Preface

Big data is not new, nor are data visualization and analysis. Around 5,000 years ago, the Babylonians were using a symbolic number system and mathematical tables not only to record and analyze mundane market information, but also to record and process astronomical data to reach conclusions about the nature of the cosmos.

Technology has advanced considerably since the clay tablets of Babylonian times, and more data is available then ever before, but data volume and complexity and the techniques available to handle data are relative concepts. It has always been challenging to derive insight and meaning from data, and it always will be.

TIBCO Spotfire is one of a handful of general-purpose analytics platforms that bring data integration, transformation, analytics, and visualization together in a single, enterprise-class development environment. The rich feature set and enterprise architecture allow you to create simple, centralized dashboards from spreadsheets or develop sophisticated self-service business intelligence frameworks that integrate multiple "big data" sources or model specialized and varied data through advanced analytics algorithms to develop and test new informatics hypotheses.

I have been working with Spotfire since 2011 to do all of the above in the field of clinical research, where good data analysis and insight lead to healthier and longer lives. I wrote this book to share my experience with you and give you a solid grounding in the use of this amazing analytics product. I deliberately avoided using any examples from my clinical background and instead chose to use more general, and I hope interesting, examples to illustrate Spotfire's many capabilities.

Whether you want to do mundane business analysis or push the boundaries of data science, this book is the beginning of your journey into Spotfire's panoramic analytics landscape. Fasten your seatbelt if you wish but keep this chart at hand at all times!