Data Analytics

We live in an age of data. Although we may not be aware of it, every click we make on the Internet results in the generation of a huge amount of data every day, giving rise to fields such as Data Analytics. As DOMO's research states, "More than 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created each day, and it will only grow from there. By 2020, it is estimated that 1.7 MB of data will be created every second for every person on earth."

In this article, I'll go over everything you need to know about data analytics and how they leverage all the available data that would have otherwise been lost. Before we go deeper, we'll define data analytics in simple words so you have an idea of what we'll be talking about later in the article.

Data Analytics is nothing but a subfield of data science that focuses more on gaining insights from data to unravel the secrets that lie beneath. As the name suggests, data analytics requires studying the data in depth to discover the smallest patterns or trends. In addition, it requires sound statistical knowledge and the ability to use powerful big data tools to manage and explore huge data sets that cannot be processed manually.

• Uncovering hidden details.
  Data analytics is known for highlighting most of the small details. Sometimes even the most qualified data scientists don't see small details in the data used to solve a particular problem; however, computers don't miss them. It improves your ability to solve problems, and you may be able to come up with solutions much faster.

• Forward-looking 
  When you use data analytics to solve a current problem, the tools you use store the data related to the problem and keep it in the form of variables. Thus, similar problems that arise in the future do not need to be analyzed again. Instead, you can reuse the previous solutions you have or the algorithms can predict the solutions for you even if the problems have evolved a bit.

• Explore similar problems
  If you use data analytics to solve your problems, you will have a lot of data at your disposal. For similar problems, there is then often data available that is indirectly useful to you and you just need to figure out how these problems are related.

If you want to pursue your career as a data analyst, here are the top skills you will need to master:

• Statistics
  Since data analytics deals with huge amounts of data, a strong knowledge of statistics is the most crucial skill, otherwise you will not be able to study the data in depth.
• SQL
  SQL stands for Structured Query Language which is a standard way of executing queries in a big data environment. Data analysts are often well versed in SQL to effectively manage big data.
• Visualization of data
  Data analysts often need to present data in the right form after extracting insights or patterns from it. This requires a solid knowledge of data visualization and the tools involved.

When people talk about data analytics, they often confuse the term with business analytics. While both fields have much in common, here are some core differences that set them apart.

With the amount of available data growing exponentially, fields such as data science and data analytics are booming as they help companies use all this data to improve their products or services.

In this article, we have looked at what exactly data analytics entails, and how it plays a major role in today's data-driven world. Moreover, we have also discussed the key skills required in a career as a data analyst.