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Highlighting another great session from this year’s FileMaker Developer Conference (DevCon).

Advanced Charting and Reporting Techniques with ExecuteSQL
Presenter:   Greg Lane (Skeleton Key)
Time:          Thurs. August 15, 2013 3:45 pm
Track:         Develop
Skill Level:   Advanced

This session will explore statistical forecasting models that you can implement in FileMaker Pro to help your users analyze data, reduce uncertainty, and plan for the future.

What you will learn:

• How to make your data more valuable with forecasting and statistical modeling techniques
• Use the ExecuteSQL function to easily calculate sums, averages, and counts within data sets
• Implement trend lines, moving averages, weighted averages, seasonal forecasts, and more
• Ways to improve the performance of complex charts and reports that use ExecuteSQL

Proper data management is crucial in business for a myriad of reasons. While efficiency, productivity and smarter insights into customer behavior are some strong examples of the benefits companies can receive by implementing a big data strategy, regulatory compliance is just as crucial, even if it's often overlooked.

Regardless of the industry, regulations are constantly changing and new mandates are always being developed. Compliance requires a company-wide effort, which can be attained through staff training and education of new regulatory measures, but these initiatives can also be assisted by managing business data.

Consider the financial industry. Regulations such as Dodd-Frank require organizations to improve transparency, which means information has to be organized. Businesses must discover a way to share an appropriate amount of information without subjecting themselves to security risks. There is a fine line between the two, and staying on the right side requires information to be organized. 

An article in Computer Weekly recently discussed the role of data management in a company's compliance efforts. Clive Longbottom, the article's author, suggested that businesses with the most control over their information will be more successful complying with new regulations.

"Ensuring data flows are efficient and transparent will keep an organization's costs under control while ensuring they can show compliance to data rules and laws that apply to them," Longbottom wrote.

The primary rule to follow is that organized information will ultimately result in a better-run company. If data is either missing, fragmented or duplicated, not only will businesses struggle to maintain efficient operations, they will have difficulty complying with regulations, particularly those related to transparency. It may have nothing to do with a company's motives either. Even the most noble organization would have a hard time proving it if its information were all over the place.

Therefore, finding a way to control data is crucial. Creating a custom database software system will give businesses an opportunity to correctly capture, process, report on and store pertinent information, alleviating the risks related to disorganization. FileMaker development is an ideal solution for a number of reasons.

First, it allows companies to build the best possible solution for data management. Second, FileMaker's functionality makes it easier to scale and customize database systems, which ultimately will allow businesses to make necessary changes to their solutions should new regulations come into play.

Of the numerous areas of business affected by the growth of big data, pricing may be the most important.

The prices manufacturers and distributors give to their products can have a seismic impact on the retail sector and consumer spending. For example, 67 percent of revenue in the U.S. wine market is affected by pricing, according to an article from the North Bay Business Journal. Because of this, implementing big data strategies to improve the pricing process is crucial. However, not all organizations have obtained the right tools to manage pricing data.

Last week, roughly 200 industry professionals congregated at the Wine Industry Technology Symposium in Napa. Speakers discussed the use of data to improve operations, particularly pricing, and many expressed concern over the fact that most wineries are still utilizing old and inefficient systems.

“I’m shocked how many distributors are still using Excel for pricing and the system of record,” said Chris Spear, vice president of business solutions for Novato-based depletion data service TradePulse.

Others offered suggestions on how to improve pricing operations.

“Before you do price-sensitivity analysis, you need to create a central database, so all who need to can see the information and there’s less redundancy,” said panelist Steven Cuellar, a chairman in the economics department at Sonoma State University.

Like any other operation that requires data processing, it’s imperative that organizations are able to successfully manage and view their information in real-time. If pertinent information regarding pricing changes quickly, those tasked with processing that data have to be able to view it in real time.

Using FileMaker to build a custom database software system will allow businesses to accurately process data, which ultimately will put them in the best position to properly determine wine pricing.

"Organizations are increasingly data led. If the data is poor, they will be led in the wrong direction."

That's according to Mike Healy, a senior consultant at Innovative Systems Incorporated. His insightful opinion was shared in a recent conversation with IT Web, and it speaks to many of the problems companies face when trying to implement and manage a big data strategy.

Big data strategies are designed to offer businesses numerous advantages. Information is supposed to give decision makers the answers they look for prior to their actions. For example, marketing executives reorganize entire campaigns based off of customer data. If a group of targeted customers start behaving in a particular way, that knowledge is obtained and processed and outreach tactics are adjusted accordingly.

But what if that information is wrong? What if a company's efforts only put the organization in a worse place than it was in before it implemented a big data strategy? Collecting, reviewing, storing and reporting on data requires a great deal of effort, and if it were all based on inaccuracies, the consequences could be devastating. 

