With the rise of social media, mobile devices, and other technological advancements, data has become more ubiquitous in the business world. To put it in perspective, if all of humanity’s data generated in 2020 were divided equally among the global population, each individual would produce 1.7 megabytes of data every second. Because of this, businesses of all sizes are wondering how they might take advantage of big data and reap its benefits. That’s where data science and data analytics come in.
Although these concepts may sound identical, the terminologies are distinct and have varied business applications. Using these terms appropriately can significantly impact how a business is managed, especially as the volume of data grows and is integrated into people’s daily lives in more and more ways.
If you want to get started in optimizing your business data, keep reading. This article will break down data analytics and data science, examining their differences and discovering how each provides value to businesses.
What Is Data Science?
Data science is a branch that focuses on collecting, processing, and structuring datasets to analyze and derive meaningful information.
Data comes from various sources, such as mobile devices, e-commerce sites, social media, surveys, and online searches. To derive meaningful information from these data, data scientists design and implement mathematical algorithms using statistics, machine learning, predictive modeling, and other methodologies.
The Role of Data Science in Business
Data science is becoming increasingly crucial in the advancement of machine learning. Many businesses turn to solutions that help them filter through vast amounts of data using computers and algorithms to uncover the links that will best help them achieve their objectives. Machine learning has enormous promise in many sectors, and it will likely play a significant part in the future of business operations.
When it comes to practicing data science, it’s all about linking data points and information to identify relevant correlations. Data science tries to identify new trends by exploring the unknown. When a business gains perspectives through data science, it can go from an inquiry to something more actionable.
What Is Data Analytics?
On the other hand, when we talk about data analytics, we’re usually referring to an application of data science that is much narrower and more focused. Unlike data science, which looks at patterns and correlations in the data, data analytics is more specific and has a particular objective in mind when looking through data.
Data analytics is the process of sifting through large amounts of data in search of valuable insights that can be used to help a business achieve its goals. In essence, analytics categorizes data into what companies know and don’t know, and it can be used to track past, present, or future events. Data analytics frequently connects patterns or trends with the organization’s actual objectives and tends to be more business and strategy-oriented than general data science.
Analytics can be broken down into four main categories:
- Descriptive analytics: Analytical methods used to study, comprehend and characterize events that have already occurred.
- Diagnostic analytics: This type of analytics aims to explain why something happened rather than simply documenting what happened.
- Predictive analytics: A method of forecasting the future that depends on past data, historical patterns, and hypotheses to answer questions.
- Prescriptive analytics: Involves identifying activities that a person or institution should take to achieve future objectives is the goal.
Business analytics is the term used to describe data analytics methods and techniques in the business world. Business analytics is all about finding actionable data insights that can guide an organization’s strategy and eventually achieve its goals.
The Role of Data Analytics in Business
Data analytics is a powerful resource for gaining a competitive edge in business. Here are a few examples of how data analytics can help.
- Making more informed decisions: Management can use business analytics to understand their company’s dynamics better, predict market changes, and mitigate risk. Organizations have adopted analytics for make better decisions that maximize efficiency, risk management, and revenues, rather than going with their intuition when maintaining inventories, pricing solutions, or employing talent.
- Operational efficiency: It is critical to identify operational bottlenecks to boost productivity. Businesses can use data analytics to uncover alternative ways to improve processes. Using data analytics, organizations can discover possible issues before they arise, removing the need to wait for a problem to emerge before acting. Identifying and addressing these constraints will allow for better processes and greater operational efficiency.
- Product development: It is possible to use data analytics to make forecasts and discover new knowledge. Understanding current market conditions help companies adjust their processes or prompt a need for product development in line with market demands.
Data Science vs. Data Analytics: What Makes Them Different?
Data science and data analytics are two distinct fields, with the main difference being the scale of the issues they are trying to solve.
Data science is a broad term that encompasses a variety of disciplines within big data, including algorithms, statistics, and the application of technologies like machine learning. It delivers actionable insights into a broader viewpoint, such as consumer habits, using structured and unstructured data. Data analytics, on the other hand, refers to the statistical analysis of structured business data. It offers solutions to common business issues and stumbling blocks.
Using these methods to optimize your company’s performance can give you a leg up on your competition. If you want to learn more about how your company can gain from using data science and data analytics, get in touch with our team at Near Contact.
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About Near Contact
Specializing in digital transformation, software development, and mobile apps, Near Contact attracts and retains the top talent from across Mexico to support US enterprises and service providers. With over 20 years’ experience matching the right talent for each client and project, Near Contact’s flexible, hybrid outsourcing model offers fast access to a highly-skilled, scalable resource pool—delivering your project, your way. www.nearcontact.com
