Analytics: The process of examining data to uncover patterns, trends, and insights for decision-making.
Big Data: Extremely large datasets that require advanced methods and tools to analyze effectively.
Business Intelligence (BI): Technologies and strategies used to analyze business information and support better decision-making.
Dashboard: A visual representation of key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics.
Data Cleaning: The process of removing or correcting inaccurate, incomplete, or irrelevant data from a dataset.
Data Mining: The practice of exploring large datasets to identify patterns, correlations, and trends.
Data Modeling: Creating a framework that organizes and defines data relationships for analysis.
Data Visualization: Graphical representations of data, such as charts, graphs, and maps, to communicate insights.
Descriptive Analytics: Analyzing historical data to understand past performance.
Diagnostic Analytics: Identifying the causes behind specific trends or anomalies in data.
Predictive Analytics: Using historical data and algorithms to forecast future outcomes.
Prescriptive Analytics: Recommending actions based on insights derived from data analysis.
ETL (Extract, Transform, Load): A process for extracting data from different sources, transforming it into a usable format, and loading it into a system.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Quantifiable measures used to evaluate success in meeting objectives.
Machine Learning: Algorithms that enable systems to learn from data and improve performance over time.
Natural Language Processing (NLP): An area of AI focused on enabling computers to understand and process human language.
Predictive Modeling: The creation of models to forecast future trends or behaviors.
Real-Time Analytics: The analysis of data as it is generated or received.
Self-Service Analytics: Tools that allow users without technical expertise to access and analyze data independently.
Structured Data: Data that is organized in a defined format, such as tables.
Unstructured Data: Data that doesn’t have a predefined format, such as images, videos, or social media posts.
Data Governance: The policies and practices ensuring the proper management of data within an organization.
Data Warehouse: A centralized repository for storing and managing large volumes of data.
Data Lake: A storage system for large amounts of raw, unstructured, or semi-structured data.
Correlation: A statistical measure indicating the extent to which two variables change together.
Outlier: A data point that significantly differs from others in the dataset.
Regression Analysis: A statistical technique used to predict the value of one variable based on another.
Time Series Analysis: Analyzing data points collected or recorded at specific time intervals.
Cloud Analytics: Data analysis performed using cloud-based tools and infrastructure.
Benchmarking: Comparing performance metrics against industry standards or competitors to identify areas for improvement.
This glossary introduces core concepts in business analytics, aiding beginners in understanding terminology for practical applications.