Suppose that same marketing executive was looking at old information, or examined the wrong demographic. The data thought to be up-to-date and accurate could have been from a previous year, which would cause their subsequent marketing strategy to create more harm than good. 

To combat this, the key is to ensure that all information is timely, accurate and that those who process data always have a solid understanding of what it is they are looking at.

"In recent years, we have seen the advent of big data, with the accompanying processing power, disk availability and tools to do very clever analysis to chart current and future customer behavior," Healy said. "Everything can be analyzed now. The challenge is that, the more sophisticated your data use, and the more data you're using, the more important it is to get the data quality right."

The best way to ensure data quality is to obtain the best possible management solutions. Building a custom database software system in FileMaker can help alleviate some of the risks pertaining to inaccurate information. 

When it comes to big data, businesses cannot afford to get things wrong. That's why investing in the right management software is the best possible decision.

The internet is becoming a more centralized resource for businesses of all sizes. Two major issues, though, are storage and security. How can a company keep large amounts of data safe, and ensure access to that information whenever necessary?

The Federal Times explained in a recent piece how cloud technology gives businesses the opportunity to store large amounts of data, but only use a few data centers. The news source used the CIA's recent $600 million agreement with Amazon Web Services as an example. With large government agencies willing to invest in such innovations, smaller companies could be more willing to follow suit.

An organization like the CIA relies on secure data storage, and will need large amounts of information to be kept safe.

Accelera Solutions president Joe Brown explained to the news source that cloud technology is a great way for companies to handle big data.

"Customers have a much more dynamic way to store, retrieve and operate in cloud environments," Brown told the Federal Times. "They don't have to call someone and say, 'Retrieve data, bring it to my office and let me reconstitute it on my server,' or format the data to be analyzed."

Brown added how cloud computing could eliminate the need for businesses to rely on local hardware constraints.

As more organizations work toward implementing cloud technology into daily operations, it is important that they have the necessary tools to make the process as smooth as possible. Having a custom database software system in place will help businesses better incorporate the cloud and big data into daily operations. When companies are able to develop in FileMaker, it guarantees that they have flexible solutions for numerous situations.

The benefits of big data are felt across the corporate landscape, but the nature of processing large quantities of information should, in theory, have the biggest positive impact on marketers. However, not enough professionals in the industry are taking advantage of it.

According to a study conducted by digital marketing technology company Silverpop Systems, only 45 percent of marketers are collecting behavioral data and using it to refine their marketing strategies. Considering the numerous benefits this type of information has to offer and the myriad ways marketers have access to it—through social media, for example—there is no real excuse as to why information isn’t being used to improve marketing efforts unless they lack adequate software to manage their data.

The advent of the information age has given businesses numerous new ways to connect with customers and, more importantly, monitor their behavior. Because of this, information flows from the consumer to the organization at a rapid pace. So if the collection of data isn’t the problem, the reason why over half of the marketing industry doesn’t capitalize on this valuable data must be their inability to properly process it within the organization.

A custom database software system is an ideal solution because it can allow companies to properly organize a data management strategy. This system can give users a real-time view of their information, which ultimately allows them to make smart decisions based on its merits. Developing a system in FileMaker can give companies a flexible solutions that properly fits all of their needs.

The growth of big data has been spurred by a need for faster, more efficient operations that allow companies to better service their customers. So it's no surprise that big data has become such a hot topic in the travel industry.

Think of the pains you typically encounter when you travel. The long lines at the airport, the confusing nature of the baggage claim process and, once you finally get to their destination, simply checking into your hotel can be a hassle. Most people find the amount of time it takes to get from their homes to their destinations unnecessarily long. However, in today's age where security is of the utmost importance, the long wait comes with the territory.

Not all organizations are willing to accept this, which is why many are incorporating big data into their strategies as a way to alleviate some of the common travel pains.  

A recent study conducted by Harvard Business School professor Thomas H. Davenport gives credence to this trend. The results indicate that numerous organizations associated with travel are using social information among other valuable pieces of data to improve efficiency and decision making. Davenport said in a statement that this is a great opportunity for these companies.

"The travel industry stands at a big data crossroads today, with new technologies and techniques offering the potential to translate increasing volumes of data into higher profits and more efficient operations," he said. "Some leading companies are pioneering the use of big data and already seeing a huge impact. Airlines, airports, hotels, rail companies and travel sellers need to ask themselves if they have a big data strategy in place, and if it will allow them to be at the forefront of this opportunity."

Companies in the industry can improve their big data operations by building a custom database software system designed to collect, store and report on pertinent information.

We may be three years away from election season, but that doesn't mean it's too early to start thinking about the next President of the United States. More importantly, it's a good time to think about how the election will be covered, analyzed, predicted and ultimately won. Now more than ever, big data analytics will be a driving force behind elections . 

