Arthur Zhang - Data Analytics: Practical Guide to Leveraging the Power of Algorithms, Data Science, Data Mining, Statistics, Big Data, and Predictive Analysis to Improve Business, Work, and Life

How do you define the success of a company? It could be by the number of employees or level of employee satisfaction. Perhaps the size of the customer base is a measure of success or the annual sales numbers. How does management play a role in the operational success of the business? How critical is it to have a data scientist to help determine whats important? Is fiscal responsibility a factor of success? To determine what makes a business successful, it is important to have the necessary data about these various factors.

If you want to find out how employees contribute to your success, you will need a headcount of all the staff members to determine the value they contribute to business growth. On the other hand, you will need a bank of information about customers and their transactions to understand how they contribute to your success.

Data is important because you need information about certain aspects of your business to determine the state of that aspect and how it affects overall business operations. For example, if you dont keep track of how many units you sell per month, there is no way to determine how well your business is doing. There are many other kinds of data that are important in determining business success that will be discussed throughout this book.

Collecting the data isnt enough, though. The data needs to be analyzed and applied to be useful. If losing a customer isnt important to you, or you feel it isnt critical to your business, then theres no need to analyze data. However, a continual lack of appreciation for customer numbers can impact the ability of your business to grow because the number of competitors who do focus on customer satisfaction is growing. This is where predictive analytics becomes important and how you employ this data will distinguish your business from competitors. Predictive analytics can create strategic opportunities for you in the business market, giving you an edge over the competition.

The first chapter will discuss how data is important in business and how it can increase efficiency in business operations. The subsequent chapters will outline the steps and methods involved in analyzing business data. You will gain a perspective on techniques for predictive analytics and how it can be applied to various fields from medicine to marketing and operations to finance.

You will also be presented with ways that big data analysis can be applied to gaming and retail industries as well as the public sector. Big data analysis can benefit private businesses and public institutions such as hospitals and law enforcement, as well as increase revenue for companies to create a healthier climate within cities.

One section will focus on descriptive analysis as the most basic form of data analysis and how it is necessary to all other forms of analysis like predictive analysis because without examining available data you cant make predictions. Descriptive analysis will provide the basis for predictive and inferential analysis. The fields of data analysis and predictive analytics are vast and complex, having so many sub-branches that add to the complexity of understanding business success. One branch, prescriptive analysis, will be covered briefly within the pages of this book.

The bare necessities of the fields of analytics will be covered as you read on. This method is being employed by a variety of industries to find trends and determine what will happen in the future and how to prevent or encourage certain events or activities. The information contained in this book will help you to manage data and apply predictive analytics to your business to maximize your success.