• Home
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Special Offers
Business Intelligence Info
  • Business Intelligence
    • BI News and Info
    • Big Data
    • Mobile and Cloud
    • Self-Service BI
  • CRM
    • CRM News and Info
    • InfusionSoft
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM
    • NetSuite
    • OnContact
    • Salesforce
    • Workbooks
  • Data Mining
    • Pentaho
    • Sisense
    • Tableau
    • TIBCO Spotfire
  • Data Warehousing
    • DWH News and Info
    • IBM DB2
    • Microsoft SQL Server
    • Oracle
    • Teradata
  • Predictive Analytics
    • FICO
    • KNIME
    • Mathematica
    • Matlab
    • Minitab
    • RapidMiner
    • Revolution
    • SAP
    • SAS/SPSS
  • Humor

Tag Archives: Area

Aclima: Bay Area skies were the worst on record during wildfires

September 22, 2020   Big Data

Automation and Jobs

Read our latest special issue.

Open Now

The San Francisco Bay Area’s skies were the worst on record for decades during the recent wildfires that produced a blanket of smoke and turned the skies orange, according to pollution measurement firm Aclima.

Aclima has placed sensors on a fleet of electric cars to collect daily pollution levels on a block-by-block basis in the Bay Area. For the past month, six of the largest 20 fires in California history poured smoke into the atmosphere, and new fires in Oregon and Washington also contributed to pollution levels that were the worst on record. This analysis is based on regulatory data showing a record number of consecutive Spare the Air days which go back to 2001.

Ash coated cars in Silicon Valley, and entire towns in the fire zone had to be evacuated. More than 3.5 million acres have burned from 7,900 wildfires. More than 5,800 buildings have burned, and 26 people have died.

Aclima said the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels on the ground had dropped some from late August to September 9. But PM2.5 concentrations quickly increased the second week of September as the blanket of smoke above mixed into the air we breathe on the ground.

Above: Aclima’s daily average pollution by county in the Bay Area.

Image Credit: Aclima

The company’s mobile sensing network measures and analyzes air pollution and greenhouse gases block-by-block (hyperlocal), weekdays and weekends, day and night, covering more than 5,000 square miles throughout the Bay Area. The analysis you see in the video draws from an aggregation of billions of preliminary data points Aclima generated. The PM2.5 concentrations over time were quite variable from August 16 onward.

The skies above San Francisco turned orange on September 9 (delineated by the orange bar in the graphs). Between counties, there tended to be more variation in maximum daily levels than in daily averages. Often, the readings of real-time sensors operated by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Air Now, and Purple Air didn’t match what people saw in the skies. On the day that the sky was orange, for example, the air was relatively clean.

That’s because, in the Bay Area, an inversion layer of cool marine air blew in from the ocean and was trapped beneath a layer of warmer air. The marine layer was stable, meaning there is no exchange of air between this lower level and the air above it. That trapped the bad air high in the sky, according to Aclima chief scientist Melissa Lunden, in an interview with VentureBeat.

Above: Aclima shows county-by-county spikes in Bay Area pollution.

Image Credit: Aclima

The sky was orange that day because the smoke particles scatter sunlight differently depending on the wavelength of the light. Normally, the gas molecules in the air scatter the blue light in all directions, and this scattered blue light is what we see. The smoke particles completely filter out the blue light while the longer-wavelength orange and red light gets through to our eyes.

While the orange glow was gone quickly, the smoke remained. Similar daily averages and maximums were found across all Bay Area counties, suggesting that the smoke was evenly dispersed across the entire Bay Area during this time period. The downward trend from September 14 to 15 continues through today.

In most California counties, both daily averages and maximums stayed relatively low compared to previous weeks until September 6. After that most levels rose, coinciding with several rapidly spreading fires including the Creek Fire and the Bear Fire, as well as fires outside of California.

Average daily ozone levels actually decreased as the smoke blanketed much of California. As PM2.5 levels rose, ozone levels began to drop on September 9 throughout the state. Ozone is typically elevated in summer due to photochemical reactions in the atmosphere triggered by sunlight and heat that generate ozone from other gases. In this case, the blocking of the sun and the subsequent cooling of the ground and air beneath the massive blanket of smoke likely contributed to declining ozone levels over the past week in many parts of the state.

