How data mining reveals the secrets of masses of data

If data is the oil of the 21st century, most companies are sitting on huge deposits that they can no longer extract on their own. In order to gain truly valuable insights from the growing masses of data, they need efficient analyses – such as data mining.

Couchbase, provider of a cloud database platform, shows how the process delivers the really decisive insights.

Data mining is a generic term that encompasses various methods, statistical principles and algorithms for identifying patterns and trends in large volumes of data. This special type of data analysis helps companies to better understand complex issues, make well-founded decisions, make predictions or make recommendations – for example in online stores that suggest similar products based on the goods purchased. At its core, the process comprises four basic steps:

• Collect and process data: The first step is to merge structured and unstructured data from various sources such as databases, sensors, the internet or documents. In order to obtain a complete and consistent data pool, the collected data must then be cleansed, which involves removing duplicates or adding missing values, for example.
• Transforming data: The next step is to convert the previously collected raw data into a format suitable for analysis, which serves as the basis for subsequent data mining. This includes scaling the data to a common value range, converting it into a standardized form and creating new features that enable better insights and results.
• Data mining: In actual data mining, algorithms and analysis techniques are used to discover patterns and relationships in the processed data. Common techniques include classification, i.e. the division of data into predefined categories, and clustering, which combines similar data into groups. However, the learning of association rules, the prediction of values based on the input and anomaly detection are also used in this step.
• Evaluation and visualization: Finally, the patterns discovered are evaluated in terms of their significance and usefulness. In addition to written reports, diagrams or dashboards are particularly suitable for an optimal presentation of the results in order to make it easier for decision-makers to interpret and use the often complex results.

“Data mining has already become increasingly important in times of big data, but the full potential only becomes apparent with new AI functions,” explains Gregor Bauer, Manager Solutions Engineering CEUR at Couchbase. “The basis for gaining valuable insights is therefore powerful data management platforms that bring together artificial intelligence, people and data.”

(pd/Couchbase)