitoring and addressing perceptual quality.

As Foxwoods Resort Casino expanded and diversified, management saw the need to gain a broader view of the customer and to use that information to build customer value. In a recent webcast sponsored by SAS and Netezza, Foxwoods' Todd Williams talked about how the company redefined its data warehouse environment to be able to generate a comprehensive view of the customer to improve customer service and promotions. This paper provides a summary of that webcast.

Two assets significantly influence success or failure of a company. Those are customers and their continued patronage, and employees and their knowledge (as well as their work productivity). This paper describes how to evaluate the likelihood of continued customer patronage versus the risk of losing it. It also acknowledges corresponding loyalty, measured in the form of promoter scores. The paper proposes a strategic analytic roadmap for how SAS enables you to use promoter score survey results to identify customer migration value. The strategic value your organization gains from such analyses enables you not only to understand why customers are or are not likely to promote your product or service – but also their likelihood to do so in the future.

In this webcast summary, experts identify three major trends in pricing: A shift from inventory optimization to price optimization; the growing importance of distribution channel management; a move toward dynamic, customer-centric pricing. Learn more about these trends and nine best practices for improving revenue management using analytics to make better decisions.

Casinos are no longer strictly gaming establishments, but offer a wide range of other entertainment options like restaurants, spa, golf, theater and shopping. Patrons have more choices than ever before, and more incentive to "shop around" for the organization that best matches their desires. Gaming companies need to match patrons' increasingly selective spending habits with highly targeted offers that demonstrate an understanding of preferences and value. To ensure these offers strike the right financial balance to drive profits, gaming companies must base their campaigns on a true understanding of patron worth, both today and in the future. Find out how SAS can provide a 360-degree view of the patron, which is essential to achieving this vision.

What issues are keeping industry executives up at night? What will it take to keep motivating guests in 2012 and beyond? What research is changing the face of the hospitality and gaming industries? How will the global economy shape the future of gaming and hospitality?

These questions have been nagging at hospitality and gaming management professionals for years. In a webcast co-sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) and SAS, our panel of industry executives, thought leaders and researchers discussed five top trends for 2012 and what hospitality organizations should do about them.

This white paper summarizes a webcast that brought back the expert panel from Preparing for the Recovery webcast to talk about how their predictions turned out and how the lessons learned will translate into growth strategies for the future.

After so much focus on managing through the recession, hospitality and gaming companies must now prepare for recovery. Regardless of when the recovery takes hold, most experts agree that the way we do business must change. In the emerging economy, the winners will be those companies that learn from the recent past and incorporate the lessons learned into their business models. How can hospitality and gaming companies take advantage of current economic trends and better manage future investment and pricing strategies? This was the topic of a Webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that Webcast.

Labor costs represent one of the largest operational expenditures in hospitality and gaming. At the same time, labor can be one of a property's biggest competitive differentiators—or its worst liability. As economic pressures persist, strategies aimed at hiring the right skill set and efficiently deploying labor resources have become critical to reducing costs while maintaining service levels. That was the topic of a webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that webcast

Driven by rising energy costs and increasing guest awareness, hospitality and gaming companies are giving more attention than ever to sustainable business practices. However, with limited resources, companies are often left asking, “Which initiatives are right for our guests and our business? What can we do that will make economic sense yet not compromise the guest experience?” This topic was discussed in a webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that webcast.

Are standard silver-gold-platinum customer loyalty programs doing all they could?  Are daily deals such as Groupon discounts helping or hurting restaurants?  How can an organization benchmark its IT maturity and develop a logical roadmap for evolution? These questions have been nagging at hospitality and gaming management professionals for years.  In this webcast conclusions paper, experts and researchers from the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research present their findings on these hot issues that could spell the difference between an organization thriving or simply surviving.

Amid inconsistent indicators – roller-coaster stock values and high unemployment rates – hotel and casino operators are rightfully wondering, when will recovery really take hold? How will the hard lessons from lean economic times shape the industry in coming years? What will it take to restore rates, occupancy and revenues to pre-recession levels? How can we wisely apply new technologies to address these business issues? These questions were the focus of a webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that webcast.

