What Does 'Data' Look Like?

I often get asked the question 'What does data look like'?

So I show them. The problem with showing data (especially if you are a company in the Big Data space), is you can extract very detailed insights from such platforms. That then causes its own problems because then the question 'what do your charts and graphs look like'? At this point, you start to wonder whether this person is an 'aggregated data' fan or a 'non-aggregated data' fan.

As a former data and web analyst, I get data and I get it in a BIG way! I admit, looking at rows and rows of data in tables upon tables does get a little confusing at times (especially if you are only used to extracting insights from charts and graphs), but this is your moment to spot something that no one has spotted before. You can set the trends, spot the opportunities for improvement, impress your boss with the endless amount of insight you are now able to provide from all this 'Big Data'.

I have worked with many web analytics platforms from which many businesses across all industry verticals have asked me to build dashboards in MS Excel. I don't mind doing this. Being creative with data is something I enjoy, bringing insights from the backroom to the boardroom (what's the point in doing analysis if a business isn't going to listen).

But there in lies the problem. Almost all the web analytics platforms produce aggregated datasets from which gleaming any detailed insight into what caused what, when, where and why becomes challenging. For those that are analysts reading this post, I'm sure you have encountered the situation where endless requests to dig deeper into the data have come forward; 'why did we see a decline in sales', 'who saw out of stock items', 'who are my most valuable customers', 'who is exhibiting suspect churn behaviour'. With aggregated data, these questions (and trust me, there are millions more) cannot be answered for two main reasons; 1) it was never tagged in the first place or 2) because it is aggregated data, you will never know.

So, in summary - data may not look pretty but data is actionable. It can be used to gleam far greater insights which are otherwise not possible today (or likely to ever be possible) in web analytics platforms. Businesses need to move to a platform which can provide 'Big Data' from the online channel and leave the 'charts and graphs' to Business Intelligence platforms such as MicroStrategy, SAP Business Objects, Oracle BI or even MS Excel (the BI platform we all have on our machines today).