Question

Where does the data for business analytics come from? What are the sources and the nature of that incoming data?

Answer 1

Business Analytics derives data from a lot of sources.

Some of the sources for a typical consumer driven company can be the way customers behave and what products they buy. That can help the company decide which products to position where and how for the customers to opt for them. Also other sources of data can be other verticals of the business like HR, hiring data, cost and expense data, revenue source data etc.

Business Analytics typically is done to help a business take business decisions depending on analysis derived from certain available data. While a major portion of this data comes from the customers which helps the business to streamline its own processes so that the final customer gets what he/she needs, it can also come from a whole lot of other sources like the factory supplies, the raw material supplies, the creditors, debtors, from the internal departments of the company. The detailed financials of the company also point towards a lot of data points for the business analytics to run so that it can help to achieve cost efficiency and drive sales.

Sales distributors, dealers, and the whole chain right from the manufacturer to the end consumer provides enough data to study the complete chain by which the business can derive useful inferences and take appropriate decisions.