About Dean Abbott

Dean Abbott is President of Abbott Analytics, Inc. in San Diego. Dean has more than 21 years of experience applying advanced data mining, data preparation and data visualization methods in real-world data-intensive problems, including fraud detection, response modeling, survey analysis, planned giving, predictive toxicology, signal process and missile guidance. In addition, he has developed and evaluated algorithms for use in commercial data mining and pattern recognition products,including polynomial networks, neural networks, radial basis functions and clustering algorithms. Dean has consulted with data mining software companies to provide critiques and assessments of their current features and future enhancements.

About Robin Bloor

Robin is co-founder and Chief Analyst of The Bloor Group. He has more than 30 years of experience in the world of data and information management. He is the creator of the Information-Oriented Architecture, which is to data what the SOA is to services. He is the author of several books including, The Electronic B@zaar, From the Silk Road to the eRoad; a book on e-commerce and three IT books in the Dummies series on SOA, Service Management and The Cloud. He is an international speaker on information management topics. As an analyst for Bloor Research and The Bloor Group, Robin has written scores of white papers, research reports and columns on a wide range of topics from database evaluation to networking options and comparisons to the enterprise in transition.

About Adrian Bridgwater

Adrian Bridgwater is a freelance journalist and corporate content creation specialist focusing on cross platform software application development as well as all related aspects software engineering, project management and technology as a whole. Adrian is a regular writer and blogger with Computer Weekly and others covering the application development landscape to detail the movers, shakers and start-ups that make the industry the vibrant place that it is. His journalistic creed is to bring forward-thinking, impartial, technology editorial to a professional (and hobbyist) software audience around the world. His mission is to objectively inform, educate and challenge - and through this champion better coding capabilities and ultimately better software engineering.

About Malcolm Chisholm

Malcolm Chisholm has more than 25 years of experience in data management and has worked in a variety of sectors, including finance, insurance, manufacturing, government, defense and intelligence, pharmaceuticals, and retail. He is an independent consultant specializing in data governance, master/reference data management, metadata engineering, business rules management/execution, data architecture and design, and the organization of Enterprise Information Management. Malcolm is a well-known presenter at conferences in the U.S. and Europe, writes columns in trade journals, and has authored the books: Managing Reference Data in Enterprise Databases; How to Build a Business Rules Engine; and Definitions in Information Management. In 2011, Malcolm was presented with the prestigious DAMA International Professional Achievement Award for contributions to Master Data Management. He holds an M.A. from the University of Oxford and a Ph.D. from the University of Bristol.

About Barry Devlin

Dr. Barry Devlin is among the foremost authorities on business insight and one of the founders of data warehousing, having published the first architectural paper on the topic in 1988. With over 30 years of IT experience, including 20 years with IBM as a Distinguished Engineer, he is a widely respected analyst, consultant, lecturer and author of the seminal book, “Data Warehouse—from Architecture to Implementation” and numerous White Papers. His 2013 book, “Business unIntelligence—Insight and Innovation beyond Analytics and Big Data” is available as hardcopy and e-book. Barry is founder and principal of 9sight Consulting. He specializes in the human, organizational and IT implications of deep business insight solutions that combine operational, informational and collaborative environments. A regular contributor to BeyeNETWORK and TDWI, Barry is based in Cape Town, South Africa and operates worldwide.

About Wayne Eckerson

Wayne Eckerson has been a thought leader in the business intelligence and analytics field since the early 1990s. He is a sought-after consultant and noted speaker who thinks critically, writes clearly and presents persuasively about complex topics. Eckerson has conducted many groundbreaking research studies, chaired numerous conferences, and written two widely read books: “The Secrets of Analytical Leaders: Insights from Information Insiders.”(2012) and “Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business” (2005/2010). He is currently working on a book about data governance. Eckerson is principal consultant of Eckerson Group, LLC (www.eckerson.com), a business-technology consulting firm that helps business leaders use data and technology to drive better insights and actions. His team of researchers and experienced consultants provide cutting-edge information and advice on business intelligence, analytics, performance management, data governance, data warehousing, and big data. They work closely with organizations that want to assess their current capabilities and develop a strategy that optimizes their investments in business intelligence and analytics. For many years, Wayne served as director of education and research at The Data Warehousing Institute (TDWI) where he oversaw the company’s research and training programs and chaired its BI Executive Summit. He has also served as an industry analyst at the Patricia Seybold Group and TechTarget. He has a bachelor’s degree from Williams College and a master’s degree from Wesleyan University. He can be reached at [email protected].

