Latest news with #dataanalytics
Al Bawaba
18 minutes ago
- Business
- Al Bawaba
University of Birmingham Dubai students win fifth edition of the ADNOC-Bloomberg Trading Challenge
Students from University of Birmingham Dubai have won the 2025 edition of the ADNOC-Bloomberg Trading Challenge, marking the fifth edition of the unique commodities-focused competition designed to help students in the UAE showcase their skills in data analytics and Rania Guinomla and Malishka Kaur Bhasin from 'Fortune Traders' team were named the winners for their strategy, which which stood out for its disciplined "hold and watch" investment approach. The winners are eligible for training placements with ADNOC Global challenge forms part of the ADNOC-Bloomberg for Education Initiative, a long-term collaboration between ADNOC, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Bloomberg aimed at supporting the UAE's next generation of graduates. Over the years, it has become a key platform for students from competing universities to gain hands-on experience using Bloomberg Terminals, guided by Bloomberg analysts from various sectors. Throughout the challenge, teams from participating universities simulate analyst workflows and develop commodities trading strategies, which they present as a research report to a jury of financial sector experts. Saif Al Falahi, ADNOC Director of Group Business Support & Special Tasks, said: 'We warmly congratulate the winners of this year's ADNOC-Bloomberg Trading Challenge on their exceptional performance in a competition that we are proud to have championed since its launch. The challenge offers a valuable platform for the next generation of UAE trading professionals to build the skills and hands-on experience needed to lead the fast-evolving world of global energy trading and drive the UAE's continued economic success.'In 2025, more than 450 students from nine universities took part in the challenge. Five teams were shortlisted as finalists, each presenting their approach to Massias, Head of Market Specialists - Middle East & Africa, Bloomberg LP said: 'What stands out most to me is how collaborative and committed these students are. They come in eager to learn and they leave with a real understanding of how to work with data, how to think critically, and perhaps most importantly, how to make informed decisions. This year's teams were impressive, and it's great to see such consistently strong talent in the UAE, especially at a time when the country is investing so much in innovation and digital skills.' Launched in 2019 following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ADNOC, Bloomberg, and the Ministry of Education, the initiative was created to equip future generations of UAE students with the financial skills needed to thrive in today's dynamic and globally connected world. Since then, it has continued to grow in scale and impact, supporting over 9,000 students and installing 100 Bloomberg Terminals across five of the UAE's leading universities: Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi University, UAE University, New York University Abu Dhabi, and the Higher Colleges of Technology. © 2000 - 2025 Al Bawaba ( Signal PressWire is the world's largest independent Middle East PR distribution service.
Geeky Gadgets
3 hours ago
- Business
- Geeky Gadgets
Create Dynamic Excel Interactive Dashboards That Drive Better Decisions
What if you could transform raw, uninspiring attendance data into a visually stunning, interactive tool that not only tracks employee performance but also enables better decision-making? In a world where data drives action, the ability to create a dashboard that is both functional and engaging is a fantastic option. Power BI, with its robust capabilities and advanced DAX formulas, offers the perfect platform to achieve this. Imagine a dashboard that not only highlights attendance patterns at a glance but also adapts dynamically to user inputs—whether filtering by department, time period, or individual employees. This is more than just a reporting tool; it's a strategic asset that turns data into actionable insights. In this exploration, Chandoo uncovers the step-by-step process of building an interactive employee dashboard that combines advanced DAX calculations, dynamic visuals, and thoughtful design principles. From structuring raw data into a star schema to crafting SVG-enhanced visuals that elevate user experience, every detail is covered to help you create a polished and professional solution. Along the way, you'll also learn to overcome common challenges, like optimizing performance and making sure compatibility across devices. By the end, you won't just have a dashboard—you'll have a tool that transforms how attendance data is understood and used. So, how might this innovation reshape the way your organization approaches employee analytics? Interactive Employee Dashboard Example 1: Preparing Your Data The foundation of any effective dashboard lies in well-structured data. Transforming raw attendance data into a star schema format is crucial for optimizing performance and simplifying analysis. Follow these steps to prepare your data: Create dimension tables: Organize your data into separate tables for