A data analytics platform is designed to carry out the entire data analysis process.
Data analytics is the process of evaluating and analyzing raw data sets to come up with valuable conclusions about a specific information. This process includes the use of different techniques and methods to come up with useful insights to help businesses make informed decisions.
Aside from the various information needed for the process itself, it will not be possible without the use of the right https://www.op360.com//blog/data-analytics-tools/tools. More specifically, the right data analytics platform where the whole procedure will be performed.
Data analytics platform
A data analytics platform is designed to carry out the entire data analysis process. It works collaboratively with other applications and hardware used in the procedure. This platform can store and manage different volumes of data. It can also perform data mining or other methods to collect specific information to be stored and used for data analysis.
Given today’s technological developments, businesses can now utilize different data analytics platforms to help them with their operational growth. Further, examples of these platforms are Spark, MapReduce and Hadoop.
What are the types of data analytics?
Another thing to consider in this process is the type of data analytics to be utilized as it will depend on the type of results businesses are looking for.
Here we have outlined the four commonly used types of analytics:
Descriptive
Descriptive analytics basically answers the question, “What is happening?”. This process may include examining information from various data sources to give insights about the past. One example for this is analyzing a company’s monthly income and expenses statements.
Diagnostic
Diagnostics analytics answers the question, “Why is it happening?”. This type of analytics performs in-depth analysis into specific problems and issues in an organization. A Business Intelligence (BI) dashboard is also often used in this type of analytics.
Predictive
As for predictive analytics, it gives answers to the question “What is most likely to happen?”. This type of analytics usually includes the results in both diagnostics and descriptive analytics to predict future trends.
Prescriptive
The last type is predictive analytics which answers the question, “What needs to be done?”. This process uses other technologies like machine learning, algorithms and business rules. It also makes use of both historical and external information to come up with valuable conclusions.
How to choose a data analytics platform
With numerous options for data analytics platforms, it can be pretty overwhelming to choose which one’s the right platform to use for your business. Selecting the correct platform will vary on certain key areas like your required functionality, skills, and tools. It is also important to see through the product’s roadmap to determine if it aligns with your company’s own business strategies.
Last but not least, you also have to take note of the price as different platforms have their own prices. Each price usually depends on the number of users, per session, types of users, functionalities, and more.
