Analytical Data

Analytical Data is data that helps humans make better decisions by providing insights, patterns, and trends.

Characteristics

• Historical: Often includes historical data for trend analysis
• Aggregated: Summarized and processed for analysis
• Read-optimized: Optimized for complex queries and reporting
• Denormalized: Often stored in star/snowflake schemas for analytical queries
• Batch-processed: Typically updated in batches rather than real-time

Purpose

Analytical data enables:

• Business intelligence and reporting
• Trend analysis and forecasting
• Performance metrics and KPIs
• Strategic decision-making
• Pattern recognition

Examples

• Sales reports and dashboards
• Customer behavior analytics
• Financial performance metrics
• Operational efficiency reports
• Market research data

Related Concepts

• [[Operational Data]] — source data for operations
• [[Analytically Operational Data]] — automated decision support
• [[ELT (Extract - Load - Transform)]] — data processing approach
• [[Architecture Decision (AD)]]
• [[Pre-Mortem Analysis]] — using data for risk assessment

Definition based on data architecture practice.