About Mike Ferguson

Mike Ferguson is Managing Director of Intelligent Business Strategies, a UK-based boutique IT research and consulting firm. He is a world-renowned expert and independent industry analyst specializing in BI/Analytics, Data Management and Big Data and can be contacted at [email protected].

About Jaime Fitzgerald

The Founder and President of Fitzgerald Analytics, Jaime Fitzgerald has developed a distinctively quantitative, fact-based, and transparent approach to solving high stakes problems and improving results. His approach enables translation of Data to Dollars™ using methodologies clients can repeat again and again. He is equally passionate about the “human side of the equation,” and is known for his ability to link the human and the quantitative, both of which are needed to achieve optimal results. His clients range from Wall Street banks to innovative non-profits and social entrepreneurs, a reflection of Jaime's belief in the universal benefits of Data, Analytics, and Technology innovation.

About Richard Hackathorn

Dr. Richard Hackathorn is a well-known industry analyst, technology innovator and international educator. He has pioneered innovations in database management, decision support and data warehousing. In 1982, he founded MicroDecisionware Inc. (MDI), an early vendor of database connectivity products and an early partner to Teradata. Richard has published numerous articles, presented at leading industry conferences and conducted professional seminars in 18 countries. He has written three books, entitled “Enterprise Database Connectivity,” “Using the Data Warehouse” (with William H. Inmon) and “Web Farming for the Data Warehouse.” Richard taught at the Wharton School and at the University of Colorado. He graduated from California Institute of Technology and University of California, Irvine.

About Cindi Howson

Cindi Howson is the founder of BI Scorecard, a resource for in-depth BI tool evaluations based on exclusive hands-on testing. She is the author of several BI books including Successful Business Intelligence: Secrets to Making BI a Killer App, a TDWI faculty member, and a frequent contributor to Information Week. As a consultant, she advises clients on BI strategies and tool selections. Prior to founding BI Scorecard, Howson was a manager at Deloitte & Touche and a BI standards leader for a Fortune 500 company. She has an MBA from Rice University.

About Claudia Imhoff

Claudia Imhoff is President of Intelligent Solutions, Inc. and Founder of Boulder BI Brain Trust. As a thought leader, visionary and practitioner in the rapidly growing field of business intelligence, Claudia is an internationally recognized expert on analytics, business intelligence and the infrastructure to support these initiatives. Dr. Imhoff has co-authored five highly regarded and popular books on these subjects and writes articles (totaling more than 100) for technical and business magazines. The Boulder BI Brain Trust is a consortium of independent analysts and consultants dedicated to furthering business intelligence.

About Bill Inmon

Bill Inmon – the “father of data warehouse” – has written 52 books published in nine languages. Bill speaks at conferences regularly. Bill’s latest adventure is the building of Textual ETL – technology that reads text and places text in a relational database. Bill has been named by ComputerWorld as one of the ten most influential people in the history of the computer profession.

About Eric Kavanagh

Eric has nearly 30 years of experience as a career journalist with a keen focus on enterprise technologies. He designs and moderates a variety of New Media programs, including The Briefing Room, DM Radio and Espresso Series, as well as GARP’s Leadership and Research Webcasts. His mission is to help people leverage the power of software, methodologies and politics in order to get things done.

About Krish Krishnan

Krish Krishnan is Principal at Sixth Sense and a recognized expert in the strategy, architecture and implementation of high performance data warehousing solutions. He is a visionary data warehouse thought leader and an independent analyst, writing and speaking at industry leading conferences, user groups and trade publications. He co-authored a book with Bill Inmon entitled “Building The Unstructured Data Warehouse”
and has authored three eBooks, more than 75 articles, viewpoints and case studies on business intelligence, data warehousing, data warehouse appliances and architectures.

About David Loshin

David Loshin is a research contributor for the Bloor Group and is a consultant providing training and development services for business intelligence, big data, data quality, data governance and master data management initiatives. Loshin writes for many industry publications and also speaks frequently at conferences and creates and teaches courses for The Data Warehousing Institute and other educational organizations. In addition, Loshin is the author of numerous books, including Big Data Analytics and Business Intelligence, Second Edition: The Savvy Manager's Guide.

