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What are Data Insights? Maximize Value with ETL

Ethan
CEO, Portable

Data Insights: Overview

Data insights refer to the process of uncovering meaningful information from large data sets. They help businesses and organizations make better decisions and improve their operations. In this article, we will delve into the world of data insights: what data is, what analytics is, and what is the difference between data insights and analytics.

What are Data Insights?

  • What is Data?

  • What is Analytics?

  • What are insights?

What is Data?

Data refers to raw and unorganized information that is collected through various sources. This information can come from a variety of sources such as customer transactions, social media posts, surveys, etc. To make this data meaningful, it needs to be processed and analysed.

What is Analytics?

Analytics refers to the process of analyzing data in order to make informed decisions. This process involves collecting, cleaning, and transforming data into meaningful insights. There are many different types of analytics, including descriptive analytics, predictive analytics, and prescriptive analytics.

What are Insights?

Insights are deep understanding and knowledge gained from the analysis of data. They are used to identify patterns and trends in data. Also, they can provide valuable information that can help inform decision-making.

What is the difference between Data insights and Analytics?

Data insights and analytics are closely related but they are not the same. Data insights refer to the result of the analysis process, while analytics refers to the process itself. Analytics is the tool used to uncover data insights; without it, data insights would not be possible.

What are the benefits of data insights?

  • Improved Decision Making

  • Increased Efficiency

  • Enhanced Customer Understanding

Improved Decision Making 

One of the most significant benefits of data insights is that they help organizations make better decisions. By analysing data, businesses can identify patterns, trends, and relationships in the data that can inform decision-making. This leads to more informed and effective decisions that can improve operations and achieve goals.

Increased Efficiency

Data insights can also help organizations become more efficient. By analyzing data, organizations can identify areas where they can improve their processes and operations. This can lead to a reduction in waste and inefficiencies, and result in improved efficiency and productivity.

Enhanced Customer Understanding 

Data insights can also provide valuable information about customers and their behaviour. By analysing customer data, businesses can gain a deeper understanding of their customers, which can help them better meet their needs and preferences. This leads to improved customer satisfaction, resulting in increased sales and revenue.

What are the steps in a data insight project?

Step 1: Define the Objectives and Goals 

Before starting a data insight project, it is critical to define clear objectives and goals. Most of the time, organizations will use KPIs to complete this step. This will help you to stay focused on the relevant data and insights required to optimize desired outcomes. Ensure that your metrics are SMART. Meaning, that they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

Step 2: Gather and Clean Data Sources

Data gathered in real-time must be cleaned and organized to ensure accuracy and reliability. This step involves removing any irrelevant data, fixing any inconsistencies, and transforming data into a usable format. It is important to consider the quality and accuracy of the data being analyzed and to correct any errors before proceeding to the next step. For reference, you can extract data from sources like LinkedIn, CRM dashboards, and other websites.

Step 3: Conduct Data Exploration

Once the data is clean and organized, the next step is to conduct data exploration. This involves analyzing the data to understand its structure and identify any trends or patterns. Data exploration can be performed using various techniques, which include statistical analysis, data visualization, and machine learning algorithms.

Step 4: ETL Data Sources into a Data Visualization Tool

Data extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) is the process of transferring data from multiple sources into a data visualization tool. This step is essential for the effective representation of data insights and analysis. The data visualization tool should be user-friendly, flexible, and scalable to handle large data sets.

Step 5: Present Findings of Data Analysis

The final step of a data insight project is to present data analysis findings. This involves communicating the insights and recommendations to relevant stakeholders in a clear and concise manner. The presentation should be supported by relevant data visualizations, charts, and graphs to effectively communicate insights. After insights are discussed, further conversation can be had about making better business decisions.

Produce Actionable Insights by Combining Data

Combining Data with ETL

Like data science, ETL processes involve extracting big data from multiple sources. From there, it can be transformed into a usable format then, loaded into a centralized repository for analysis. The process of data combination is crucial in providing organizations with a single source of truth, reducing data silos, and ensuring data accuracy. The goal of ETL is to make data accessible, understandable, and useful to all relevant parties.

15 Tools to Combine Data

1. Portable: A user-friendly data integration platform that helps organizations combine, clean, and transform data from multiple sources. 

2. Informatica: A data integration tool that provides organizations with the accurate extraction, transformation, and loading of data to streamline integration.

3. Talend: Talend is an open-source tool that helps reduce raw data silos. 

4. Dell Boomi: Cloud-based platform that helps companies automate ETL processes, improve data quality, and manage complex information. 

5. Jitterbit: Jitterbit manages data analytics to help employees become more productive. 

6. SnapLogic: An iPaaS solution that helps large companies upload data into a secure cloud location. 

7. Integrate.io platform built for managing clean data pipelines. 

8. Oracle: A full suite of cloud applications geared toward helping companies unlock new insights with their data. 

9. Pentaho: Business intelligence software that extracts and mines quality data for organizational use. 

10. Hevo: An end-to-end data platform that helps pull, transform, and deliver data collection to your targets. 

11. IRI Voracity: Full stack data management tool that tracks transformations at every stage of the lifecycle. 

12. SAP: Software data solutions that help companies create targeted campaigns to learn more about their customers. 

13. ZigiOps: No-code integration tool that enables teams to connect multiple data points together. 

14. Microsoft: Uses artificial intelligence algorithms insights about your data. 

15. IBM: A business analytics tool that helps organizations make data-driven decisions with forecasting. 

Key Takeaways

To summarize, data insights play a critical role in helping businesses and organizations make better decisions. By understanding the basics of data, analytics, and insights, organizations can harness the power of data to improve operations and achieve their goals.

If you want to start implementing Data Insights today, consider Portable. With Portable, organizations can automate ETL processes, improve data quality, and streamline data integration, making it an ideal solution for businesses of all sizes.