Analytics extravaganza

As I write this on Oct. 20, I know that fall has arrived in the Atlanta area where I live because overnight lows have finally dipped into the 40s, college football dominates the news, and I’m getting ready to attend the INFORMS Annual Meeting. Turns out the 2018 conference, set for Nov. 4-7 in Phoenix, may offer one last blast of summer (predicted high of 86 on Oct. 29 according to today’s 10-day forecast), but the real heat will be generated inside the Phoenix Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Phoenix where about 5,700 attendees from the around the world will gather for a four-day analytics extravaganza.

I’ll be there scouring the many plenaries, special events and 1,320 individual sessions (yes, 1,320) looking for interesting content and contributors for future issues of Analytics magazine. In that regard, Phoenix should be a hot, target-rich environment regardless of the weather.

Speaking of the future, Analytics – the magazine and website – have been undergoing major, behind-the-scenes renovations and redesigns leading up to an all-new format for 2019. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, let’s take a closer look at this issue, which offers generous helpings of data science, healthcare analytics and the always-popular AI/machine learning combo plate. Nick Pylypiw of Elicit, LLC, kickstarts the feature articles by asking the question many have asked during these early, Wild West days of the data science era where wannabes roam unchecked: “Will the real data scientist please stand up: How to navigate the crowded data scientist applicant landscape.”

The healthcare coverage starts with Rajib Ghosh’s “Healthcare Analytics” column in which he reviews the economic, technological and political developments over the past year that are shaping the healthcare industry for better and worse. Jeff Terry and Andy Day of GE Healthcare follow with five surprising trends they’ve observed that are impacting healthcare now and going forward. Spoiler alert: The first trend is “humility.” Gary Druckenmiller of Evariant wraps up the health segment by outlining three ways the healthcare industry can benefit from analytics.

Of course, AI and machine learning’s fingerprints are all over this issue, including the articles just mentioned. Jerry W. Thomas, CEO of Decision Analyst Inc., goes a step further and tells you everything you wanted to know about artificial intelligence and machine learning. 

Is that the last word on AI and machine learning? Not even close. This is Analytics.