employees, calendar dates, and attendance statuses. This structure ensures clarity and enhances analytical efficiency. Organize your data into separate tables for employees, calendar dates, and attendance statuses. This structure ensures clarity and enhances analytical efficiency. Add calculated columns: Include fields such as day type (e.g., working day, weekend, or holiday) and week of the month to enable more detailed analysis. Include fields such as day type (e.g., working day, weekend, or holiday) and week of the month to enable more detailed analysis. Clean and standardize inputs: Ensure data consistency by addressing errors, duplicates, and formatting issues to avoid complications during analysis. This structured approach allows for seamless connections between datasets, allowing efficient analysis across multiple dimensions. 2: Designing Dynamic Visuals To make your dashboard both engaging and easy to interpret, incorporate visuals that provide meaningful insights at a glance. Two essential components to include are the calendar view and employee cards. Calendar View Use a matrix visual to display attendance data for each day of the month. Enhance this view with SVG-based visuals to color-code day types, such as green for working days and red for holidays. This visual representation allows users to quickly identify attendance patterns, trends, and anomalies. Employee Cards Design individual employee cards to showcase profile pictures, attendance statistics, and other relevant details. To ensure compatibility with Power BI, convert image URLs into Base64-encoded binary data. This technique ensures that images render correctly, even in offline or restricted network environments. Making an Interactive Dashboard with Power BI Watch this video on YouTube. Take a look at other insightful guides from our broad collection that might capture your interest in Power BI. 3: Using Advanced DAX Measures DAX (Data Analysis Expressions) serves as the backbone of Power BI's analytical capabilities. Advanced DAX formulas enable the calculation of key metrics and enhance interactivity within the dashboard. Examples of useful measures include: Total days and working days: Calculate these metrics for each employee to monitor attendance effectively. Calculate these metrics for each employee to monitor attendance effectively. Attendance percentages: Analyze trends over time to identify patterns and areas for improvement. Analyze trends over time to identify patterns and areas for improvement. Dynamic metrics: Create measures that update based on user-selected filters, such as department, time period, or specific employee groups. These calculations add depth to your analysis, allowing for a more comprehensive evaluation of employee attendance. 4: Enhancing Visuals with SVG SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) can significantly elevate the visual appeal of your dashboard. Custom visuals for calendar cells and employee cards can make the dashboard more engaging and user-friendly. To address Power BI's SVG limitations, consider the following techniques: Optimizing SVG code: Minimize file sizes to improve performance and reduce rendering times. Minimize file sizes to improve performance and reduce rendering times. Using Base64 encoding: Convert image URLs into Base64 format to ensure compatibility with Power BI's rendering engine. Convert image URLs into Base64 format to ensure compatibility with Power BI's rendering engine. Testing visuals: Verify that SVG elements render correctly across different devices and scenarios to ensure a consistent user experience. By incorporating these techniques, you can create unique visuals that enhance both the usability and aesthetic appeal of your dashboard. 5: Crafting an Intuitive Dashboard Design A well-designed dashboard strikes a balance between functionality and aesthetics. Focus on creating a clean, user-friendly layout by incorporating the following elements: Custom backgrounds: Use subtle designs and rounded visuals to give the dashboard a polished and professional appearance. Use subtle designs and rounded visuals to give the dashboard a polished and professional appearance. Interactive slicers: Allow users to filter data by criteria such as month, department, or employee role for a more personalized experience. Allow users to filter data by criteria such as month, department, or employee role for a more personalized experience. Readable fonts and color schemes: Choose styles that enhance clarity and usability, making sure that the dashboard is accessible to all users. Prioritizing user experience ensures that the dashboard is intuitive, visually appealing, and easy to navigate. 6: Addressing Challenges Building a complex dashboard often involves overcoming technical challenges. Anticipating and addressing these issues early in the process can save time and improve the final product. Common challenges and their solutions include: Data transformation: Use a star schema and Power Query to clean and structure raw data effectively. Use a star schema and Power Query to clean and structure raw data effectively. SVG limitations: Optimize SVG designs and use Base64 encoding to ensure seamless rendering in Power BI. Optimize SVG designs and use Base64 encoding to ensure seamless rendering in Power BI. Performance concerns: Simplify DAX measures, limit the use of large visuals, and optimize data models to improve responsiveness. By proactively addressing these challenges, you can create a dashboard that performs well and meets user expectations. 