Descriptive and Predictive Analytics

Descriptive analytics is the process of summarizing and analyzing data to understand the past and present status of a particular subject. Predictive analytics, on the other hand, is the process of using data, statistical algorithms and machine learning techniques to identify the likelihood of future outcomes based on historical data.

Data refers to raw information that is collected and stored, while big data refers to the large volume of data – both structured and unstructured – that inundates a business on a day-to-day basis. The difference lies in the size, speed, and variety of data.

Companies use big data to gain valuable insights into their business operations, customer behavior, market trends and more. Big data helps organizations make informed decisions, increase efficiency, and improve their overall performance.

Business intelligence is a set of processes, technologies and tools that organizations use to collect, integrate, analyze and present data to support informed decision-making. It helps companies by providing them with a comprehensive view of their business and helps identify areas of improvement.

OLTP (Online Transaction Processing) systems are designed to manage transaction-oriented applications, while OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) systems are designed to support business intelligence activities. OLTP systems are optimized for insert, update, and delete operations, while OLAP systems are optimized for complex querying and analysis of data. Examples of OLTP systems include point-of-sale systems, while examples of OLAP systems include data warehouses.

The types of data include structured data, unstructured data, semi-structured data, quantitative data, and qualitative data. Structured data refers to data that is organized and stored in a specific format, such as tables, while unstructured data refers to data that is not organized in a specific format, such as text, images, and videos.

The sources of data include internal data, such as sales and customer data, and external data, such as data obtained from social media and public sources.