What Exactly Is Data Mining?
Data mining is a powerful technology that converts detail data into competitive intelligence that businesses can use to predict future trends and behaviors. Some vendors define data mining as a tool or as the application of an algorithm to data. The truth is, data mining is not just a tool or algorithm. Data mining is a process of discovering and interpreting previously unknown patterns in data to solve business problems. Data mining is an iterative process, which means that each cycle further refines the result set. This can be a complex process, but there are tools and approaches available today to help you navigate successfully through the steps of data mining projects. From an IT perspective, the data mining process requires support for the following activities: • Exploring the data • Creating the analytic data set • Building and testing the model • Integrating the results into business applications Therefore, the IT organization must provide an environment capable of addressing th
