Analytics involves the application of statistical techniques and operations research to large datasets collected from business processes, rather than smaller, manually collected datasets. It aims to provide insights, predictions, and optimization by continuously exploring past business performance. Key aspects of analytics include applying statistics/OR, using large internal business data, and viewing it as an ongoing process of understanding problems, preparing data, developing models, and implementing insights.

1. What is Analytics?
Regi Mathew
Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship
Bangalore

2. What is Analytics?
The term ‘analytics’ is being used inappropriately to mean
any type of data analysis. It could mean marketing
research, business intelligence, statistical techniques or
data mining.
However, analytics doesn’t mean a collective term of all
types of data analysis. There are specific reasons why the
term was originated and in use.
In general the difference between these terms can be
assessed based on source of data, whether statistics (or
OR) is applied, and the size of data.
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3. What is Analytics?
Criteria:-
Statistics/Operations Research:- Whether the analysis involves
application of Statistics or Operations Research. Analytics involve
application of these techniques.
Source of data:- Data could be collected manually through
surveys or collected from secondary sources. The size of this
data will be limited. Business also collect data as part of its
regular operation. This is less prone to error and large. Analytics
involves analysis of this data.
Size of data:- This is related to previous point. Since Analytics
use business process data, the size of data is large.
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4. What is Analytics?
Tech Stat/ Source Size of
Term Typical Softwares
OR of Data data
Usually
Data Analysis May be Manual
Small
SPSS, SYSTAT etc.
Business Business Usually Business Objects,
No
Intelligence process Large Microstrategy, Pentaho etc.
Business Very
Data Mining May be
process Large
Clementine, e-miner etc.
Business
Analytics Yes
process
Large SAS, R etc.
-Hence, a hallmark of Analytics is application of statistics/OR in
industry setting using business process data.
-SAS is the widely used tool. R (open source) is FAST growing.
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5. What is Analytics?
Most importantly, Analytics is not a task but a process. It starts
with understanding business problem, data pull & treatment,
application of statistics/ OR, presentation of insight/model and
implementation.
Oct/2012 Regi Mathew 5

6. What is Analytics?
Some of the existing definitions:-
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_analytics)
Business analytics (BA) refers to the skills, technologies, applications
and practices for continuous iterative exploration and investigation of
past business performance to gain insight and drive business planning
(Beller, Michael J.; Alan Barnett (2009-06-18). "Next Generation
Business Analytics". Lightship Partners LLC).
Business analytics can answer questions like why is this happening,
what if these trends continue, what will happen next (that is, predict),
what is the best that can happen (that is, optimize) (Davenport, Thomas
H.; Harris, Jeanne G. (2007). Competing on analytics : the new science
of winning. Boston, Mass.: Harvard Business School Press).
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