7 essential takeaways on Predictive Analytics [INFOGRAPHIC]

  

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While the name "predictive analytics" is brand-spanking new, the underlying science is at least forty to fifty years old. Engineers and scientists have been using predictive models since at least the first moon shot project. Humans have always been forward looking creatures and predictive sciences are a reflection of this curious nature.

The infographic below collects some of the basic "top of the head" facts about predictive analytics and should be of use to anyone who wishes to either change to a career in predictive analytics or is a recent convert. The trickle of analysts interested in predictive analytics is quickly becoming a stream. 

Most of the data comes from two very well-known surveys conducted regularly. The first, by KDNuggets is a poll of about 800 data miners and the second is a more exhaustive survey run by Rexer Analytics which goes deep into the technical as well as business value proposition questions. We encourage our readers to check both of them out, in case they haven't already.

This infographic can be considered a thumbnail summary of (what we think are) important takeaways from those surveys for our target audience. The first and the last points of the infographic touch upon the hype surrounding predictive analytics and how Gartner's hype cycle may be applied to predictive analytics.