EMC and Alpine Data Labs to Deliver Joint Solution for High Performance “In Database” Predictive Analytics

EMC Press Release

EMC and Alpine Data Labs to Deliver Joint Solution for High Performance “In Database” Predictive Analytics

Expanded Relationship Includes Reseller Agreement and Integration of Alpine Data Labs Applications on Greenplum Analytics Platform

SAN MATEO, Calif. - September 6, 2012

News Summary:

• EMC and Alpine Data Labs, the leader in cross-functional predictive analytics for Big Data, have expanded their relationship with a formal reseller agreement to combine Alpine's easy-to-use web-based predictive analytics application with the power, scalability, parallel-processing, and reliability of EMC Greenplum analytics platform.
• EMC will resell the Alpine Data Labs product suite: Alpine Miner and Alpine Illuminator, fully integrated with EMC Greenplum Database, EMC Greenplum Chorus, EMC Greenplum HD, and the EMC Greenplum Data Computing Appliance (DCA). Customers of the joint solution will also benefit from the expertise and scale of coordinated Alpine and EMC global support.
• The EMC Greenplum and Alpine Data Labs combined offering is available now.
• EMC and Alpine Data Labs will host a webinar titled "How to Achieve Accelerated Decision Making with Predictive Analytics" on Tuesday, September 25th at 10 AM Pacific. To register click here.

Full Story:

EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) today announced that EMC® and Alpine Data Labs, the leader in cross-functional predictive analytics for Big Data, have expanded their relationship with a formal reseller agreement to combine Alpine's easy-to-use web-based predictive analytics application with the power, scalability, and reliability of EMC Greenplum®. The combined offering is the first in-database solution for Big Data predictive analytics. By pairing the advanced analytical processing capabilities of Greenplum with Alpine's intuitive, next-generation application that is designed for cross-functional teams, organizations will get their complete analytics infrastructure 'in a box,' easing deployment and accelerating time to value while enabling deeper insights on their Big Data.

Backed by the Greenplum Data Science team and Alpine Data Labs, the expanded relationship underscores the companies' joint commitment to moving beyond traditional business intelligence, delivering in-database analytics and allowing customers to unlock the full potential of their data. Together, EMC and Alpine Data Labs have helped customers identify business trends and build predictive models in areas as diverse as healthcare, banking, telecom and publishing.

The integrated solution combines Alpine's analytics software for data mining, modeling, and predictive analytics on Big Data with Greenplum's computational capabilities of parallel data processing. One of the first integration partners for Greenplum Chorus, the industry's first social toolset for Big Data, Alpine Data Labs has integrated its predictive analytics capabilities directly into the collaboration application, so that users can analyze Chorus datasets with predictive models and workflows, and then publish the resulting insights for further collaboration.

This ability to perform analytics directly in the Greenplum Database and Greenplum HD, rather than extract data into separate analytics infrastructures, provides a number of critical benefits such as minimal data movement, built-in scalability, one-click deployment, and a much more rapid and iterative approach to data modeling. With Alpine and Greenplum, there is no need to create an entirely separate, costly analytics infrastructure.

EMC will resell the Alpine Data Labs product suite: Alpine Miner and Alpine Illuminator, fully integrated with EMC Greenplum Database, EMC Greenplum Chorus, EMC Greenplum HD, and the EMC Greenplum Data Computing Appliance (DCA). Customers of the joint solution will also benefit from the expertise and scale of coordinated Alpine and EMC global support.

Executive Quotes:

Tom Ryan, president and chief executive officer, Alpine Data Labs

"Combined, Alpine Data Labs and Greenplum become the source not only of data but also of insight. With the Greenplum engine powering Alpine's accessible user interface, we've made it easier for data scientists, engineers, business analysts, and executives to gain deeper, faster insights from their data, generated by sophisticated predictive analytics and data mining."

Bill Cook, president, Greenplum, a division of EMC

"EMC is committed to exposing the value of in-database analytics, and Alpine Data Labs is a natural partner for us in helping our customers move beyond traditional business intelligence to leverage their Big Data to achieve better business results faster. Alpine has taken all the power and scalability of Greenplum solutions, applied it to the world of predictive analytics on big data, and made it available via a simple web-based application."

Availability

The combined Greenplum/Alpine Data Labs solution is available now. More information about the partnership can be found at http://www.greenplum.com/solutions/alpine.

