DATA
ABC of
With data becoming such a big topic in the world of business, there a lot of new words that'll start popping up in daily conversation. We're here to help you feel less clueless when you become burdened with data jargon in your working life!
Our ABC of Data is going to give you a new data term every week, starting at A and running right through to Z. Make sure you keep up to date so that you don't miss out on any!
A
A is for Aggregation
Aggregation is a data mining process, where raw data is gathered and expressed in a summarised report for statistical analysis. This is an important component of business intelligence as it provides the end user or application with data in a meaningful and useful format. The aggregated data can then be analysed to gain insights, which will affect the future of the business.
B
B is for Business Intelligence
Business intelligence (BI) is an umbrella term, referring to technologies, applications and practices for the collection, integration, analysis and presentation of business information. When used correctly, BI can help businesses to make more informed decisions, to the betterment of their success. It does this by taking all the data a business generates and presenting it in an easy-to-digest manner that will inform management decisions.
C
C is for Clustering Analysis
Cluster analysis is a statistical classification technique, where objects with similar characteristics are grouped together in ‘clusters’. This is a strategic use of algorithms and methods in order to organise data into meaningful structures to maximise the insights gained from it. With proper cluster analysis, hidden structures or relationships within data can easily be highlighted.
D
D is for Data Cleansing
Data cleansing is the process of detecting and amending/removing inaccurate data from a database. Inaccurate data includes data that is; incorrect, incomplete, irrelevant or duplicated. Data cleansing is important in maintaining an accurate database, as data is constantly changing and decaying over time. Cleansing data ensures the maintenance of good customer relationships, organisation efficiency and data-driven insights.
E
E is for ETL
ETL is short for three database functions; extraction, transformation and loading. When combined, they create a tool that is able to take data out of one database and put it into another.
Extract: the process of reading data from a database
Transform: the process of converting the data into the appropriate format for the database it will be loaded into
Load: the process of writing the data into the target database
F
F is for Failover
Failover is the capability to automatically switch to a reliable backup in the event of a primary system failure. With this in place, the impact of system failures is eliminated or at least reduced. A heartbeat cable is used to connect the primary and secondary server. This means that while the primary server is running, the secondary server is redundant. As soon as the ‘pulse’ of the primary server changes, the secondary server takes over until a technician fixes the issue with the primary server and switches it back over manually.
G
G is for Graph Databases
Graph databases are databases which use a graph data model, comprised of nodes (points representing a piece of information, i.e. a person, object, etc.) and edges (lines representing connections between the nodes). These are useful as they highlight important links and relationships between relevant data.
Come back on Thursday for the release of letter H!