What is Netezza?

Netezza is a dedicated data warehouse appliance that uses a proprietary architecture called Asymmetric Massively Parallel Processing (AMPP) that combines open blade-based servers and disk storage with a proprietary data filtering process using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Netezza integrates a database, server, and storage, which are all interconnected by a powerful network fabric into a single, easy to manage system that requires minimal set-up and ongoing administration, leading to shorter deployment cycles and faster time to value for business analytics. Read more

One of the primary benefits to an organization that’s invested in IBM Cognos (or any business intelligence platform for that matter) is empowering its people to use the tools to interact with their company’s data to make smart, informed, and proactive decisions that positively impact the direction of the business. But unless a user feels confident working with the tools and the information returned, the success of the business intelligence investment will not be fully maximized. Proper training on the tools is imperative to instilling that sense of confidence and empowerment; the Ironside Group wants to be your training partner. Read more

Predictive Analytics 101

Business intelligence focuses on the identification and understanding of events that happened in the past; that is “what’s happened?” and “why has it happened?” Business imperatives and other constraints are increasingly driving organizations to look forward and use their data to ensure decisions that are being made today will lead to wins in the future. Predictive analytics has often been viewed with hesitation and intimidation and seen as only relevant to statistical specialists, but with the advent and evolution of the IBM SPSS solutions, the power of predictive analytics can be harnessed by a much broader group of users. This newsletter article describes what predictive analytics is, how it is used, when it is used, and how to integrate it into your organization. Read more