Data mining is a process of analyzing data from various approaches and then combining that data into some type of form that is helpful to the end user. Businesses often use various data mining solutions to identify specific trends in sales, or identify characteristics of a given product that attract or repel customers. There are several different types of solutions that may be utilized, depending on the goals for the mining process and the amount of resources that the end user is willing to devote to the task.
In many instances, data mining solutions involve the use of software tools by the end user. The software typically makes it possible to gather data from a variety of different information sources, and import the data into a central repository. From there, specific tools are used to organize the data into a format that makes it possible to analyze and extract those elements that are relevant to the question at hand. For example, an end user may utilize a data mining application to combine information from supply databases, sales databases and production and efficiency data to identify ways to cut costs or to increase revenue or the efficiency of production in general.
An alternative to conducting this type of analysis in-house is to outsource the task to a service provider that offers various types of data mining solutions. This approach is often helpful for businesses that prefer to not devote the time or the resources to managing the analysis, or who feel they do not have the resources in-house to efficiently extract the information desired. In this scenario, the service provider will often utilize one or more software designs that are customized to work with the data formats supplied by the client, with the programming written to identify, combine, and extract the data needed to address the client’s specific requests for information.
There are also data mining solutions that are utilized in situations where different databases or storage devices have been corrupted. When this is the case, the solution is often identified as data extraction and reconstruction. In this application, the task is to copy data from a damaged device, such as a server that has been damaged in some manner. At the same time, the data is qualified and restored to a condition that is usable to the owner. Many firms specialize is this type of data mining solutions. While the cost of using this type of service can be significant, it is often lower in cost and more efficient than attempting to reconstruct the data manually.