Despite these decreases in ozone concentrations, sustained unhealthy levels of PM2.5 have prompted alerts from air quality agencies to stay indoors and avoid outside activities. The Bay Area experienced its longest sustained period of unhealthy air on record, emerging on Thursday from a 30-day streak of consecutive Spare the Air days.

The lightning storms, fast-moving wildfires, orange skies, falling ash, unhealthy air, and even declining ozone levels all serve as a stark reminder of the compounding impacts and unintended consequences of environmental destabilization, Aclima said.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Big Data – VentureBeat

Read More

Tech Companies Are Leaving Bay Area In Droves – Where Are They Going?

November 17, 2019   BI News and Info
 Tech Companies Are Leaving Bay Area In Droves – Where Are They Going?

While Silicon Valley will certainly remain the tech/startup capital of the world for decades to come, it’s lost a bit of its luster and charm in the past couple of years. Many tech companies are on the way out, opting to move east.

Adios, Silicon Valley!

Silicon Valley isn’t what it used to be a decade and a half ago. Companies like Google and Apple, as well as hundreds of smaller tech ventures and startups, are choosing to move portions (or even all) of their operations east. They’re doing so for a variety of reasons, including:

  • Taxes. The corporate tax rate in California is 8.84% (for a cumulative total of 39.4%). Many other states have corporate tax rates in the four to six percent range. Business owners and executives are realizing they can save millions of dollars per year in taxes simply by moving a few hundred miles to the east.
  • High cost of living. On top of hefty taxes, California – and Silicon Valley in particular – has some of the highest costs of living in the entire country. Everything from housing to food is very expensive. Moving out of the area is like getting an instant pay raise.
  • Lack of diversity. Silicon Valley loves to pride itself on diversity, but many say it’s nothing more than a façade. While tech companies in the Valley hire lots of people who look diverse – i.e., different races, ethnicities, and genders – some employees claim they don’t appreciate diversity of thought (unless it aligns with their beliefs). Many business owners say they would prefer to escape to environments where free thought (of all kinds) is embraced.

There are plenty of other reasons for the split from Silicon Valley, but these three factors paint a picture of why entrepreneurs are leaving in droves.

4 popular destinations for tech companies

The question is: Where are all these entrepreneurs and their tech companies going? Some of the destinations are a bit surprising. Let’s take a look:

1. Salt Lake City, Utah

According to data from Cushman & Wakefield, a Chicago-based real estate services company, Salt Lake City has seen the second-most tech-related commercial leases in the country over the past year. It now claims the ninth-largest share of tech tenants in the nation. Tech companies accounted for more than 66% of all major commercial leases signed in 2018 (which is more than San Francisco).

The Salt Lake City area is also renowned for its lower than average cost of living (when compared to surrounding states). This is something local real estate developers regularly hear transplants comment on.

“Just in our master-planned community alone, we’ve already seen a number of families who are moving into the Salt Lake City area to enjoy a lower cost of living,” explains Wildflower, an active family community located south of the city. “When you combine that with strong job growth and beautiful surroundings, it’s a trend we anticipate continuing indefinitely.”

2. Austin, Texas

With companies like Apple, IBM, eBay, and Intel having major presences in the area, Austin has been dubbed “Silicon Hills.” It’s been a major player in the tech startup scene since the 1980s, and the low taxes, affordable cost of living, and pro-business environment have made it even more attractive in recent years.

3. Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville is one of the best-kept gems of the South. Located in the northern portion of the state – just a short drive south of Nashville – Huntsville is home to a thriving engineering scene. It also has major government support, with Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and NASA all relying heavily on the city. With an extremely low cost of living, it’s the perfect place to start a business and raise a family.

4. Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Don’t look now, but the Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte areas are huge landing spots for large tech companies and small ventures alike. With so many medical research universities nearby, it’s a particularly compelling destination for entrepreneurs that are focused on the convergence of technology and healthcare.

The future of technological entrepreneurship

Nobody is suggesting that Silicon Valley will cease to be the tech capital of the world. However, it’s losing some of its shine. As tech companies become less geographically attached to the area, we’ll see more innovation in more places. And, at the very least, this is good for the larger society.

