Data Mining and Storage

Is the analysis of warehoused information to discover useful patterns and predict behaviors. With its roots in early database reporting from the 1960s, the technology has evolved based on 3 developments:

The ability to collect enormous volumes of data

Increased computer power to store and analyze the data

Refined analysis techniques for investigating the data.

Do you think that Data Mining is beyond your abilities or needs? Ponder this; Do bug deflectors sell in Atlanta better in March or August? When do bugs hatch in Atlanta? Do we advertise them during the hatch? Do they sell better in rural or urban areas? To what degree are they considered cosmetic additions in Chicago vs. the degree to which they are considered functional? Do they sell better to Hispanic women or Caucasian teens in Houston? It is no longer enough to create a limited product line with a single marketing campaign and hope that a large percentage of a broadly divergent demographic responds. Data mining done correctly is an inexpensive and dramatically powerful method to increase sales and market share.

Originally the province of companies that could afford enormous computers and expensive database packages, today's inexpensive and powerful machines enable data mining for even the most modest enterprises.

Advances in analysis algorithms provide the ability to refine huge datasets and present highly-focused information to decision-makers. Not only can data be drilled to deeply specific levels, but there are improved methods of presentation which help to reveal previously unknown but valuable relationships.

Data mining is not a goal in itself, but a powerful tool at the service of organizations to assist them in shaping their business processes more efficiently, discovering new markets, and enhancing services and products.