Unit 1
Unit 1
Descriptive Analytics
Business analytics has recently developed a more sophisticated set of tools and methodologies with the
help of automation and big data. Business analytics was once exclusively employed by a selected few
corporate sectors that were exclusively connected to the largest MNCs. The first corporate computing
applications were building reports, giving presentations, and entering data using programs like Microsoft
Excel. The use of Excel add-ons like PowerPivot was later seen in more complex applications
incorporating multi-dimensional data processing and analytics. The highly regarded Gartner company,
which calls for business intelligence, had a long way to go before it reached this point.
As soon as the idea of BI was presented to the market, businesses all over the world clamored for an
action. BI helped businesses gain insightful data by evaluating business performance using various digital
tools, technologies, and measurements such as Tableau, SAS, and Microsoft Power BI to assist their
business processes. These tools enable organizations in better-informed decision-making. With the
evolution of BI, ideas like web questions, collaboration, data security, and data sourcing from databases
and distributed file systems also gained widespread acceptance.
1. Data Collection: In the early days, businesses relied on manual data collection methods, such as
surveys and paper-based records. This limited the amount and quality of data available for analysis.
2. Spreadsheet Analysis: With the advent of spreadsheet software like Microsoft Excel, businesses
started using basic data analysis techniques to gain insights from their data. This allowed for
calculations, charts, and simple statistical analysis.
3. Reporting and Dashboards: As data volumes grew, businesses began using reporting tools to
summarize and visualize data. Dashboards provided a snapshot of key metrics and allowed for
interactive exploration of data.
4. Descriptive Analytics: Descriptive analytics focused on understanding what happened in the past.
Businesses used techniques like data mining and statistical analysis to uncover patterns, trends, and
correlations in their data.
5. Predictive Analytics: Predictive analytics shifted the focus to understanding what is likely to happen in
the future. Businesses started using advanced statistical models and machine learning algorithms to
forecast outcomes and make data-driven predictions.
7. Real-time Analytics: With advancements in technology and data processing capabilities, businesses
started leveraging real-time analytics. This allowed for immediate analysis of streaming data, enabling
faster decision-making and response to changing conditions.
8. Advanced Analytics: Advanced analytics techniques, such as text analytics, sentiment analysis, and
network analysis, emerged. These techniques allowed businesses to extract insights from unstructured
data sources like social media, emails, and customer reviews.
9. Self-Service Analytics: Self-service analytics tools became popular, empowering business users to
perform their own data analysis without relying on IT or data analysts. This increased accessibility and
agility in decision-making.
10. AI and Machine Learning: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) into
business analytics opened up new possibilities. Businesses started using AI-powered algorithms to
automate tasks, uncover hidden patterns, and make more accurate predictions.
In simple terms, business analytics has evolved from manual data collection to spreadsheet analysis,
reporting, and dashboards. It then progressed to descriptive analytics, predictive analytics, and
prescriptive analytics. Real-time analytics, advanced analytics, self-service analytics, and the integration
of AI and machine learning have further enhanced the capabilities of business analytics, enabling
businesses to make data-driven decisions and gain a competitive edge.
1. Activity diagrams
5. SWOT analysis
Document a process.
Study a process to make changes or improvements.
Improve understanding and communication between
stakeholders.
These diagrams focus on broad, high-level systems rather than
annotating minor process details.
8. PEST analysis
9. Entity-relationship diagram
Entities
Relationships
Attributes
Attributes apply to the entities, describing further details about the
concept. Relationships are where the key insights from ER diagrams
arise. In a visual model, the relationships between entities are
illustrated either numerically or via crow’s foot notation.
These diagrams are most commonly used to model database
structures in software engineering and business information systems
and are particularly valuable tools for BAs in those fields.
In Lucidchart, you can automatically generate an ER diagram when
you import your databases and schemas. Follow this guide to try it
out, or manually build your ER diagram with the template below.
Cost savings
By leveraging business analytics tools and techniques, businesses can gain
visibility into their processes and identify areas for cost savings. This helps
organizations reduce operational costs and optimize resources to achieve
maximum efficiency.
Increased efficiency
By using analytics, businesses are better equipped to optimize their processes
and allocate resources more efficiently. This helps organizations reduce waste
and maximize productivity.
Improved strategic planning
Business analytics provides insights into market trends, competitor strategies,
and other important metrics that can inform strategic planning. By leveraging
data-driven insights, businesses can develop more effective analytics
strategies better suited to the current market conditions.
Data analytics occurs during the data extraction, load, and transformation
layers of the modern data stack. This process typically involves a data
analyst preparing large quantities of data for analysis.
Business analytics is the final step. This is where analytics engineers and
domain experts apply their business knowledge to the business intelligence
in order to make data-driven decisions.
The energy and fuel sector uses business analytics in multiple aspects of its
operations. As these companies deal internationally, the severity of their
problems is also very high. Implementation of business analytics allows
them to mitigate the risks and reduce the chances of facing any prominent
issues.
2. Agriculture
3. Finance
Credit card companies generate and gather a ton of data from their
customers, such as their financial health, buying preferences, and lifestyle
choices. They share this data with their business partners enabling them to
create better deals and discount offers to enhance profits.
For example, a credit card company might share such data with retailers,
helping them locate their target audience and predict what their customers
prefer buying. Then the retailers can leverage this information to devise
more accurate marketing strategies.
4. Education
The education sector has started using a lot of technology recently. The
pandemic further fueled the need for more technological implementation in
this industry as the demand for online learning solutions rose rapidly.
Education companies use business analytics to optimise their courseware
and learning methodologies. Business analytics helps them generate
valuable insights to improve their teaching methods and enhance their
learning experiences.
Netflix, Amazon Prime, and many other streaming platforms use business
analytics and big data to optimise user experiences. They gather data from
their millions of users and analyse it to personalise their recommendations
and make their user’s interaction with the platform more enjoyable.
A user’s chosen genres, watch history, and other related data help enhance
their recommendation systems. For example, a prominent music-streaming
platform, Spotify, suggests songs and playlists according to the songs,
albums, genres, and artists a user has listened to or interacted with.