7: Testing and Iterating Thorough testing is essential to ensure the accuracy and usability of your dashboard. Conduct usability testing with end-users to gather feedback on the design, functionality, and overall user experience. Use this feedback to refine the dashboard, making adjustments to better meet the needs of its audience. Regular iteration ensures that your dashboard remains relevant and effective over time. Building an interactive employee attendance dashboard in Power BI requires a combination of data modeling, advanced DAX calculations, and SVG-based visuals. By following these steps, you can create a dynamic reporting tool that provides valuable insights while maintaining a professional and user-friendly design. With careful planning, attention to detail, and a focus on usability, your dashboard can become an indispensable resource for tracking and analyzing employee attendance. Media Credit: Chandoo Filed Under: Guides Latest Geeky Gadgets Deals Disclosure: Some of our articles include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, Geeky Gadgets may earn an affiliate commission. Learn about our Disclosure Policy.
Globe and Mail
9 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Is BigBear.ai a Buy?
Lots of investors are wondering how they can tap into the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), and one company many are likely considering right now is (NYSE: BBAI). The company's core service is AI data analytics, which has become important as companies look for better ways to sift through data and make decisions. The company's AI services can be used for anything from predictive analytics for national security to forecasting patient inflows for the healthcare industry. All this gives access to a wide variety of customers. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Continue » Still, has a lot to prove as this market takes shape. So, is it worth betting on stock right now? Here's what you need to know. Its stock price has soared, but it is still very volatile share price has spiked about 200% over the past year, making it a huge winner for some investors. It's hard to pin down exactly why investors have been so ecstatic about stock. I think it has more to do with the fact that it's a small AI start-up, and investors are prone to be a bit speculative with artificial intelligence companies right now. What's more, another AI data analytics company, Palantir, has attracted a lot of attention for its ability to win both government contracts and commercial customers. Palantir's sales rose 33% in the first quarter and closed 139 deals of at least $1 million. Some investors are likely seeing the success of Palantir, which is a strategic partner of and believe that could see the same success. But investors should know that stock is very volatile. While it's gained a lot over the past year, its stock price is down nearly 60% since mid-February, and is down by that same percentage since the company went public in late 2021. Revenue is unimpressive, and management has been unstable One thing you always want to see from young companies that are trying to tap into a new market is that they know how to increase sales. Of course, that's important for any company, young or old, but new companies should be increasing sales at a very rapid pace. Unfortunately, that's not the case for The company's revenue rose just 5% to $34.8 million in Q1 of this year. The company's management issued revenue guidance in the range of between $160 million to $180 million for the full year, which would be an increase of just over 7% at the midpoint. This type of low-percentage sales growth is typically what you see from established companies that don't have many new avenues to expand their sales, not from young start-ups. has also had problems holding on to its CEOs. The company is currently on its third CEO in just four years. The current CEO, Kevin McAleenan, was acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under the first Trump administration and has led only since January. It's not a good sign to see a young company cycle through so many CEOs since going public in 2021. Companies need a long-term vision and stable leadership to ensure they follow through on their goals. hasn't proved it can do that yet. Verdict: Don't buy right now You probably saw this coming, but I don't think investors should buy stock right now. There's really not much to be excited about, since its sales are weak and the C-suite has been a complete mess. Those aren't positive signs for long-term investors. It appears that investors may be too focused on the fact that this company is an AI stock at a hot time for artificial intelligence and ignoring some of struggles. I think investors would be far better served by finding an established artificial intelligence company, rather than betting on right now. Its fortunes could change in the future, but I'd need to see sales rising significantly and a very stable leadership track record before considering this stock. Should you invest $1,000 in right now? Before you buy stock in consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $659,171!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $891,722!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is995% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to172%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 9, 2025
