Dear Readers,
If Julius Caesar were alive today, I’m fairly certain he would have been a data miner – or, at least, he would have managed a team of data miners. Sure, his employees would probably wear breast plates and gladiator helmets instead of khakis and golf shirts while they analyzed data, and I guess it would seem a little over-the-top whenever Caesar used his sword to slice an apple in the break room. But if you think about it, many of Caesar’s other traits would align perfectly with a job in analytics.

At least that’s the conclusion the SAS Education team has come to as we put the finishing touches on M2010, SAS’ 13th annual data mining conference. You see, Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas has played host to the event for the past three years and will do so again this fall, from October 25-26.

We’ve learned a lot about Caesar over the past few years, including the fact that – just like analytical thought leaders – he was constantly seeking order. While he may not have always been the kindest of neighbors, Caesar brought extensive reforms in government and restored order to Roman society. Data miners also bring order and focus to organizations.  They help their companies save money, operate more efficiently, and make better business decisions. During M2010, you’ll hear from some of the industry’s most respected analytical experts and learn strategies you can use to turn your data into actionable knowledge.

Data mining professionals also share Caesar’s gift of innovation. Legend has it that Caesar was one of the first to employ cryptography, encrypting his messages by shifting the alphabet up three letters (replacing every A with a D; every B with an E, etc) so his messengers could not decipher the communications they carried. Without a doubt, the work data miners perform drives innovation within organizations. M2010 offers six keynote talks and more than 35 session presentations from top experts in the field – not to mention the opportunity to network with more than 700 peers. We are certain you’ll hear some inspiring examples of data-driven innovation from data mining practitioners working in nearly every industry.

So if you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to register for M2010. Take Las Vegas by storm – no breast plate required – and return home a hero to your organization. Or, as Caesar would say, Veni, vidi, vici!

Thanks for reading,

Larry LaRusso
Editor, SAS Training Report