FICO helps enterprises tackle Big Data optimisation problems

FICO has introduced the latest version of the FICO® Xpress Optimization Suite for developing and optimising applications that can efficiently solve complex Big Data problems, leading to the best possible business decisions. FICO Xpress Optimization Suite 7.5 is part of the FICO® Decision Management Platform, and will be available on-premise or via the FICO® Analytic Cloud.

While Big Data offers organisations increased opportunities for real-time intelligence and decision-making, the variety and velocity of the data can present optimisation challenges. The latest version of FICO Xpress Optimization Suite helps organisations address these Big Data challenges, by enabling them to develop and deploy optimisation applications that solve the biggest real-world problems faster than ever, with the addition of nonlinear programming, improved solver speed and enhanced web enablement.

“Organizations with large-scale operations, from global banks to retailers, utilities and professional sports leagues, use Xpress Optimization Suite to ensure that they are making the most efficient and profitable use of capital, human resources, and technology assets,” said Stuart Wells, chief technology officer at FICO. “The enhancements to this release make Xpress the only optimization software on the market that can address the range of optimization problems of all types and complexities. This means that enterprises can now take advantage of Big Data analytics and solve previously unsolvable problems.”

“In this age of Big Data and Analytics, there is a need to solve optimisation problems of unprecedented sizes and complexity,” said Dan Vesset, vice president of business analytics and big data research at IDC. “These real world, nonlinear optimisation problems involve millions of variables and constraints, and a vast number of potential solutions. Traditional linearisation approaches, such as sampling a few values from the solution space, no longer deliver the business value required to stay competitive.”

As part of this release, FICO is introducing Xpress-NonLinear, which enables enterprises to model the true nonlinear relationships between decisions and outcomes, more accurately capturing reality, and readily navigating trillions of permutations, variables and constraints. Xpress-NonLinear bundles linear programming, quadratic and quadratically constrained programming, interior-point-nonlinear and successive-linear programming solvers in one package. The auto-detection capability determines the type of optimisation problem users are trying to solve and assigns the appropriate linear or nonlinear solvers to provide the best solution.

FICO® Xpress Optimization Suite was the first optimisation software with 64-bit ultra-large-scale optimization for solving massive problems, and version 7.5 makes it easier than ever to use distributed, cloud-based optimization services to crunch the numbers. FICO Xpress is also the optimisation engine inside FICO solutions such as FICO® Decision Optimizer and FICO® Analytic Offer Manager.