About Greenplum, a division of EMC

Greenplum, a division of EMC, is driving the future of Big Data analytics with breakthrough products that harness the skills of data science teams to help global organizations realize the full promise of business agility and become data-driven, predictive enterprises. The division's products include Greenplum® Unified Analytics Platform, Greenplum® Data Computing Appliance, Greenplum® Database, Greenplum® Analytics Lab, Greenplum® HD and Greenplum® Chorus™. They embody the power of open systems, cloud computing, virtualization and social collaboration, enabling global organizations to gain greater insight and value from their data than ever before possible. Learn more at www.greenplum.com.

About Alpine Data Labs

Alpine Data Labs, the leader in cross-functional predictive analytics, is enabling data experts and novices alike to work across organizational barriers and collaboratively realize the predictive power of big data analytics. The company's products uniquely combine easy-to-use interfaces, high performance in-database analytic processing, and the efficiencies of cloud computing to define the new paradigm in predictive analytics: accessibility, ease of use, and built for big data. For more information visitwww.alpinedatalabs.com.

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

Oracle Press Release

Etisalat Accelerates Data Retrieval and Analysis by 99 Percent with Oracle Communications Data Model Running on Oracle Exadata Database Machine

Leading Middle Eastern and African Communications Provider Leverages Oracle Technology to Improve Customer Insight and Enable Better Decision Making

Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 21, 2012

Oracle Communications today announced that Etisalat Nigeria, a leading Nigerian communications service provider, has gone live with Oracle Communications Data Model, which helps it more quickly analyze growing volumes of diverse data, and make better business decisions.

Oracle Communications Data Model allows Etisalat Nigeria to analyze data across multiple business areas – including customer, revenue and network management – to react quickly to technological, regulatory and business challenges in both prepaid and postpaid markets.

Upon implementing Oracle Communications Data Model on Oracle Exadata Database Machine X2-2 Half Rack, Etisalat Nigeria reduced the time required to aggregate and analyze data by 99 percent1. The company can now load call detail records in near real-time, and has gained improved insight to the behavior of its customers and their propensity to churn.

Now able to make decisions based on near real-time data, Etisalat Nigeria can take immediate action to prevent customer churn, deliver personalized promotions and identify and address revenue leakage sources.

The solution includes pre-built dashboards and other customized components to jumpstart development and reduce the cost, complexity and risk of data integration. Implemented in just eight months, Oracle Communications Data Model also provides Etisalat Nigeria the flexibility to upgrade systems faster and efficiently as market conditions change.

Oracle Communications Data Model is purpose-built for communications service providers and has been conformance certified with the industry's TM Forum Information Framework (SID) standard, which fosters interoperability with providers’ systems.

Etisalat Nigeria has deployed Oracle Communications Data Model on Oracle Exadata Database Machine, which offers extreme data warehousing performance with faster upload and query speeds.

Etisalat also implemented Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition 11g to increase the efficiency of its business operations and gain additional contextual and actionable insight.

• Etisalat selected Oracle’s technology following a competitive evaluation to replace its legacy business intelligence (BI) systems, which lacked the functionality, performance and scalability for a dynamic and responsive BI environment.
• The Oracle Communications technology was implemented by Oracle PartnerNetwork Gold Level Partner Bluechip Technologies Ltd, Nigeria.

Supporting Quotes

“The Oracle Communications Data Model and Exadata solution has greatly improved our ability to quickly and efficiently retrieve and analyze data from a variety of sources. Transactional data is processed in near real-time, taking about 45 minutes to process data for a full day, which is a significant improvement on the eight hours it used to take to process the same data. Oracle’s technology has allowed us to offer customers relevant and personalized services, which we can quickly make available. Because the project only took eight months to implement, we were able to experience benefits much sooner than expected,” said Ajibola Ajia, IT Specialist, Intelligence, Implementation & Integration, Etisalat Nigeria.

“Considering the current data explosion in the telecommunications space, it was critical for Etisalat to implement technologies capable of collecting and getting the most from data in its various markets. The Oracle Communications Data Model running on Oracle Exadata provides Etisalat with a scalable and flexible solution, ensuring it remains competitive and maintains its position as a leading communications provider in the region,” said Bhaskar Gorti, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications.

