The amount of data that exists on the internet is growing at an exponential rate. Although it’s impossible to measure the exact number, scientists estimate that dozens of zettabytes of data are created each year. Each zettabyte is a trillion gigabytes. With that much raw data floating around, how does one organize big data, much less gain information from it?

Fortunately, data mining companies are here to solve that problem for you. Expert data scientists search through massive amounts of data to create predictive analytics, visualization, and various models of useful information. Of course, this doesn’t mean a person just sits at a computer and stares at Excel sheets all day. There’s where data mining comes in.

What is data mining?

Data mining is the process of finding patterns as well as outliers in large quantities of data. It involves methods of machine learning and artificial intelligence as well as statistics and advanced database software. A data miner looks at the raw data and develops an algorithm to gain insights into big data analytics; they also use the automatic recognition of existing algorithms to extract information from the data. Data mining exists at the intersection of human intelligence and artificial intelligence.

Data mining transforms a data set into information you can weaponize. It takes what you know and uses it to figure out what you don’t know. This isn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill data analysis: we’re talking complex algorithms and machine learning. This type of data analytics supplies more precise predictions by using complex data sets to integrate information from multiple variables. Why not utilize all the information you have in your data warehouse? Instead of using simple equations to find the relationship between two variables, use data mining to integrate several algorithms into one sophisticated set of information.

What is a data mining company?

Your biggest asset in business intelligence is having the savviest analysts in the game. Gain a competitive advantage not just by having the biggest budget for computational resources, but also by having the most efficient and accurate prediction models. Although data mining is able to integrate multiple algorithms to create the most comprehensive data analysis the world has seen, artificial intelligence still cannot be left to its own devices (pun intended). AI doesn’t take into consideration ethics, and there’s also no way to guarantee that a machine understands the correct interpretation of data in our complicated world. Therefore, the people you work with are still just as if not more important than the machinery.

Not all tech companies are created equal. Don’t just look for a company with effective social media. Find a company that offers real-time computing and prediction so that your analytics are always up-to-date. If your goal is to increase sales, the first step may not be to find the most expensive big data companies with the highest fees. Everyone has access to the same internet. You don’t need to work with the big guns in order to see big changes in your revenue. You can even work with a tech company that offers training courses for your employees on basic data science and technology-related soft skills.

Can I see a real-world example?

Yes! Many different industries use data mining, but when trying to explain it to someone who isn’t in tech, social media algorithms may be the easiest example. Data mining helps companies reach their ideal audiences by integrating the information they have on those users, such as videos they like, hashtags they use, and what they share with friends. Every second you spend on social media is a data point that ends up in a large batch of data, which can then be used to target an ad toward the right person.

Data mining is the only real way to sift through the endless amount of data that now exists on the world wide web. Companies that help us integrate that information and find relevant patterns are the consultants that companies will continue to need for decades to come.