The world around us is getting data-driven rapidly. Most of our actions, if not all, performed on digital platforms generate massive datasets, comprising critical insights that no one had imagined even a few years back! Nowadays, businesses of all dimensions invest in data strategies to enhance their conventional operations and outcomes dramatically. Consequently, the scope of data has increased, bringing more employment opportunities across the globe.
Regardless of whether you are a business or a data enthusiast, clearing the ABCs should be a priority if you are completely new to the industry. When it comes to kickstarting the data journey, most people misinterpret two of the most crucial data concepts – Data Mining and Data Analytics. Do they have the same meaning and significance? Hell no! Although both of them walk hand-in-hand in a data-driven project, data mining is altogether different from data analytics.
Before framing a data strategy for your enterprise or taking up a Data Analyst course, you should know the difference between Data Mining and Data Analytics, the factors determining the success of a data project. So, let’s look at how data mining differs from data analytics right below. Keep reading!
What is Data Mining?
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Knowing the competitors – data mining and analytics – is necessary to launch the discussion. So, let’s spend some time learning the meanings of data mining and data analytics before heading towards their differences.
So, what is data mining, after all? Also known as “Knowledge Discovery in Database,” data mining is a process of tracing correlations, patterns, trends, and continuity in massive datasets. It essentially refers to identifying confidential information from datasets by subjecting them to rigorous algorithms. The entire data mining suite involves several techniques like classification, clustering, regression, association rules, outer detection, sequential patterns, and prediction.
What is Data Analytics?
Now, let’s introduce data analytics to you! Data analytics is the process of collecting data from various sources and strategically segregating them to derive meaningful insights. Having a broader scope than data mining, data analytics is sometimes known as a superset of the former. Data analytics relies on several quantitative and qualitative methodologies to decipher game-changing answers to the questions in the frame.
Also read: Why You Should Care about Model Governance
Data Mining vs. Data Analytics – The Difference
By now, you are already familiar with both the competitors – data mining and data analytics. You might feel that both the definitions seem pretty similar, having the same applications and functionalities. However, the reality is way different than what you think. So, it’s time to learn about their differences. Let’s dive in!
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How do they relate?
Data analytics is the umbrella that covers all processes in a data-driven project, including data mining. Data mining is a step in the entire analytics pipeline to acquire datasets and produce raw information. Analytics takes up the insights to frame robust strategies and generate groundbreaking conclusions.
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Which types of Datasets do they take up?
You need to perform some homework before subjecting a dataset to the data mining process. Yes, you’ve guessed it right! You might require structuring the dataset before mining it. In contrast, data analytics caters to both structured and unstructured data to generate drilled information for organizations.
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What do they use?
The mechanisms involved behind successful data mining and data analytics vary greatly. Data mining requires implementing mathematical and computational models to identify striking trends and patterns in a dataset. But, Business Intelligence (BI) and analytical approaches back the data analytics process.
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What’s the function difference?
Although sounding similar, data mining and data analytics have varied functionalities. We use data mining to refine a given dataset and generate crucial insights from them. However, data analytics takes up the deliverables produced through the data mining process and crafts the entire data model for the stakeholders.
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How do their Goals Vary?
Data analytics and data mining differ in their end goals as well. The subset, data mining, takes up a dataset and leverages algorithms to make it consumable for other processes in the data pipeline. In contrast, data analytics aims at generating conclusive insights that an organization can implement to make more informed decisions.
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What are the Outputs Generated?
Another significant difference emerges when you look at the outcomes derived from data mining and data analytics. While data mining figures out the trends and patterns in a dataset, analytics generates a hypothesis at the end. Finally, the analytics-based hypothesis gets either verified or rejected whereas the mining-driven outcomes remain intact.
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Do they require Visualizations?
Data processing and visualization are associative terms.
Most people think that both data mining and data analytics require visualization to illustrate their outputs efficiently.
Data mining is independent of visualizations and might not always require a graphical representation of outcomes produced. However, illustration plays a vital role in data analytics to portray a better picture of the conclusions. In other words, utilizing pictorial representation in data mining is optional whereas, it’s a mandatory process in data analytics.
So, these were the differences between data analytics and data mining. Different sectors have various purposes and use-cases of data mining and data analytics. These cutting-edge concepts remained veiled for a long time until the paradigms shifted to generate more data than ever.
Nowadays, these processes have become mainstream and critical to most businesses. The stakeholders rely on data mining and data analytics to enhance customer experiences, drive more sales, and mitigate risks. Surprisingly, the firms that do not invest in either data mining or data analytics remain laggard in the market.
As digital transformation is gaining an impetus, more businesses and people will join the digital network. Experts predict that the markets will generate more data than ever in the years to come. Consequently, we will witness more inclination towards data-driven business models. So, data mining and data analytics have a bright future and massive implications across all landscapes and geographies.
Kudos that you learned the fundamentals of data mining and analytics and are all set to dwell in the deeper aspects of the data campaigns!
