Intro to Predictive Analytics

It may seem like analytics may be anything to anyone, afterall, a quick scan of the “types” of analytics include enterprise analytics, business analytics, and financial analytics, just to name a few.   Many analytics applications use a similar analytics engine, but are customized for look-and-feel and use-specific factors.  

Predictive analytics, on the other hand, are completely different.  SearchCRM.com defines predictive analytics as: “the branch of data mining concerned with the prediction of future probabilities and trends.”

An increasing number of companies are turning to predictive analytics to reduce risk, better understand potential outcomes, and simply just have a better view into a likely future.  In fact, predictive analytics are used so widely, there’s an entire trade show dedicated to the topic.

Intriguingly, a glance at the list of companies presenting at Predictive Analytics World shows that a broad range of organizations see the value of this technology.  Industries represented include:

• Consumer retail
• Financial services
• Professional services companies
• Healthcare

Maybe it’s time you investigated the impact predictive analytics would have on your organization?

Kelley Kassa
Spotfire Blogging Team

Image Credit: Microsoft Office Clip Art