About Mark Madsen

Mark Madsen is President of third Nature. He focuses on strategy and design for analytics and competitive uses of information, especially new and emerging technology and practices in these areas. His experience covers a broad range of activities, including information management and decision support infrastructure.

About William McKnight

William McKnight functions as Strategist, Lead Enterprise Information Architect, and Program Manager for complex, high-volume full life-cycle implementations worldwide utilizing the disciplines of data warehousing, master data management, business intelligence, data quality and operational business intelligence. Many of his clients have gone public with their success story. William is a Southwest Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist, a frequent best practices judge, has authored hundreds of articles and white papers and given many international keynotes and public seminars. His team’s implementations from both IT and consultant positions have won Best Practices awards. William is a former IT VP of a Fortune company, a former engineer of DB2 at IBM and holds an MBA. William is author of the book 90 Days to Success in Consulting. Follow him on Twitter at @williammcknight or via email at [email protected].

About John Myers

John Myers is Research Director of Business Intelligence at Enterprise Management Associates. In this role, John delivers comprehensive coverage of the business intelligence and data warehouse industry with a focus on database management, data integration, data visualization and process management solutions. John has years of experience working in areas related to business analytics in professional services consulting and product development roles, as well as helping organizations solve their business analytics problems, whether they relate to operational platforms, such as customer care or billing, or applied analytical applications, such as revenue assurance or fraud management.

About John O'Brien

John O’Brien, CBIP is principal and CEO of Radiant Advisors, a strategic advisory and research firm that delivers innovative educational materials, publications, and industry news.

About Neil Raden

Neil Raden is the founder and Principal Analyst at Hired Brains Research. He is the co-author, with James Taylor, of “Smart (Enough) Systems: How To Deliver Competitive Advantage by Automating Hidden Decisions.” With 30 years experience, he is a widely published writer, well-known speaker, analyst and consultant, having personally designed and implemented dozens of large analytical applications in finance, marketing, distribution, logistics, actuarial, intelligence, scientific, statistical and consumer products. As an industry analyst, he has published over 40 white papers, hundreds of articles, blogs and research reports.

About Shawn Rogers

Shawn Rogers, Enterprise Management Associates Vice President, has more than 19 years of hands-on IT experience, with a focus on Internet-enabled technology. Shawn’s passions are rooted in the online world, focusing on analytics, social media, business intelligence, enterprise 2.0, SaaS and open source. He applies his nearly two decades of experience to every client engagement.

About Rick Sherman

Rick Sherman is the founder of Athena IT Solutions, a Stow, Mass.-based firm that provides business intelligence, data integration & data warehouse consulting, training and vendor services. In addition to having more than 20 years of experience in BI solutions, Rick writes on IT topics and is a frequent speaker at industry events.

About James Taylor

James is the CEO and a Principal Consultant of Decision Management Solutions. He is the leading expert in how to use business rules and analytic technology to build Decision Management Systems. James is passionate about using Decision Management Systems to help companies improve decision making and develop an agile, analytic and adaptive business. He provides strategic consulting to companies of all sizes, working with clients in all sectors to adopt decision making technology. James has spent the last 20 years developing approaches, tools, and platforms that others can use to build more effective information systems. He has led Decision Management efforts for leading companies in insurance, banking, health management and telecommunications.

About Colin White

Colin White is the president of DataBase Associates Inc. and founder of BI Research. As an analyst, educator and writer he is well known for his in-depth knowledge of data management, information integration, and business intelligence technologies and how they can be used for building the smart and agile business. With many years of IT experience, he has consulted for dozens of companies throughout the world and is a frequent speaker at leading IT events. Colin has written numerous articles and papers on deploying new and evolving information technologies for business benefit and is a regular contributor to several leading print- and web-based industry journals.

About Lyndsay Wise

Lyndsay Wise is the president and founder of WiseAnalytics, a boutique analyst and consultancy. Lyndsay has ten years of IT experience in business systems analysis, software selection and implementation of enterprise applications. She provides consulting services for small and mid-sized companies and conducts research into leading technologies, market trends, BI products and vendors, mid-market needs and data visualization.