Supporting Resources

Oracle Communications Data Model

Oracle Exadata Database Machine

Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition 11g

Oracle Communications on YouTube

Oracle Communications on Diigo

Oracle Communications on Facebook

Oracle Communications on Twitter

Oracle Communications on LinkedIn

About Oracle Communications

Only Oracle’s software and systems span the communications industry technology landscape — from carrier-grade servers, storage and IT infrastructure, to mission-critical business and operational support systems and service delivery platforms; from business intelligence applications and retail point-of-sale solutions to the Java platform running on more than three billion mobile and handheld devices. Oracle helps 100 of the world's top 100 service providers innovate and exploit new business models, build strong, profitable customer relationships, and streamline operations. For more information, visithttp://www.oracle.com/us/industries/communications/index.html

About Oracle

Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center. For more information about Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), visit www.oracle.com.

About Oracle in Industries

Oracle industry solutions leverage the company's best-in-class portfolio of products to address complex business processes relevant to the communications industry, helping speed time to market, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge.

Trademark
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

About Etisalat

Etisalat is a leading telecommunications corporation catering to consumers, businesses, international telecommunication companies, ISPs, content providers and mobile operators.  Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Etisalat is the largest operator in the Middle East and Africa regions with a market value in excess of AED 80 billion (US$20 billion) and annual revenues of approximately AED 30 billion (US$8 billion). Etisalat has one of the highest credit ratings for a telecommunications corporation in America, The Middle East and Africa and is the second highest rated telecom company globally on the Fitch rating scale and fourth highest on S&P and Moodys’ rating.

Etisalat operates in 18 countries across Asia, the Middle East and Africa, a coverage area which reaches more than two billion people. To date, the group’s global subscriber base exceeds over 140 million subscribers through mobile and fixed line voice and data services.

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Oracle Delivers World Record x86 Performance on Industry Standard Java Middleware and Transactional Database Benchmarks

Oracle’s Software and Sun x86 Servers Outperform IBM’s Best Comparable Results

For more, click the link below:

http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/1570421

'Hacktivists' Lead Data Breach Threats, Study Finds

A tiny but motivated band of 'hacktivists' are supplanting professional criminals as the biggest single data breach threat to large enterprises, an analysis of hundreds of confirmed incident reports has found.

On the face of it, the numbers in Verizon's 2012 Data Breach Investigations Report (which covers 2011) suggest that hacktivism is more of a nuisance than a major threat, accounting for only 3 percent of the 855 recorded attacks looked at across several countries.

But despite the modest volume of attacks, hacktivist incidents often lead to far more spectacular losses. Verizon found that from a total of 174 million records (individual database entries as well as documents) compromised in the 855 incidents, 100 million were stolen by hacktivists.

This means that hactivism is a theme in only three out of every 100 incidents, but nearly six out of ten of the actual records that are compromised. (See also "Ten Best Practices to Prevent Data and Privacy Breaches.")

For more, click the link below:


http://www.pcworld.com/article/252429/hacktivists_lead_data_breach_threats_study_finds.html#tk.nl_bdx_h_crawl

Oracle Announces the Certification of the Oracle Database on Oracle Linux 6 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Oracle Announces the Certification of the Oracle Database

on Oracle Linux 6 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Redwood Shores, Calif. – March 22, 2012

News Facts

Oracle Database 11g Release 2 (R2) and Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g Release 1 (R1) are immediately available on Oracle Linux 6 with the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel.

Oracle Database 11g R2 and Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g R1 will be available on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (RHEL6) and Oracle Linux 6 with the Red Hat Compatible Kernel in 90 days.

Oracle offers direct Linux support to customers running RHEL6, Oracle Linux 6, or a combination of both.

Oracle Linux will continue to maintain compatibility with Red Hat Linux.

Effective immediately, Oracle will provide its Red Hat compatible Linux binaries, updates and errata for free http://public-yum.oracle.com. Terms, conditions and restrictions apply.

The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel

The Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is Oracle’s fast, modern, reliable Linux kernel that is optimized for Oracle software and hardware.

Oracle Linux 6 with the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is optimized for running Oracle products.

Supporting Quote

"The Oracle Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware product availability we are announcing today is the result of stringent certification testing on Oracle Linux 6 with the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel,” said Wim Coekaerts, senior vice president of Linux and Virtualization Engineering, Oracle. “We look forward to completing certification testing with Oracle Linux 6 with the Red Hat Compatible Kernel.”