This paper presents insights and practical advice from a webcast on applying advanced analytics in hospitality and gaming. It describes where advanced analytics can have real value in the industry from forecasting and simulation to optimizing results by choosing the right path.

While the hospitality and gaming industry is showing signs that it may be starting to emerge from the recent economic downturn, there’s still a long way to go. To that end, industry leaders must work toward optimizing every aspect of the business in order to emerge from the downturn as strong as possible. The key to that goal is to get new intelligence from all the data generated by customer behaviors and operational transactions. Unfortunately, customer interactions are usually captured in a wide range of formats and a multitude of disparate systems, and data quality is suspect. The challenges surrounding data quality and data integration were the focus of an October 2009 Webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that Webcast.

As revenue management has demonstrated success and gained visibility, revenue managers are taking on a significantly more strategic role in hospitality and travel organizations. This paper summarizes a webinar co-sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS, in which a panel of experts provided three distinct angles on the limitations of traditional revenue management practices – and how new revenue management and price optimization analytics can help companies cope with a dynamic and evolving marketplace.

In this webcast summary, experts identify three major trends in pricing: A shift from inventory optimization to price optimization; the growing importance of distribution channel management; a move toward dynamic, customer-centric pricing. Learn more about these trends and nine best practices for improving revenue management using analytics to make better decisions.

Casinos are no longer strictly gaming establishments, but offer a wide range of other entertainment options like restaurants, spa, golf, theater and shopping. Patrons have more choices than ever before, and more incentive to "shop around" for the organization that best matches their desires. Gaming companies need to match patrons' increasingly selective spending habits with highly targeted offers that demonstrate an understanding of preferences and value. To ensure these offers strike the right financial balance to drive profits, gaming companies must base their campaigns on a true understanding of patron worth, both today and in the future. Find out how SAS can provide a 360-degree view of the patron, which is essential to achieving this vision.

What issues are keeping industry executives up at night? What will it take to keep motivating guests in 2012 and beyond? What research is changing the face of the hospitality and gaming industries? How will the global economy shape the future of gaming and hospitality?

These questions have been nagging at hospitality and gaming management professionals for years. In a webcast co-sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research (CHR) and SAS, our panel of industry executives, thought leaders and researchers discussed five top trends for 2012 and what hospitality organizations should do about them.

This white paper summarizes a webcast that brought back the expert panel from Preparing for the Recovery webcast to talk about how their predictions turned out and how the lessons learned will translate into growth strategies for the future.

After so much focus on managing through the recession, hospitality and gaming companies must now prepare for recovery. Regardless of when the recovery takes hold, most experts agree that the way we do business must change. In the emerging economy, the winners will be those companies that learn from the recent past and incorporate the lessons learned into their business models. How can hospitality and gaming companies take advantage of current economic trends and better manage future investment and pricing strategies? This was the topic of a Webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that Webcast.

Labor costs represent one of the largest operational expenditures in hospitality and gaming. At the same time, labor can be one of a property's biggest competitive differentiators—or its worst liability. As economic pressures persist, strategies aimed at hiring the right skill set and efficiently deploying labor resources have become critical to reducing costs while maintaining service levels. That was the topic of a webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that webcast

Driven by rising energy costs and increasing guest awareness, hospitality and gaming companies are giving more attention than ever to sustainable business practices. However, with limited resources, companies are often left asking, “Which initiatives are right for our guests and our business? What can we do that will make economic sense yet not compromise the guest experience?” This topic was discussed in a webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that webcast.

Are standard silver-gold-platinum customer loyalty programs doing all they could?  Are daily deals such as Groupon discounts helping or hurting restaurants?  How can an organization benchmark its IT maturity and develop a logical roadmap for evolution? These questions have been nagging at hospitality and gaming management professionals for years.  In this webcast conclusions paper, experts and researchers from the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research present their findings on these hot issues that could spell the difference between an organization thriving or simply surviving.

Amid inconsistent indicators – roller-coaster stock values and high unemployment rates – hotel and casino operators are rightfully wondering, when will recovery really take hold? How will the hard lessons from lean economic times shape the industry in coming years? What will it take to restore rates, occupancy and revenues to pre-recession levels? How can we wisely apply new technologies to address these business issues? These questions were the focus of a webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that webcast.

