Unit introduction Businesses and organisations collect vast amounts of data from a wide range of sources
about their operations and customers, and much of this data is unplanned and/or
unstructured. The resulting data sets can be so large that they are now known as big
data. For example, most retailers use ecommerce systems that can capture customer
preferences and enable them to optimise their stock holdings, while individual data from
smartwatches and wearable devices can be compiled to monitor and improve health and
sports performance. Big data and data analytics are also used to improve many aspects
of our lives, such as reviewing and optimising traffic flows, detecting terrorist plots and
preventing cybercrime.
In this unit, you will investigate how and why organisations collect data and the methods
they use to store and analyse it. You will explore a range of methods to present data for
different audiences and purposes, and statistical methods used to analyse data. You will
use software to analyse a data set to provide information that could inform business
plans and improve profitability.
The analytical and problem-solving skills and knowledge that you develop in this unit will
prepare you for entry to higher education to study a range of degrees. This unit will also
help you to progress to an IT apprenticeship or to employment.
This unit provides partial coverage to content from the Microsoft Azure Data
Fundamentals Certification.
Learning aims In this unit you will:
A Investigate the role of big data and business analytics to improve performance,
for benchmarking and/or to trigger innovation in organisations
B Explore the statistical software tools and techniques used to analyse data in
organisations
C Carry out analysis of statistical data to meet the needs of an organisation.