Finextra
17 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
Experian signs 10-year cloud deal with Amazon Web Services
Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Inc. company (NASDAQ: AMZN), today announced that Experian, a global data and technology company, is embarking on the next phase of its cloud migration and has selected AWS as its preferred cloud. 0 By leveraging AWS's advanced cloud capabilities, Experian can provide faster, more scalable solutions that empower clients with deeper insights and more secure data services. Experian's cloud first strategy, in partnership with AWS, accelerates innovation by enhancing performance, scalability, and reliability, while enabling the company to better serve its clients with innovative products and solutions. By migrating off mainframe computers and moving multiple on-premises servers to the cloud, Experian is able to centralize its technology platforms in the cloud and use its data to drive deeper insights and predictive capabilities. Leveraging AWS's robust infrastructure, Experian can quickly adapt to evolving client needs, ensuring secure and efficient data handling. As part of this new 10-year strategic agreement, Experian has selected AWS as their strategic partner for generative artificial intelligence (AI), developing more than 100 generative AI use-cases. This collaboration will drive operational efficiency, democratize data technologies for employees, and develop new credit and financial analytics offerings. With the integration of generative AI, Experian is streamlining the complex process of database migrations, automating and optimizing the transfer of vast datasets, reducing downtime, improving data accuracy, and further solidifying its position as a leader in the global data and technology industry. 'AWS is delighted to partner with Experian to unlock opportunities that drive innovation, increase agility, and accelerate their modernization,' said Scott Mullins, Managing Director, Worldwide Financial Services at AWS. 'As they build intelligent data platforms, develop cutting-edge applications with generative AI, and gain real-time insights, Experian is demonstrating how organizations can reinvent their operations while maintaining security, compliance, and resilience at scale." "Our initial migrations gave us enhanced performance, security, and reliability, making it an easy choice to take that a step farther and embrace a cloud-first strategy," said Rodrigo Rodrigues, Chief Technology Officer at Experian. "Having our data readily available in the cloud sets us up to invest in new capabilities like generative AI and advance products and solutions for our clients with proven security. By moving to AWS, we've reduced our data processing time by 60%, improved our ability to launch new products from months to weeks, and can now analyze credit data in real-time to better serve our customers." By leveraging AWS's robust security controls and advanced threat detection and mitigation capabilities, Experian can ensure the highest levels of data protection and regulatory compliance. Together, Experian and AWS are committed to creating transformative experiences that benefit both businesses and consumers, fostering growth, trust, and innovation across the digital landscape.
Forbes
17 hours ago
- Business
- Forbes
Ecolab Builds The Future With Data And AI
Ecolab corporation headquarters in St. Paul, MN getty Ecolab Chief Digital Officer Kevin Doyle has been with the company for 15 years and in his current post for two. He oversees a broad scope, blending traditional CIO responsibilities with a mandate to build innovative data-rich digital products. His team supports both Ecolab's 48,000 employees and a diverse global customer base, bringing together IT, digital product development and supply chain modernization under one strategic roof. Ecolab's mission to make the world cleaner, safer and healthier translates into an expansive portfolio of offerings from water treatment and infection prevention to advanced analytics and industrial automation. 'We touch a lot of different areas,' Doyle said. 'Pretty broad base of what we're capable of, but all impactful.' His team drives value creation through data-driven insights, IoT applications and mobile solutions tailored to both internal operations and customer-facing engagements. Delivering Value Through Ecolab Digital A recent organizational shift brought Ecolab's commercial digital solutions group and IT teams together under a single banner: Ecolab Digital. 'It was to take advantage of all of the technology, wealth of knowledge and capability that we had, and use it to differentiate, not only for internal operations or our customers, but how we can jointly do that,' Doyle said. Ecolab Digital delivers a broad array of commercial innovations, including digital twins in data centers and food retail facilities, AI-powered dish machine diagnostics and predictive analytics that detect waterborne pathogens like Legionella. 