How it works
BA takes a scientific approach
to interpreting information.
Businesses use BA’s advanced
software tools to analyze
information about past or current
trends and behavior to predict a
future scenario. Unlike business
intelligence or predictive analytics
Business analytics
More cutting-edge than business intelligence (BI), business
analytics (BA) allows advanced statistical analysis of data,
which is used to help make future business decisions.
that analyze current and past data,
BA allows businesses to forecast
with a high degree of confidence.
BA can be applied on a macro
level to get a broad view of future
business performance and on a
micro level to assess, for example,
the likelihood of individuals in
niche markets making purchases.
93%
of IT executives
in Brazil say
that their
business could
be improved
by using big
data analytics
or intelligence
Business analytics process
A skilled analyst interprets the raw data using
BA tools. The results influence the business
actions that will be taken in the future.
Software program that predicts
patterns of behavior and the
likelihood of specific sets of
customers, or even individuals,
making a purchase.
Predictive modeling
The example of a 5 percent sales dip shows how BI and
BA can be used to examine and understand the situation.
Business intelligence
Type of data investigation Results reveal past and
current event in the business.
Questions answered What has happened in the
business in the past and what is happening currently?
Tools used Reporting, dashboards, scorecards,
online analytical processing (OLAP)
Business analytics
Type of data investigation Examines past event in
the business, and applies the patterns discovered to
a future scenario.
Questions answered Why did it happen? Will it happen
again? What can we do to stop it from happening again?
Tools used Statistical analysis, data mining, pattern
matching, predictive modeling
BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE
AND BUSINESS ANALYTICS
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HOW SALES AND MARKETING WORKS
Information management
This includes company records
(past and current customer data
and transaction histories) and
external data (economic, trade,
and industry reports).
Raw data
Software tools are used to
process and study raw data.
Analysts interpret results and
make forecasts that help future
business decisions.
Analysis
Formulation of graphs depicting
the results of data analysis;
graphs may rank data, group
common attributes, and compare
relationships.
Data visualization
Process of trawling through large
quantities of data to find patterns
between variables, which can be
applied to other sets of data.
Pattern matching
Use of computerized processes
and software programs to find
relevant patterns in large sets
of data.
Data mining
O
u
t
I
n
Predictive analytics
Program that conducts
advanced analysis of data
to forecast future outcome
Monitoring
Process that uses software
to show what is currently
happening in a business,
providing real-time results
to help key operations
make decisions
Statistical analysis
Software that organizes and
investigates every piece of
relevant data and interprets
it to show trends and patterns
Reporting
Method that draws on
historical data to provide
a general overview, revealing,
for example, how the business
performed in a given year
Some data is more useful than
other data; value is determined by
the extent to which marketers can
use it to make confident forecasts.
Methods of interpreting data are
increasingly sophisticated.
DATA USEFULNESS
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