Supporting Resources

Oracle and Linux

Oracle Linux Customers

Wim Coekaerts Blog

Oracle Linux Online Forum, March 27th

Oracle Linux Online Forum, March 27th

New Innovations in Oracle Linux Webcast

Visit Oracle Linux on Blog, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

News Release from Oracle - Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2

Oracle Announces Production Release of Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 for Oracle Linux

Fastest Linux Kernel for Transaction Processing Now Generally Available

Redwood Shores, Calif. – March 13, 2012

News Facts

Oracle today announced the general availability of the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 for Oracle Linux.

Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 includes performance and scalability enhancements that allowed Oracle to achieve record database benchmark results(1,2).

Based on the 3.0.16 mainline kernel, Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 also includes improved memory and resource management, and is optimized to be deployed as a virtual guest.

The Btrfs file system is now production-ready with this release. Standard in Oracle Linux, Btrfs supports data stores of up to 16 exabyte, is optimized for solid state disks, is easy to administer, and includes built-in data integrity.

In addition, Oracle is offering technology previews of the very popular dynamic tracing mechanism, DTrace, and a powerful instance isolation capability, Linux Containers, to Oracle Linux support subscribers.

Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 is included with Oracle Linux 5 and 6.

To learn more, join the Oracle Linux Online Forum, March 27th.

Record-Setting Linux Performance Plus the Most Modern Feature Set

Highlights of Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 (R2) include:

Performance Improvements: to the scheduler, memory management, file system layer and networking stack, all lend to performance advantages on any size system.

Performance Benchmarks: Oracle Linux with the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel R2 has recently delivered two record breaking TPC-C benchmark results, on a small and a largesystem (1,2).

Btrfs: the “next generation file system” for Linux. With btrfs included, Oracle Linux can support large files and file systems, snapshots and checksums for data and meta-data, provides integrated RAID and volume management, and simplifies administration.

Transparent Hugepages: automatically organizes memory in larger units to reduce memory management overhead and improve stability for memory-intensive workloads.

Optimized for deployment as a virtual guest: the same Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel R2 kernel image, with full support for the Xen hypervisor included, can be used to run both in hardware virtualized and paravirtualized modes.

Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel R2 also includes the following technology previews:

Built-in virtualization: Linux Containers allow multiple isolated Linux instances (containers) to run on the same host. Processes running in containers can have their own private view of the operating system, file system structure and network interfaces, and their use of server resources can be tightly controlled.

DTrace: provides a comprehensive dynamic tracing framework that is designed to quickly identify the root cause of system performance problems without rebooting the kernel and recompiling—or even restarting—applications.

Running Oracle Linux with Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel R2 fully maintains existing userspace application compatibility and certification without any modification.

Oracle Linux with Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel is extensively tested with the most demanding workloads, both on third-party servers and Oracle’s, including Engineered Systems such as Oracle Exadata Database Machine, Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud, Oracle Exalytics In-Memory Machine and Oracle Big Data Appliance – to help ensure superior performance and reliability.

With Oracle Linux Premier Support, customers can implement zero downtime kernel updates for Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel R2 with Ksplice technology.

Oracle Linux is open source with a public git source code repository and compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Supporting Quote

“Oracle Linux continues to deliver timely Linux innovations, backed by real-world testing, providing users a modern, scalable and reliable platform for their business critical workload demands,” said Wim Coekaerts, senior vice president of Linux and Virtualization Engineering, Oracle. “Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 further demonstrates Oracle’s investment in Linux technology and the community, and delivers on our goal to make Linux better for everyone.”

Supporting Resources

Oracle and Linux

Oracle Linux Customers

Wim Coekaerts Blog

Oracle Linux Online Forum, March 27th

New Innovations in Oracle Linux Webcast

Visit Oracle Linux on Blog, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

News Release from EPA

Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Contact: Donna Heron 215-814-5113 / heron.donna@epa.gov

Pennsylvania Company Settles Toxic Chemical Reporting Violations at Nazareth, Pa. Facility

PHILADELPHIA (February 21, 2012) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced that Essroc Cement Corporation has agreed to pay a $82,000 penalty to settle alleged violations of toxic chemical reporting requirements at its manufacturing facility located at 401 West Prospect St., Nazareth, Pa.

According to EPA, Essroc failed to submit three years of required reports on a regulated toxic chemical (lead) which was processed at this facility.

EPA cited the company for violating the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA). This law requires companies that manufacture, use or process more than a threshold amount of listed toxic chemicals to file an annual toxic chemical release form with EPA and the state. These reports are used to compile the Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) -- a publicly available EPA database, searchable by zip code, that contains information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities.