SAP Integration is key to SAP Intelligent Enterprise. Learn about the key ingredient of this concept – SAP APIs – on December 4th.

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Digitalist Magazine

Read More

BroadPoint Listed by Clutch as a Top CRM Consulting Company in Washington, DC Area

May 22, 2019   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

If you are looking for a business technology partner, you might be familiar with Clutch. Clutch is a data-driven field guide to business buying decisions. They interview real clients, collect data, and compare competitors to help you find a firm ideally suited for your project. Clutch has made its reputation by connecting all sized and variety of businesses to solution providers. Being recognized by Clutch is a distinction driven by expertise and customer validation.

BroadPoint is proud to announce our recent recognition by Clutch as a leading CRM consulting company in the Washington, DC area. Additionally, Clutch’s sister website, the Manifest, lists top ERP Consulting companies and BroadPoint was also selected for that honor. The Manifest carries business news, how-to guides, and industry reports and other metrics collected to help organizations narrow their search for an appropriate business partner.

Since 2001, BroadPoint has helped hundreds of clients achieve their goals through Microsoft-powered solutions, optimized to meet their unique needs and business processes. Our seasoned consultants are experts in Microsoft CRM, ERP, BI, and productivity solutions. We focus particularly on professional service firms, health and human service organizations, non-profits and membership associations. We’ve achieved recognition as a top Microsoft Gold Certified Dynamics partner. Our work ethic and the quality of our performance have long been noted by our clients as well as by influencers in our field.

The recognition by Clutch and Manifest

We’re very honored to receive recognition from Clutch, an established leader in our industry, and of course we attribute our success to our amazing clients. Without their loyal support, none of our accomplishments would have been possible. We’re determined to move forward working hard and continuing to provide the best service possible.

If you’d like to know how BroadPoint’s award-winning consultants can benefit your business, contact us today.

By Broadpoint, www.broadpoint.net

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog | Dynamics 365

Read More

The Gray Area of Terms of Service, Influencer Marketing, and SEO

August 23, 2017   CRM News and Info
blog title gray area 351x200 The Gray Area of Terms of Service, Influencer Marketing, and SEO

Billions of searches are performed online every day, and a mere fraction of them will bring up your website. But to some brands, that fraction of traffic can amount to thousands or even millions of visitors. For the average online retailer, Google is often a top referrer of new business annually. So you can imagine that if one day that business just disappeared from that all-important search engine it would have pretty costly results.

Playing nice with the sources that can bring your brand more business certainly isn’t a new concept. “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” is how the old adage goes. In the case of SEO, that hand is Google. Playing by Google’s rules might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you’re building a brand, but over time complying with these guidelines can become increasingly important ― especially if you’re caught doing something you shouldn’t.

In this article we’ll discuss one gray area of marketing that could open the door for search engines like Google to question your tactics: influencer outreach. We’ll give you a few tips on what terms of service are affected by influencer marketing, ways to mitigate the risks, and how to avoid breaking rules in the future.

What are Google Terms of Service (ToS)?

Google’s Terms of Service (ToS) are an agreement you expressly agree to by using their services and products. By using Google’s services you’re pledging to adhere to their terms of service; these should be read and understood carefully. Misuse of Google’s provided services is in direct violation of the ToS and may result in suspension of services and possible investigation.

Terms of Service exist for popular search engines as well as the websites you frequent on a regular basis (such as social networking websites) to protect the company providing the service. It’s likely that right at this moment you’re required to comply with specific requirements on sites you use for free or pay fees for, and you probably don’t even know it.

Although it’s not a violation of any federal or state laws, not complying with ToS’s could have hefty consequences. In the case of Google’s ToS, this can mean a non-compliant business gets less traffic and fewer customers … and sometimes its website won’t show up in Google at all.

Knowing the rules will help you to play by the rules.

Influencer Marketing

According to Huffington Post, “Influencer marketing is simply the action of promoting and selling products or services through people (influencers) who have the capacity to have an effect on the character of a brand.”

For receiving compensation or a bit of free product for their time, the influencer then helps promote the company selling the products or services. It’s often a win-win for both brand and influencer, and all are happy.

Except sometimes Google. Oh, and the Federal Trade Commission. And sometimes the IRS, if you’re not careful.

