Brave new mobile world

Pete Townshend of The Who was way ahead of his time when he wrote “Goin’ Mobile” more than 40 years ago, but the world has finally caught up. Today, seemingly everyone and their brother are goin’ mobile, hooked on mobile communications.

In response to the growing number of readers who prefer their reading material served up via a mobile communication device, we begin the new year with a new look. Instead of the landscape/horizontal format we’ve employed for four years and which worked well for desktop computer viewing, we’ve switched to a portrait/vertical configuration more suitable for mobile apps, including Apple iOS (iPad and iPhones) and the Android (Google) platform, which includes any Android device from phones to a variety of tablets including Barnes & Nobles’ Nook, Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus. (We’re investigating compatibility with the new Windows phones.)

Keep in mind it takes a little time to convert the finished issue and submit it to Apple and Google for testing and approval, so give it a few weeks before you try it. We look forward to your feedback.

The widespread use of mobile communications, the social media it enables, the enormous amount of data it produces and the technology that drives it all has given rise to a concept called “worksocial,” the topic of this month’s cover story by Samir Gulati. As Gulati explains, “worksocial starts with the processes and data that drive the business, and overlays the innovations of social collaboration and mobile access directly over those business engines.” The goal: better, faster organizational decision-making.

Along with the usual variety of articles designed to inform, enlighten and enhance your analytical career (see, for example, “Ten things to consider when evaluating analytics and decision sciences partners” by David Zakkam and Deepinder Singh Dhingra or “Modeling experience yields key insights” by Bruce W. Patty), this issue features an article and a 20-plus page special supplement on a new program that can advance your career: Certified Analytics Professional (CAP).

An important initiative of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), CAP represents a gold seal of approval for analytics professionals from the premier organization for advanced analytics in the world. To find out more about this ground-breaking program and what it could mean for your career, visit the CAP website.