During the 2008 and 2012 elections , Nate Silver became a household name due to his ability to predict the outcome of the Presidential election with incredible accuracy. The professional statistician used a number of big data formulas to correctly project how each state would vote en route to Barack Obama's victory. While data played a massive role on the media side of the election, the politicians themselves were implementing their own strategies to gain an edge over their opponent.

In 2008, President Obama was praised for his innovative use of social media to fuel his campaign efforts. It helped him reach a new demographic of voters and some analysts say it may have proved to be the difference in the election. In 2012, Obama took his social media strategy to a new level, according to a report from All Things D, by implementing a big data strategy based off of his social information.

Now the news source is predicting that social media and big data strategies will become standard procedure for all candidates, and that the 2016 election could be won by whoever best leverages information. Gurbaksh Chahal, the CEO of intelligent advertising firm RadiumOne and author of the article, suggests that this is the same approach modern marketers take and that campaign managers and other political professionals who successfully emulate that tactic will, more often than not, ultimately represent the winning candidate.

"Social data is fundamentally changing how advertisers approach the art of marketing," he writes. "Now, we can track pretty much anything online—our campaign decisions are influenced by factors that extend far beyond the impression and conversion metrics that permeated the ad industry just five years ago. This data-centric shift in advertising has enabled political parties to hone campaign approaches toward predicting outcomes and undeniably, it is this elegant blend of social data, big data, and targeting that will determine the 2016 commander-in-chief."

These methods will likely become more refined as they become more popular. As more politicians, in addition to a greater number of marketers, see the results of these actions, it's likely that these strategies will only increase in popularity.

Of course, it should be noted that organizations and individuals that lack sufficient means to collect, manage and report on their data will not be as successful with this effort. The key to success in any big data strategy is the ability to effectively view information in real time. Politicians who are able to use a custom database software system to extract pertinent data from social media and other sources and use it as part of their campaign strategies will be more successful on election day. The same concept, when followed by marketers, can help companies improve their sales figures and overall profitability.

FileMaker development is an ideal way to make the best possible database systems for information management.

The key to any successful company is the ability to provide customers with exactly what they are looking for. However, the only way an organization can actually do this is if it know what its customers want. Modern technology has increased communication between customers and the organizations they do business with, so it's up to the companies themselves to pay close attention to the nature of those conversations and use that information to shape their marketing campaigns.

Many discussions that traditionally took place in-person or on the phone have migrated to a digital format. Today, social media interaction allows consumers to quickly receive answers to their questions, and those inquiries give organizations valuable information which they can later use to fuel their engagement initiatives. 

Recently, this blog discussed the ways organizations can use data to try and cater to each specific customer. That can be done my using information pertaining to individual needs. When companies have a full grasp of their big data strategies, the possibilities are endless. 

An article in the online publication Pando Daily addressed this very issue. Veeral Rathod, the article's author, used a clothing retailer to exemplify the power of this practice.

"Let's say 65 percent of women who try on a size 6 end up buying a size smaller or taking in certain seams when shopping a particular brand," Rathod wrote. "Instead of relying on sales representatives to guide customers to 'size down,' vertically integrated retailers can take that insight and use it to adapt sizing and fit patterns to make it easier for customers to find the best fit the first time. Most importantly, the feedback loop is short enough that it becomes possible to make the change before certain expectations become ingrained among customers."

While acquiring full control of customer information is invaluable, doing so requires a tremendous amount of effort. That effort can be assisted, however, with the right software solutions. Using FileMaker development to create a system designed to better manage data will be a major help.

A custom database software system can be used to quickly enter all bits of information gleaned from online conversations with customers. Taking that data and creating custom reports from the system can give companies an idea of how to adjust their current operations. With the right data collection techniques combined with the best data management software, businesses can go a long way toward ensuring the success of this initiative. 

Kyo Logic will be attending this year’s FileMaker Developer Conference (DevCon). Here is session highlight.

Script Triggers, Workflow, and the User Experience
Presenter:   Thomas Kunetz (FileMaker, INC.)
Time:          Tues. August 13, 2013 3:45 pm
Track:         Design
Skill Level:   Intermediate

One of the most powerful paradigms in software development is event-driven programming; that is, a program that responds to events generated by the user or the host system, rather than relying on the user to complete a specific set of predefined steps to complete a given task. Script Triggers bring event-driven programming to the FileMaker Platform. Script Triggers execute scripts in response to user generated events such as entering fields or modifying values, and system events such as the first or last window opening or closing, or the passage of time.

This session explores the events that can be used to trigger script execution, and whether the event will trigger a script before or after the FileMaker application performs its own actions in response to the same event. The session will demonstrate how Script Triggers can implement a workflow in response to user interaction and help create a more pleasant and natural user experience. Finally, the session will look at techniques for debugging and troubleshooting event-driven scripts.

What you will learn:

• Script triggers and the events that trigger them
• When to use script triggers, or not
• Using script triggers to build solid workflow and a better user experience
• Debugging and troubleshooting an event-driven workflow