SURVEY DATA & DIRECTORY
To view the survey results as well as a directory
of vendors who participated in the survey,
click here.
If you use data to make forecasts,
what should you look for in a vendor and
the product? First, find out the capabilities
of the software. Specifically, what forecasting methodologies can the product
do? Does it find the optimal parameters
of the procedure for your particular data
set or must you manually enter those values? How extensive, useful and clear is
the output?
Most, but not all, vendors allow you to
download a time-trial version of the software that typically expires in anywhere
from a week to a month. Ideally, the trial
version should allow you to work with
your own data and not just “canned” data
that the vendor bundles with the trial software. Verify if the trial version has size
A NA L Y T I C S
limitations of the data, and if so, are they
overly restrictive.
Ask about technical support, updating to a newer version when it is released
and differences (if any) depending on the
operating system you are using. Contact
the vendor with your specific questions.
Users tell me, and I have independently
found, that most vendors have good and
helpful technical support before and after
you buy.
Jack Yurkiewicz ([email protected]) is a
professor of management science in the MBA
program at the Lubin School of Business, Pace
University, New York. He teaches data analysis,
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