ORLANDO, Fla., April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SAS Global Forum – Teradata (NYSE: TDC), the analytic data solutions company, today announced the publication of a new book by Bill Franks, Chief Analytics Officer for Teradata Alliances, which illuminates the complex and critical new field that is accelerating the evolution of information technology today – big data analytics.

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Franks' book, Taming the Big Data Tidal Wave: Finding Opportunities in Huge Data Streams with Advanced Analytics, explains how tapping big data sources can be applied to improve business decisions through the practice of analytics, and addresses these issues:  

• What is big data, why is it important, and what are its benefits?
• Ten big data sources that can benefit your business, including web data, sensor data, text data and more
• Technologies, processes, and methods required to tame big data
• The convergence of the analytic and data environments
• The evolution of visual point and click interfaces, analytic point solutions, open source tools, and data visualization tools
• Modern analytic approaches such as ensemble modeling, commodity models, and text analysis
• What makes a great analysis, a great analytic professional, and a great analytics team?
• Enabling analytic innovation through an analytic innovation center
• How to create a culture of innovation and discovery in your organization

"I thought it was important to have a business-focused book that that pulled the important themes together around big data – in one place, and in a format that both business and analytic professionals can easily understand", said Franks. "I wanted to provide relevant insight with tangible advice and action steps on how to put big data sources and analyses to work for business."

The content of Franks' book comes from his decades of experience working customers in many analytic contexts – which span industries and practices. It is published by John Wiley and Sons, Inc. and is part of the Wiley & SAS Business series. Reviews of the book have been positive.

"This book puts the focus squarely where it belongs. It's primarily about the effective analysis of big data, rather than the big data management (BDM) topic per se. It starts with data and goes all the way into such topics as how to frame decisions, how to build an analytics center of excellence, and how to build an analytical culture. You will find some mentions of BDM topics, as you should. But the bulk of the content here is about how to create, organize, staff, and execute on analytical initiatives that make use of data as the input." —From the Foreword by Thomas H. Davenport, President's Distinguished Professor of IT and Management, Babson College, cofounder and Research Director, International Institute for Analytics

Franks will be traveling and sharing learning from his book and experiences in the coming weeks:

• April 19, Georgia Tech MBA program, Atlanta
• April 22 – 25, SAS Global Forum & Executive Conference, Orlando
• May 1, Food Marketing Institute, Dallas
• May 9, Teradata Travel & Transportation Board of Advisors
• May 22, Big Data Analytics 2012, Boston
• May 24, Ohio State U. Fisher College of Business Customer Insights Seminar, Columbus

As Chief Analytics Officer for Teradata's global alliance programs, Franks provides insight on trends in the advanced analytics space and helps clients understand how Teradata and its analytic partners can support their efforts.  Bill also oversees the Business Analytic Innovation Center, which is jointly sponsored by Teradata and SAS and focuses on helping clients pursue innovative analytics.  In addition, Franks is a faculty member of the International Institute for Analytics.

Relevant Links

• The book's dedicated webpage – the first comprehensive book on big data analytics
• Read more about 'Taming the Big Data Tidal Wave' – at the Barnes & Noble web site
• Bill Franks' blog page with the International Institute for Analytics

About Teradata

Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC) is the world's leading analytic data solutions company focused on integrated data warehousing, big data analytics, and business applications. Teradata's innovative products and services deliver data integration and business insight to empower organizations to achieve competitive advantage.  Visit teradata.com for details.

Teradata is a trademark or registered trademark of Teradata Corporation in the United States and other countries.

SOURCE Teradata Corporation