Influencer marketing is a widely used form of advertising and marketing in the digital and offline world today. Brands have seen overnight success from the efforts of marketers partnering influencers with the right products. But there are rules to follow, some which reaffirm common truth-in-advertising principles that guide the quality of our industry.

It’s not a completely new concept. Influencers like athletes and models have been doing brand deals for decades. Today, the playing field is extremely level because of social media and other broadcast channels giving access to a wide array of individuals. Just about anyone can start and maintain a brand to become an influencer in their own right.

Rules for Influencers and Brands

Brands and influencers are encouraged to follow Endorsement Guidelines provided by the FTC. Imagine a world that didn’t have these regulations! We’d have false claims and horrible products being marketed to the public, and no way to tell the difference between legitimate and outlandish claims.

Guidelines help to inform influencers and brands about the importance of topics like disclosure too. “If there is a material connection between an endorser and an advertiser” it must be disclosed to the public, according to the FTC.

An endorsement must be an honest opinion, and the endorser can’t make claims that the product marketers themselves couldn’t legally make. Something that may affect the weight a person puts on the reviewer’s opinion of the product should be disclosed. If you keep these principles in mind you’ll mitigate the risks of violating a pretty simple concept.

Gray Area with SEO

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Act-On Blog

Read More

Area of a region in polar coordinates

April 27, 2017   BI News and Info

I’ve plotted two polar curves.

PolarPlot[{3 Sin[t], 1 + Sin[t]}, {t, 0, 2 Pi}, PlotRange -> {-1, 3}]

NLTMi Area of a region in polar coordinates

I’d like to shade the region that lies inside the circle but outside of the cardioid. Then I’d like to find the area of the shaded region using Mathematica’s Area command.

Is this possible using polar coordinates? Can someone share some suggestions?

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

Recent Questions – Mathematica Stack Exchange

Read More

Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Difference of Area [Charts]

September 1, 2016   Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft allows you to create different types of charts through the Dynamics CRM interface in order to visualize your data.  Charts are a great way to see key performance indicators at a glance, both for your executives and representatives.  Dynamics CRM charts can easily be added to dashboards, directly on a Form or List views.

This screenshot shows the current chart types you can choose from within the interface.  However, you can easily add many other chart types to your system simply by exporting the chart XML and entering a different chart type currently permitted by MS.

CRMChartTypes Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Difference of Area [Charts]

One chart type in particular that I would like to discuss is the Area chart.  Below, you can see screenshots of two Area charts.  Can you identify the difference?  You may think that they are each representing a different data set.  However, they actually represent the same data.   If you guessed chart type, you are correct.  Figure 1 is a traditional Area chart and Figure 2 is a Stacked Area chart.

TwoAreaCharts Microsoft Dynamics CRM – Difference of Area [Charts]

Traditional Area charts display quantities for each series horizontally, similar to how a line graph or bar chart would appear.  If one series quantity is less than another, it will dip behind.  While this can be useful to see, it makes it difficult to determine the actual value directly from the chart.  As the name implies, Stacked Area charts display your series, stacked vertically.  Quantities will never be hidden, but rather the series is stacked as appropriate based on their quantities.  The series represents a unified sum that you want to display.  If each showed net profit, expenses and cost of goods, the total would represent your sales.

So, which chart type will you use?  It may be a matter of preference, depending on your business needs and which type your employees are used to seeing.  Luckily, MS Dynamics CRM gives you the ability to choose.

Beringer Associates a leading Microsoft Gold Certified Partner specializing in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and CRM for Distribution. We also provide expert Managed IT Services, Backup and Disaster Recovery, Cloud Based Computing and Unified Communication Systems.

by Beringer Associates

Let’s block ads! (Why?)

CRM Software Blog

Read More
  • Recent Posts

    • Derivative of a norm
    • TODAY’S OPEN THREAD
    • IBM releases Qiskit modules that use quantum computers to improve machine learning
    • Transitioning to Hybrid Commerce
    • Bad Excuses
  • Categories

  • Archives

    • April 2021
    • March 2021
    • February 2021
    • January 2021
    • December 2020
    • November 2020
    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • March 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
© 2021 Business Intelligence Info
Power BI Training | G Com Solutions Limited