In this podcast, we'll be diving into the fascinating world of data and analytics. Analytics is a vast topic that covers various aspects of business, including big data, machine learning, and AI. We'll explore the different types of data that businesses generate, such as structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. Structured data is table-like information, while unstructured data includes binary data from images, video, and sound.

We'll also discuss the different stages of maturity that organizations go through when working with data. The first step is descriptive analytics, followed by understanding why things are happening and making predictions based on the data. The final stage is prescriptive analytics, which tells organizations what they should do.

One critical aspect of analytics that we'll cover is the importance of cleaning data before analyzing it. Data quality is critical as it impacts the accuracy of the analysis. There are different ways to analyze data quality, such as running statistics on the data. We'll also explain why it's essential to understand the quality of the information before conducting any analysis.

To illustrate how mapping out business processes can help optimize and streamline operations, we'll draw on the analogy of sports teams. We'll use the example of sports betting to show how data analysis can predict underlying processes in seemingly unpredictable sports like MMA. We'll emphasize the importance of matching processes and automating systems, but we'll also note that it involves different departments, stakeholders, and responsibilities.

We'll encourage you to get started with automating your processes and to think about how data can help you achieve success in your business. Join us as we explore the exciting world of analytics!