Living in the 21st century, you might have come across the word “data analytics”. Currently, it has become one of the most buzzing organisational roles across the globe. Every company wants data analysts in their department to examine their data, identify problems, and provide beneficial information to help them grow their business and revenue.
In this blog, you will learn what is data analytics, how it works, and why it matters.
What is data analytics?
Data analytics is a collection of processes, tools, and techniques that aid in the management of both qualitative and quantitative data. It helps businesses discover, organise, govern, and generate insights.
This discipline involves analysing data sets that would help solve problems in different sectors. Data analytics draws on several fields of study, such as mathematics, statistics and computer programming to provide accurate data analysis.
Some of the objectives of data analytics are:
- Assess and improve the quality of data
- Use statistical analysis and data technologies to identify trends and solve problems
- Acquire insights and use them to make decisions
- Forecast areas where problems can occur and use technology to fix them
- Define, predict, and improve organisational performance by using advanced data management technique
How does data analytics work?
Data analytics includes a series of steps to give an accurate analysis:
- The first step in the data analytics process is to determine data requirements or how the data is organised. Here, data is separated numerically or into various categories such as age, gender, income, or demographic.
- The second step in data analytics is data collection. Multiple tools, such as computers, the internet, cameras, environmental sources and human employees, can be used to accomplish this.
- Once the data has been collected, it must be organised so it can be analysed. This time-consuming task is carried out on spreadsheets and other software capable of handling statistical data.
- Before analysis, the data is cleaned. The data is scrubbed and checked here to ensure no duplication, error, or incompleteness. This step helps clean up any errors that may have influenced the analysis.
- Now comes the actual analysis. This step entails using various analytical software, tools, and techniques to aid in analysis.
- The final step is to transform data into actionable business insights. At this stage, data analysts will show what analysis tells them about business challenges and work with stakeholders to find solutions and move forward.
Why is data analytics important?
Many organisations use data analytics in multiple departments to examine current situations and forecast future scenarios. Some of the benefits of implementing data analytics in businesses include:
- Businesses can avoid financial risk, ensure data security, and take other actions that could save them a fortune with good data analysis.
- Organisations use data analytics to identify functions that consume more funds than they should and others that require additional funding. This reduces costs, particularly in operations and production, and eventually replaces manual activities with technology.
- Organisations can use predictive analysis to predict future trends and create better products that will keep them at the top of their markets.
- Data analytics can help track customers’ behaviour towards products and services. This can help them identify their weak points and develop products and services to improve customer experience.
- Businesses use data analytics to investigate past security breaches and identify the vulnerabilities that led to them. Analytical models will help them prevent future attacks based on unusual behavioural patterns.
- Data analytics can provide businesses with useful insights into current problems and potential solutions. This could help organisations make better decisions and improve business performance.
Take Away
Data analytics is a rapidly expanding field, and skilled data analysts will always be in high demand. Anyone with the desire and drive can become a fully qualified, job-ready data analyst with the right training. Enrol in online courses from world-class universities to earn an advanced certificate in data analytics. These certificate courses will help you improve your skills and advance your career.
