March 30, 2015

Software Languages and the Programming Language "R"

By Cloud Syndicate

Software Languages and the Programming Language “R”

As anyone working in the field knows, business intelligence services is an evolving landscape. New technologies, combined with a rapidly expanding marketplace, are disrupting legacy solutions and established platforms.

Despite such growth, however, there have been a few constants, such as the R programming language. As other technologies gain popularity or fade away, R has steadily grown into a standard for data exploration. This will only continue with the latest wave of medium and small business BI adoption.

R’s longevity stems from its perks, many of which come from its history.

R was created to take advantage of superior parallel processing abilities in newer systems. Before this, SAS was the default data language. SAS was created before parallel processing was commonplace, however, so even though it now supports it, the functionality isn’t ingrained in the language. Because of this, SAS analysis functions fail to take full advantage of parallel processing power in the way that R does.

Pleasing Graphics

R Big Data

One of the most immediate benefits of R’s parallel processing functionality is the ability to create aesthetically pleasing graphics. With only a small amount of extra code and preparation, R allows you to create navigable graphics from data analysis results. The graphics are presentable enough to export and use in a report, or to quickly gain new insight into a data set.

Along with such tangible benefits, R is also receiving some much-deserved recognition. Companies that previously fought against the language, such as IBM and SAS, have since acknowledged the value of R and started implementing support for it in their software.

If such news comes as a surprise and you’re now considering the implications of R usage among major BI vendors, it should be noted that this doesn’t undermine the efforts of companies such as Revolution Analytics. Rather, such adoption should bolster providers of standardized R packages and modules in what is otherwise an unstructured open source environment.

That said, R adoption can lead to some issues. There’s a steep learning curve with R, which means retraining a SAS expert could be difficult. Companies looking to take advantage of the new R integration from IBM, SAS, or Revolution Analytics’ toolset might instead look for applicants already familiar with the language.

Fortunately, there are plenty of statisticians trained in R use, and they come in the form of recent graduates. Being open source, R is ideal for educational use in colleges and scientific research. Many undergraduates and post-graduates leave college with sufficient R experience to join your company and begin BI work. This is made even more convenient by the fact that many R capabilities are open source (aka free) and thus can be downloaded and installed in a day.

With adoption of R by a wider audience (including 6 of the largest enterprise software vendors), it’s time for companies to look harder at what the language can do for them and their own evolving business intelligence efforts.

By Keith Cawley

Cloud Syndicate

Welcome to the 'Cloud Syndicate,' a curated community featuring short-term guest contributors, curated resources, and syndication partners covering diverse technology topics. Connect your technology article or news feed to our syndication network for broader visibility. Explore the intersections of cloud computing, Big Data, and AI through insightful articles and engaging podcasts. Stay ahead in the dynamic world of technology with our platform for thought leadership and industry news.

Join us as we delve into the latest trends and innovations.
Veljko

5 Recruiting Software Tools For Technology And Digital Companies

5 Recruiting Software Tools Finding the best candidate in the sea of thousands of developers [...]
Read more
Vulnerabilities

Flashpoint’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Index Edition

Cyber Threat Intelligence In an era of rapid digital transformation, we have witnessed a concerning [...]
Read more
Derek Pilling

Diversify for Success: The Multi-Cloud Advantage

What is Multi-Cloud? For good reason there is a lot of discussion about multi-cloud among [...]
Read more
Wealth Management Software Solutions - ServiceNow

Leading Online Savings and Wealth Management Services

Financial wealth management services (Updated: 06/29/2022) Many want to live in abundance, but very few [...]
Read more
Derek Slager

2024 IT Trends: Using AI to Optimize Your First-Party Data Strategy

2024 AI Optimization Trends IT professionals are in for another challenging year thanks to advancements [...]
Read more
Dmytro Reshetchenko

Digital Solutions for Legal Matchmaking: The Role of AI in Connecting Clients with Lawyers

The Role of AI in Connecting Clients with Lawyers The legal industry is transforming significantly [...]
Read more

SPONSOR PARTNER

Explore top-tier education with exclusive savings on online courses from MIT, Oxford, and Harvard through our e-learning sponsor. Elevate your career with world-class knowledge. Start now!
© 2024 CloudTweaks. All rights reserved.