What Is Data Analytics? [2024 Beginner’s Guide]

Data analytics is the future of today’s digital world. You probably have heard this statement a lot but might not know the full extent of what it means. If you wish to switch your career to data analytics or want to understand the scope of this field, it’s the right time to do so. In fact, the  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a significant boost in data science and analytics jobs as the industry is estimated to grow about 26% by 2026.

What Does Data Analytics Mean?

Many industry giants tend to collect data from their audiences. This data is collected in raw form, which often is not in a format that can benefit the business. This is when data analytics becomes important. A professional data analysis team gives meaning to the data collected.

What is data analytics? The term data analytics refers to collecting and transforming raw data into valuable insights that help make actionable business decisions. The simplest data analytics definition is that it is the entire process that starts from extracting, organizing, analyzing, and ends with transforming the data from numbers to coherent information. When a data analyst performs the whole process, they then give suggestions to the company regarding what it should do next.

Data analytics involves interpreting large amounts of data, also called “big data,” and smaller data like company records.

The Role of Data Analytics

The role of data analytics somehow relates to business intelligence (BI), but with an exception. Where BI focuses on analyzing historical data, data analytics helps predict the future of a business. 

What Are the Benefits of Data Analytics?

The data analysis objectives have no limit. Benefits depend on how the business uses the collected data. Generally, data analytics benefits businesses with:

Better Decision-Making.

Accurate data analytics allows for better decision-making. Business analysts can predict their potential sales when they have an entire track of their sales growth, past performance, and future market trends. Moreover, they can optimize their prices according to their customer needs, income levels, and competitors.

More Effective Marketing.

Data analytics can help businesses with the four key marketing P’s—product, price, placement, and promotion. Not only that, but business analysts can also segment customers according to their demographics, geography, behaviors, and psychographics. This gives businesses an improved understanding of the customers’ purchasing behavior to help them enhance their customer service. Data analytics also shows businesses the efficacy of their marketing campaigns and whether they fulfill the goal. This eventually helps them create better outcomes.