Summary

This chapter gave you all the background you needed to begin your journey through the practice of data analytics. We saw the differences between the three types of analytics (descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive) and recognized the underlying potential value of each. We realized how virtually everyone in a company can benefit from using data analytics and familiarized ourselves with the different roles and skills required across business users, analysts, data scientists, and engineers. We glimpsed at the complexity of the full technology stack required for analytics to work: specifically, we went through the tools that data analytics practitioners should keep handy in their toolbox, spotting the value of the KNIME/Power BI couple. At last, we distinguished between the several paths that data can take to be transformed into actual business value.

I hope that the last few pages convinced you even further of the massive business potential hidden in data. It's now...