Data-Mining Goes Mainstream according to the New York Times:
Big retailers like Wal-Mart Stores and Kohl’s use today’s advanced computing and math to more accurately predict what sizes of clothes should go to what stores. Harrah’s and other casinos decipher slot-machine results to optimize customer traffic and profits, and they use face-recognition software to identify people with criminal records. And Stockholm and other cities use traffic data and patterns to determine “congestion pricing.”In the financial industry, Capital One and other banks mine all kinds of transaction data to identify, and stop, fraudulent transactions. And Cemex, the big cement company, uses global positioning satellite locators and traffic and weather data to improve delivery-time performance in Mexico.
In the last year or so, Whirlpool, the appliance maker, has begun using new analytics software to automatically scan warranty reports as well as manufacturing, supplier, sales and service data to try to further trim its warranty costs and improve quality. That is no small task, since it sells an average of 25,000 washing machines a day, for example. “A human being cannot see and detect all those trends,” says John Kerr, the general manager for global quality.
With the new computing tools, Whirlpool has trimmed by 30 to 90 days the time required to detect and fix parts or manufacturing problems that cause defects. “The math is astounding,” Mr. Kerr says.
The results help explain why business-intelligence software is one of the hot markets in technology, supplied by companies like SAS, Business Objects, Cognos, MicroStrategy and Information Builders. In March, Oracle offered a hefty $3.3 billion for Hyperion, a maker of business intelligence software. Microsoft has entered the field as well.