Statistics Savvy

by Matthew Klare

SPSS 10
Rating 90

Data mining software extracts statistical information from data like sales reports and customer databases that you can use to find buying patterns and target potential customers. This makes otherwise static data much more useful in making important business decisions. While SPSS 10 has the familiar look of an Excel spreadsheet, with rows and columns, it does a lot more than just display data.

The program offers exceptional functionality, solid graphing capabilities, and a great output viewer that simplifies working with your end results.

Version 10 can open SPSS, Excel, and ACSII text files, and can import data from any ODBC-compliant database. New to Version 10 is a two-paned data window. The first pane shows your data, while the second displays the characteristics of each variable in your data set. This new second pane makes it much easier to rearrange and add data, as well as to modify existing variables.

We installed a late beta version of the program on a 400MHz Pentium II running Windows 98. We liked the new Map Module, which displayed the results of analysis and other geographic data on maps. We also liked Version 10’s ability to export statistical models into other applications like Excel and Lotus.

For enterprise-wide use of SPSS 10, a server-based version of the program is available for $9,990. The $999 base system can function solo or as a client for the server version.

SPSS makes it easy to gather statistical information that can help you make solid decisions about your business ­ without the guess work.