'We cover a lot of different territories,' Doyle explained. 'But we have a base platform that we take all of our data into. We call it Ecolab 3D.' This cloud-based infrastructure turns real-world data into insights that drive customer value across sectors such as retail, hospitality and industrial water. Empowering the Front Lines with Intelligent Tools While customer-facing innovation remains central, Doyle emphasizes the importance of arming Ecolab's employees, especially the 28,000 in the field, with modern technologies. 'We're trying to take advantage of the latest trends in technology, [such as] artificial intelligence and some of these things that are more generative in nature,' he said. These tools aim to elevate how Ecolab personnel identify, deliver and quantify value in customer environments. Ecolab Chief Digital Officer Kevin Doyle Ecolab A major initiative involves using AI to share knowledge across the global field team. 'If you're in Southeast Asia or southeast Idaho and you've got a dairy plant that you're serving, you might have ideas that never cross paths,' he said. 'We're now surfacing those to people as opportunities to say, 'have you considered these things?' They've created value for customers in other places.' This approach transforms siloed knowledge into scalable insights, helping the field organization make smarter, faster decisions on the ground. Monetizing Digital with Subscriptions and Scalable Services Doyle and his team have also developed new ways to monetize Ecolab's digital assets. 'We really built a strategy around not only our connected devices but the applications and the services that we're deploying,' he said. This includes subscription-based offerings that integrate software, hardware and support services, creating a new revenue stream for the company. The model goes beyond device installation to include consumption-based pricing and value-based outcomes. 'Much like our cloud providers charge us for the amount of compute that we use, we're doing similar things for our customers,' Doyle said. The approach reinforces Ecolab's commitment to delivering measurable impact, whether through water conservation, energy efficiency or operational downtime. '[We are] coming to them in a different way through insights than maybe in the historic sense of purely chemicals or equipment,' he added. Digitizing the Supply Chain and Harnessing AI Ecolab's internal operations have also been transformed through digitization, particularly in the supply chain. Doyle's team is rethinking how ERP, transportation and quality systems can be enhanced with data and artificial intelligence. 'We're doing design sessions at the operations levels to understand processes that we might improve quality through vision control or vision AI,' he said. The company applies many of the same innovations it develops for customers to its own facilities. 'A lot of those things that we're delivering for customers are custom applications that we're developing based on the hundred years of experience that Ecolab has,' Doyle underscored with pride. From predictive maintenance to real-time plant optimization, the internal digitization strategy mirrors the external, allowing Ecolab to 'validate the offering is going to create the value we expect' before going to market. Innovation as a Collaborative Cross-Functional Engine At the heart of Ecolab's innovation strategy is a highly collaborative model. Doyle's team brings together engineers, developers, AI specialists and user-experience designers with subject matter experts from across the business. 'Bring me someone from R&D, from the field, from marketing, from finance,' Doyle said. 'Then generally we use some form of design thinking process or session where we're getting a cross-functional group together, collaborating in a highly engaging, highly energized environment.' The group operates in pods that rapidly prototype new solutions. 'You can't PowerPoint people to death in the digital space,' Doyle emphasized. 'A lot of people can create pretty PowerPoints, but can you turn that into technology that's going to be valuable?' With the help of generative and agentic AI, Doyle's team now launches apps in days instead of months. 'Our innovation program is really about how do we leverage AI, how do we take the data and insights, what problems are we trying to solve for customers,' he said. 'And then we do a rapid iteration.' This blend of heritage and agility, leveraging a century of domain expertise while adopting cutting-edge technology, defines Doyle's digital playbook. In his hands, innovation is not just about novelty but about continuously renewing how Ecolab serves its customers and employees in a fast-changing world. Peter High is President of Metis Strategy, a business and IT advisory firm. He has written three bestselling books, including his latest Getting to Nimble. He also moderates the Technovation podcast series and speaks at conferences around the world. Follow him on Twitter @PeterAHigh.