This paper presents insights and practical advice from a webcast on applying advanced analytics in hospitality and gaming. It describes where advanced analytics can have real value in the industry from forecasting and simulation to optimizing results by choosing the right path.

While the hospitality and gaming industry is showing signs that it may be starting to emerge from the recent economic downturn, there’s still a long way to go. To that end, industry leaders must work toward optimizing every aspect of the business in order to emerge from the downturn as strong as possible. The key to that goal is to get new intelligence from all the data generated by customer behaviors and operational transactions. Unfortunately, customer interactions are usually captured in a wide range of formats and a multitude of disparate systems, and data quality is suspect. The challenges surrounding data quality and data integration were the focus of an October 2009 Webcast sponsored by the Cornell University Center for Hospitality Research and SAS. This paper provides a summary of that Webcast.

Education leaders know it is no longer enough to collect data just to deliver mandated reports. It is time to use diverse data sources to make better, fact-based decisions that improve educational outcomes and the use of scarce resources. In this white paper, education professionals from the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) and Rock Hill School District discuss an information environment that can integrate data from across the district, track information over time, uncover trends and equip decision makers with self-service reporting – and the culture shift that has to happen to make this all possible.

Fundamental to transforming our nation's schools is the need for accurate information to more precisely measure teachers' influence on student learning. Understanding the impact of educa­tors on student outcomes is necessary for effective policy and instructional decisions and can allow classrooms to thrive by implementing strategies that maximize the potential of both parties. But to go beyond simply tracking outputs and instead, leverage outputs to identify and measure outcomes, requires addressing all levels of the education spectrum – student, teacher, school and district. The resulting effective delivery of instruction will not only provide better outcomes for students, but will also support the necessary development of a future workforce.

This white paper discusses the drivers and the challenges in implementing a longitudinal data system. It then explores how, with SAS' Business Analytics Framework, information gaps among key educational agencies need no longer exist, and decision makers can be armed with the accurate data they need to make proactive decisions and effective education policies.

Along with the financial crisis of 2009 comes an opportunity for funding through the federal stimulus package. This white paper explores the foundation for education's successful future by outlining a model for sustainable education. It also details four key areas (instructional methods, campus operations, workforce development and infrastructure) essential to reshaping the US educational system in response to this crisis and in preparation for a bright future. Tomorrow is today, and extraordinary things are about to happen. Let's get started!

The University of Texas System is using SAS for its systemwide interactive dashboard, which is setting a national standard for institutional transparency. The dashboard project enables the public to see how the system and its institutions are performing on a variety of measures, from student access to faculty performance, research and technology transfer, costs, and more. In this paper, leaders from the UT System's Office of Strategic Initiatives describe the capabilities of the interactive dashboard project and what it took to successfully implement the first phase of the project in just four months.

This white paper discusses the drivers and the challenges in implementing a longitudinal data system. It then explores how, with SAS' Business Analytics Framework, information gaps among key educational agencies need no longer exist, and decision makers can be armed with the accurate data they need to make proactive decisions and effective education policies.

Higher education institutions, besieged with scattered student data and a lack of adequate analytical tools for complex analysis and reporting, struggle amid the constraints of narrowly defined enrollment management. A strategic and comprehensive approach to integrating all of a college or university's programs, practices, policies and planning can lead to the optimal recruitment, retention and graduation of students. To understand the factors contributing to student outcomes, recruitment, retention and graduation rates, institutions can apply analytics across the continuing student experience; in other words, aggregate and analyze the data needed to gain deeper insight into students, the quality of student experiences and external impacts on enrollment. This paper demonstrates how these insights enable a proactive, strategic approach to enrollment management.

Education leaders know it is no longer enough to collect data just to deliver mandated reports. It is time to use diverse data sources to make better, fact-based decisions that improve research, enrollment and administration. The field of education has only scratched the surface of what can be done with analytics and business intelligence, said Dr. Susan Grajek from the non-profit organization EDUCAUSE. Speaking at the Education brunch and discussion at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California, Grajek described the cultural and policy changes that must take place for P-20 educational institutions to capitalize on analytics, while Dr. Sean Mulvenon of the University of Arkansas showed how his team has used SAS to implement data integration, analytics and reporting projects for P-20 educational statistics for the local, state and national levels.