With the recent explosion in the number of businesses gathering data to help them better understand their customers and boost their profits, data analytics has also been more significantly adopted. Research has shown that 97.2% of businesses plan to invest in big data and AI this year.

But what is data analytics? And how is it used in business?

What is data analytics?

Investopedia defines big data as “the science of analysing raw data to make conclusions about that information.” It is helpful for businesses as it allows them to use data analysis and statistical models to help them solve any issues they have and enable better business decisions as they will be data-driven.

It is important to remember, though, that successful data analyses rely on five key things:

  1. The amount of data collected – the more, the better
  2. The quality of the data collected
  3. The skill level of the data analysts you employ to derive meaning from the data
  4. The analytical software your business invests in and uses
  5. A business-wide embracing of data-decision business-making and the benefits it can bring

How does Data Analytics work?

There are four critical steps in the data analytics process, and they are:

  1. Collect the Data – This involves the analyst identifying what data is needed and assembling it for use.
  2. Adjust the Data Quality – Once the data has been collected, the analyst needs to find any potential issues within it and correct them. The analyst should also implement your data governance policies at this point.
  3.  Build an Analytical ModelData scientists now join with the data analysts to help build analytical models to run accurate data analyses.
  4. Present Results to Users – Charts and infographics are used to present the collated information to business users in an easy-to-understand way.

How do companies use data analytics?

As you can see, data analytics can offer business owners invaluable insights into the behaviour of their customers and their business in general. The information you glean from this work can be used to increase brand awareness, run better marketing and PR campaigns, improve security and better mitigate risk.

The main ways that data analytics can improve your business include the following:

  1. Enhanced Security – All businesses face severe data security threats these days, but data analysis can be used to improve your cyber security.
  2. Improved Efficiency – Data analytics can streamline operations, preventing bottlenecks and predicting where future issues may occur so you can resolve them before they happen.
  3. Informed Decision-Making – The main benefit of data analytics, which is mentioned repeatedly, is allowing you to make more informed business decisions. The more you know about your business and its customers, the better your choices will be.
  4. Risk Mitigation – We have mentioned that data analytics can improve efficiency, but it can also be used to identify potential risks allowing you to implement preventative measures – both for physical and financial risks.

If you want to leverage the power of data analytics and are looking for experienced candidates to bolster your team, please get in touch with the consultants at Agile Recruit at 0330 335 5545 or email us at info@agilerecruit.com

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