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Community Blog Real-World Implementation of Data Analytics with Alibaba Cloud (Part 1)

Real-World Implementation of Data Analytics with Alibaba Cloud (Part 1)

Part 1 of this six-part article series focuses on data analytics solutions by Alibaba Cloud and introduces DataWorks.

By Shantanu Kaushik

Over the last decade, data demand has grown substantially, with multiple data processing systems surfacing for processing, analysis, and development. For instance, IDC estimated in 2016 that by 2020, the digital universe will have grown to 70 zettabytes. The amount of data to be produced in 2021 is expected to surpass this number on a massive scale.

Big data, data warehousing, Data Analytics, and the smallest demands for information today are dealt with through data and its manipulation. Part 1 of this six-part article series focuses on data analytics solutions by Alibaba Cloud.

Data | Alibaba Cloud

Data is everywhere. All enterprises have unique data demands, and these demands must be met for their solution to work as it should. Throughout this article series, we will focus on Data Analytics, big data, data warehousing, and data science. During the process, we will discuss Alibaba Cloud products, such as MaxCompute, Quick BI, DataWorks, and DataV.

Data Analytics | Alibaba Cloud

Data Analytics is the science of working with raw data to extract usable and valuable data or information from it. Data Analytics is a wide field that works with different methods to extract value from the presented data. These types or methods of data analytics include:

  1. Descriptive
  2. Predictive
  3. Diagnostic
  4. Prescriptive

All of these types of data analytics can be implemented in a variety of scenarios. A combination of different components of data analytics can help solve a wide array of problems.

Analytics takes the first step with descriptive analytics and outlines a variety of trends based on previous or historical data. This helps mark changes in trends related to how a traditional practice performed overtime. The indicators will be different based on industry. Descriptive analytics summarizes the data to gain meaning and description from it.

Predictive analysis outlines the usage of data that showcases different trends that could happen in the future. This part of data science is used to extract relevant information using machine learning for AI and other advanced tools.

Diagnostics is a big part of data analytics, where raw data can be processed quickly to cover a wide array of problems in a lot less time when compared to other diagnostic techniques. Key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to track performance that could indicate success or failure. Diagnostics data analytics can present detailed visualizations and comparisons with past data that can lead to an indicative or rise or fall in performance.

Diagnostics work to:

  1. Identify gaps or changes in recorded data
  2. Collect the metrics
  3. Analyze the collected metrics
  4. Formulate reports indicating any trouble

Prescriptive Analytics works by prescribing what should be done after generating data with insights from predictive analytics. Prescriptive analytics also utilize tools based on machine learning and enable businesses and organizations to formulate strategies. This type of analytics is specifically useful in finding patterns from large data stores.

Let’s take a look at how data analytics works with Alibaba Cloud on the chart below:

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Businesses need data to ascertain their strategies and make informed decisions based on the data.

Data Science | Data Analytics Solutions | Alibaba Cloud

Data science refers to a multitude of processing techniques, human or automated, which enables a data scientist to look at data differently to extract value from it. The definition you will find on the Internet includes statistics, mathematics, view, and a lot more, but for this article, we will focus on the part that is useful for us.

Alibaba Cloud has been continuously working with its in-house development team to create tools to make the data analytics field better. These tools and solutions are useful when dealing with big data, data warehousing, business intelligence, and data visualization.

Big Data and Challenges

Extracting real value out of raw data is a critical task for any business and application. The data gets collected from various sources and comes for analysis and extraction of valuable information. Any data that is too large in volume to be processed with traditional data processing methods is considered big data. We define it as Volume, Velocity, and Variety.

Enterprises and organizations depend on real-time data processing needs. It directly affects the overall business value and customer commitments. Metrics and relevant data collected using big data help cut costs and come across revolutionary ways of expanding and catering to a new customer base.

Challenges | Big Data

The biggest challenge is integration with an SDLC to provide extracted data and utilize it with an agile system. Some of the challenges of a Big Data System are listed below:

  • Integration with Agile practices
  • Ensuring data source reliability
  • Architecture that supports varied concepts on data handling
  • How well is it connected with the cloud?
  • Data Protection
  • Storage

Solution | DataWorks | Alibaba Cloud

This was a small introduction to Alibaba Cloud DataWorks. The next article of this series is dedicated to DataWorks, and how it helps organizations overcome big data challenges.

Alibaba Cloud DataWorks is the latest big data platform that provides one-stop big data development and other big data processing needs. DataWorks is a fully-managed plug and play system that frees you from any O&M.

The Alibaba Cloud infrastructure is integrated well, and all of the solutions offered have unlimited potential.

Let’s take a look at how Alibaba Cloud DataWorks operates on the chart below:

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Real-World Implementation of Data Analytics with Alibaba Cloud – Part 2

In the next article of this series on The Real-World Implementation of Data Analytics with Alibaba Cloud, we will introduce MaxCompute, DataV, and QuickBI. Along with that, we will discuss how Data Analytics has solved complex issues with data handling.

Upcoming Articles

  1. Real-World Implementation of Data Analytics with Alibaba Cloud (Part 2)
  2. DataWorks – The One-Stop Solution to Big Data
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