The multi-establishment Nazareth, Pa., plant processes lead as part of the manufacturing process for bulk and packaged cement. Lead and lead compounds are regulated under EPCRA due to the public health effects of ingestion or inhalation of lead, particularly among children, including damage to the nervous system. According to EPA, a June 2011 inspection revealed that Essroc did not submit annual reports for lead for three years (2006 through 2008) when the Nazareth facility processed lead in amounts in excess of 130,000 pounds annually -- significantly exceeding EPCRA’s 100 pound reporting threshold. (This settlement involves alleged reporting violations, not unlawful releases of toxic chemicals.)

The settlement penalty reflects the company's cooperation with EPA in resolving the alleged violations, and its compliance efforts. As part of the settlement, the company did not admit liability for the alleged violations, but has certified compliance with applicable EPCRA requirements.



In a separate matter, the United States recently announced a $1.7 million settlement of alleged Clean Air Act violations at six Essroc facilities nationwide, including the Nazareth plant.
See press release at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/48aa8dd28f3ab133852579750077751e!OpenDocument.

For more information on TRI and the TRI searchable database, go to: www.epa.gov/tri.

For more information on lead and its health effects, go to: See http://www.epa.gov/lead/index.html.

Wolfram Alpha

Excerpt from an article in The New York Times
Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Wolfram, a Search Engine, Finds Answers Within Itself 

By STEVE LOHR

Stephen Wolfram, a 52-year-old scientist, software designer and entrepreneur, tends to go his own way — often with noteworthy results. He published his first physics paper at 15, earned his Ph.D. from Caltech at 20 and two years later won a MacArthur prize.

Less than three years ago, Dr. Wolfram created a new kind of search engine, called Wolfram Alpha. Unlike Google or Microsoft’s Bing, Wolfram Alpha does not forage the Web. It culls its own painstakingly curated database to find answers.

There was skepticism in 2009, when Wolfram Alpha arrived, with critics saying the approach was very limited, useful mainly for math and science facts. But the technology has come a long way, including delivering many answers for Siri, the question-answering personal assistant in the Apple iPhone 4S.

The new version of Wolfram Alpha arrives Wednesday afternoon. Its formal name is Wolfram Alpha Pro, and Dr. Wolfram calls “Step 2, the next step of what can be done with this approach,” which he describes as a “computational knowledge engine.”

The new version handles data and images (as well as text).

Atlanta Man Sentenced on Computer Hacking Charge

Press release from the FBI, Atlanta Division:

Atlanta Man Sentenced on Computer Hacking Charge
McNeal Illegally Accessed Database of Competitor’s Medical Practice

U.S. Attorney’s Office January 10, 2012

Northern District of Georgia (404) 581-6000

— filed under: Atlanta Top Stories, Breaking News, Computer Intrusions, Cyber Crimes, Press Release

ATLANTA—ERIC McNEAL, 38, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Willis B. Hunt, Jr. for intentionally accessing a protected computer of a competing medical practice without authorization, including personal information of the patients, in order to send marketing materials to these patients.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “Anyone who gives their personal information to a doctor or medical facility does not expect that their information will be hacked and used to make money. The cost of medical care is already high enough without patients having to pay a heavier cost with the loss of their privacy. This is cybercrime. Electronic information is bought, sold and stolen, often by someone who knows a system and, with a few keystrokes, makes our community vulnerable.”

McNEAL was sentenced to one year and one month in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and was ordered to perform 120 hours of community service. McNEAL pleaded guilty to the charge on September 28, 2011.

According to United States Attorney Yates, the charge,s and other information presented in court: McNEAL worked as an information technology specialist for “A.P.A.,” a perinatal medical practice in Atlanta.

McNEAL separated from employment with A.P.A. in November 2009, and subsequently joined a competing perinatal medical practice, which was located in the same building as A.P.A. In April 2010, MCNEAL used his home computer to hack into A.P.A.’s patient database without authorization. MCNEAL downloaded the names, telephone numbers, and addresses of A.P.A.’s patients, and then “wiped” A.P.A.’s database, deleting all the patient information from A.P.A.’s system. McNEAL subsequently used the patient names and contact information to launch a direct-mail marketing campaign for the benefit of his new employer. There is no evidence that McNEAL downloaded or misused specific patient medical information.

This case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.