Technology generates vast amounts of information as it becomes multi-fold in many sectors. This information, in the form of data, can yield valuable insights about a particular field. However, to obtain decision-making insights, it needs to be supplemented with data analysis.
Data analytics helps industries and businesses make sense of the vast volumes of data to further their growth. Currently, and in years to come, data analytics is being embraced as the future of business operations and is the difference between failing and successful companies.
What is data analytics?
Data analytics refers to the software/tools and processes required to work on a set of data to derive important insights. Analytics tools can either be quantitative, such as statistical tools, or qualitative, such as quality of life surveys in the health care field. A few of such tools/software include:
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Power BI
- R for data science
- Python
- Looker
- SPSS
- Tableau
- SQL
These tools help in the extraction, bifurcation, and analysis of user data from a chunk of unnecessary information to come up with numerical data and patterns that can help a business make a profitable change. SambaNova Systems, led by the Co-Founder Rodrigo Liang, is a computing firm focused on building big data analytics and machine learning platforms. It utilizes a software-defined analytics platform that enhances optimum performance for any inference, analytics, or ML (Machine Learning) training models.
Importance of data and analytics for businesses
Being an integral component of making strategies in organizations, data analytics can help increase business productivity, make evidence-backed decisions, as well as predict customer behaviors and trends. Let’s explore this in more detail:
Analyzing company demographics
It is important to gather data about who is visiting a business website and from which location. Analyzing data on the demographic reach of a website helps a business to understand the reason behind larger interest from a particular geographic zone. It can also help in identifying the existence of a potential market so that the business takes the necessary steps to make an entry.
The business will also be in a better position to understand whether it’s getting hits from the right target audience or from a market it cannot serve. Altogether, there will be a provision of vital inputs to help establish if there’s a genuine interest in the business, or people are just visiting your website to look for a specific product.
Predicting client behaviors
Analysis of online data that a business captures from its website can provide some information regarding client behavior. Every business desires to have returning customers from various geographical areas. When clients visit a website repeatedly to place orders, it’s possible to predict their behavior over some time and introduce offers to ensure they remain loyal.
If data analysis indicates clients don’t return after one inquiry or order, it’s an indication that some work needs to be done to convert prospects into buying customers and retain them. Using predictive analytics to track and predict consumer behavior requires sophisticated analytics software, skilled data analysts, as well as using Customer Relations Management systems integration.
Impact of decision making
When it comes to decision making in business, data, and analytics are indispensable. They help identify market needs and trends while finding why specific products or services are lagging while others are faring well. They also provide insights into business feasibility; whether it’s headed in the right direction, and if not, how it can help establish the way forward to steer it onto the right track.
Small businesses can avail a data analytics course and conduct the analytics processes by themselves. But most companies hire trained analysts or digital marketers to organize and analyze data generated on their websites.
Being the secret of every successful company, data analytics helps in making vital decisions. This includes widening the range of products or services, pricing policies, customer care, as well as market expansion, among others. Companies that make decisions contingent on data analytics usually retain an upper hand over their competitors. This is because they don’t base their decisions on ambiguous information or guesswork, but rather genuine data.
Final words
We are in the new age of data, and it has unlimited potential. From easing business operations to detecting possible flaws, there is so much that data analytics can do to take your business to the next level. Lack of sufficient information regarding business’ nitty-gritty is the reason behind the many instances of losses in businesses.
Data analytics techniques are shifting to an altogether new paradigm; they are truly changing the world. Whether it’s in business, sports, or day-to-day activities, data and analytics have changed the way people do things. Aside from playing a major role in business, it also helps track diseases, understand consumer behavior, develop artificial intelligence, and mark the weaknesses of the opponent contenders in politics or sports. Lastly, things shouldn’t be taken too seriously with data analytics. That is because a simple tool like Excel can be used to jump-start into data analysis. So, explore and take charge!
