The process of examining large sets of data to uncover patterns, trends, and insights that drive better decisions. Like being a detective who sifts through clues to solve a mystery — except the clues are data points and the mystery is what your customers want or how to improve your business.
An e-commerce company uses Amazon Redshift and Google BigQuery to analyze millions of purchase records, discovering that customers who buy running shoes are 3x more likely to purchase fitness trackers within 30 days — allowing them to send targeted recommendations that boost sales.