A Beginner's Guide To Cloud Analytics Platforms

 

Cloud Analytics Platforms Demystified

As we move through this game, it is important that you understand your little helpers better. So first of all, what is cloud analytics? In short, cloud analytics is the use of cloud for data analytics in real-time - this is the technology that can be used online from anywhere and anytime.

Cloud analytics is about staying current. It is also all about enhancing business intelligence by gathering vast amounts of data, integrating that data and then analyzing it.

What do Cloud Analytics Platforms do then? Cloud Analytics Platforms offer analytics tools for businesses/ organizations that have their data on a private or public cloud. Businesses that use Cloud Analytics Platforms are much more likely to make informed decisions based on facts. They are also able to make these decisions quicker than businesses that are not utilizing this technology.

Cloud Analytics goes way back when... Let's play the history round.
 

Do You Remember When?

For our next round, you are going to need to put your John Travolta pants on, as our first stop is towards the end of the 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, we saw the emergence of decision support systems. This was the software that could be seen as the first attempt to package analytical capabilities as a service. You see, business executives knew they needed to make better business decisions based on the data they have analyzed. We mean, the concept is not new at all, that is, learning from your past mistakes.

Let’s fast forward to the 1990s, where Business Intelligence as a concept emerged. That meant software such as Hyperion, Cognos and Business Objects came onto the scene and really took data analysis tools as a service to a whole new level.

However, a minor problem arose: this business intelligence software was only being used by executives high up in the company hierarchy. If only more people could communicate and collaborate, the business, as a whole, would benefit. That sounds like a pretty good idea on paper, right? We're glad you agree - you’re catching on quickly.

This need to collaborate and communicate led to the emergence of self-service business intelligence. Vendors that gained popularity at this time were Qlik and Tableau. They gave all members of the team access to vital data analysis, which meant overall better business intelligence.

In the past 20 years, business intelligence platforms became what we know today as analytics platforms. What did the emergence of analytics platforms mean? More business analytics and insight delivered to more people. Bada-bing, bada-boom!
 

The A To Z Of How It Works

 

You are doing well, our friend. As an award for all your hard work, we are going to let you in on how Cloud Analytics Platforms work. Businesses that want to make well-informed decisions are seeking analytics solutions via software. That is what Cloud Analytics Platforms do for them.

Cloud Analytics Platforms are software that gather data, process and integrate this data, then provide feedback in near real-time. (Run, my little helpers, run!) The cloud analytics software collects all that data and stores it on the cloud. The reason this is so super awesome is that the data can be accessed from anywhere at any time, even if there's a massive disaster at the workplace (say, a colleague innocently starting a fire to test the safety precautions at the workplace) that keeps you from getting it on-site. No, John, the boss clearly said you're fired!

Now to utilize these platforms, businesses commonly get a subscription to the service that is being offered. This is known as SaaS, which means Software as a Service.

The fact is this: once information is gathered by these Cloud Analytics Platforms, it is then stored safely on the cloud. We will discuss the benefits of that in a little bit. Businesses use information that is gathered and reported by these platforms to make better decisions that help them run their business more efficiently and intelligently.

Now that you know how this stuff works, let’s look at the types of Cloud Analytics Platforms.

   

Types Of Cloud Analytics Platforms

What type of cloud analytics service will be used by a business depends on their specific needs, wants - and of course, their budget.
 

• Analytics In Public Cloud

  This is by far a business’s cheapest option. That’s because, with this option, cloud tenants will split the infrastructure costs. Storing huge amounts of data and big data workloads is done simply and easily by analytics in the public cloud.​

• Analytics In Private Cloud

  If a business has data security and data compliance needs, then analytics in the private cloud is a great option. A private cloud could be physically located in 2 places, your company’s data center or the cloud operator’s site where software and hardware exist solely for your company.​

• Analytics In Hybrid Cloud

  Here you can have a mixture of analytics using both the public and private cloud. Businesses have external and internal regulations they must meet. Being able to meet these regulations and keep costs down make analytics in the hybrid cloud a superb option.

Now, let's look at the need for Cloud Analytics Platforms and their benefits. That's right, it's the bonus round on "Who Wants to be a Cloud Analytics Platforms expert?"
 

Above And Beyond!

We know that these platforms streamline a business's decisions making, which is probably the main benefit. This meets a business' need for better business insights. Consolidating enterprise data into a data warehouse is also a great thing that comes with these platforms. Many large businesses may have data spread out all over their organization. A Cloud Analytics Platform will help them consolidate this data, store it safely and grant specific people access to specific data.

Cloud Analytics Platforms allow more people within the company to see what this technology is telling them. That means more people are sharing and collaborating with each other. #AMillionHeadsAreBetterThanOne

Let’s face it folks: having a bunch of hardware that takes up real-estate for the purpose of data analysis gets downright expensive! Cloud Analytics Platforms come to the rescue again, ensuring businesses that they will be able to cut costs. Scalability is simpler and easier since when a business grows, it can just pay for more cloud analytics subscriptions instead of once again buying more hardware.

That means more cost savings in the long-term. Talking of long-term... 
 

Time To Get In Your Magic Phone Booth, Bill And Ted!

 
As far as the future of Cloud Analytics Platforms is concerned, businesses are going to continue to want to adapt quickly and inexpensively as their company grows (or diminishes). So, you can bet your bottom dollar that these platforms will strive to make it easier for businesses to scale up and scale down IT infrastructure. It’s pretty obvious that our world as a whole is trying to utilize the cloud more and more, so you are sure to see the increase in serverless Computing and Cloud Platforms. There is also solid evidence that many businesses will adopt the hybrid cloud model in the future.

Not just that, the way analytics is performed on these platforms would also evolve with time. With Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Cloud Analytics Platforms would increasingly become capable of Predictive Analytics and identify trends and patterns beyond the standard business metrics in place.

Closing

Hope you enjoyed our time together discussing Cloud Analytics Platforms. Hopefully you see how these platforms are giving businesses meaningful insights using business data for them to predict future events and make decisions based on that information. Understanding Cloud Analytics Platforms, where they have been and where they are going makes it evident that Cloud Analytics Platforms will play a huge role in the world of data visualization and data analysis.

Congratulations! You are now a Cloud Analytics Platform expert!