Key Differences Between Predictive

Analytics and Descriptive Analytics

Below is a detailed explanation of Predictive Analytics and Descriptive

Analytics:

 Descriptive Analytics will give you a vision of the past and tells you:

what has happened? Whereas Predictive Analytics will recognize the

future and tells you: What might happen in the future?

 Descriptive Analytics uses Data Aggregation and Data Mining

techniques to give you knowledge about the past, but Predictive

 Analytics uses Statistical analysis and Forecast techniques to know

the future.

 Descriptive Analytics is used when you need to analyse and explain

different aspects of your organization, whereas Predictive Analytics

is used when you need to know anything about the future and fill in

the information that you do not know.

 A descriptive model will exploit the past data that are stored in

databases and provide you with an accurate report. A Predictive

model, identifies patterns found in past and transactional data to

find risks and future outcomes.

 Descriptive analytics will help an organization to know where they

stand in the market and present facts and figures. Whereas

predictive analytics will help an organization to know how they will

stand in the market in the future and forecasts the facts and figures

about the company.

 Reports generated by Descriptive analysis are accurate, but the

reports generated by Predictive analysis are not 100% accurate it

may or may not happen in the future.

Predictive Analytics and Descriptive

Analytics Comparison Table
A king hired a data scientist to find animals in the forest for hunting. The

data scientist has access to data warehouse, which has information

about the forest, its habitat, and what is happening in the forest. On day

one, the data scientist offered the king a report showing where he found
the highest number of animals in the forest in the past year. This report

helped the king to make a decision on where he could find more animals

for hunting. This is an example of Descriptive Analysis.

The next day the data scientist identifies the possibility of finding the

particular animal at specific places and times using innovative tools. This

is an example of Predictive Analysis. This helps the king to find the

animals easily with minimal effort.

Basis of Descriptive Analytics Predictive Analytics

Comparison

Describes What happened in the past? By What might happen in the futur

using the stored data. By using the past data and

analyzing it.

Process Involves Data Aggregation and Involves Statistics and forecast

Involved Data Mining. techniques.

Definition The process of finding useful and This process involves forecastin

important information by the future of the company,

analyzing huge amounts of data. which is very useful.

Data Volume It involves processing huge data It involves analyzing large past

that are stored in data data and then predicting the

warehouses. Limited to past data. future using advanced techniqu

 Examples Sales report, revenue of a Sentimental analysis, credit sco

company, performance analysis, analysis, forecast reports for a

etc. company, etc.

Accuracy It provides accurate data in the Results are not accurate, they

reports using past data. will not tell you exactly what wil

happen, but they will tell you

what might happen in the future

Approach It allows the reactive approach While this is a proactive approac

I have specified only a few characteristics of the difference between

Predictive Analytics and Descriptive Analytics; the result shows that there

is an important and substantial difference between these two Analytical

processes.

There is an increase in the demand for analytics in the market. Every

organization is talking about Big Data these days, but it is just a starting

point for creating valuable and actionable insights on the organization’s

data. Therefore, analytical processes like Predictive Analytics and

Descriptive Analytics will help an organization to identify how the

company is performing, where it stands in the market, any flaws, any

issues that need to be taken care and many more. By applying these

analytical processes in business, you will know both the Insight and the

Foresight of your business.

Key Differences Between Predictive
Analytics vs Statistics

Below is the list of items that explain the differences between Predictive

Analytics vs Statistics:

 Predictive Analytics is used to make predictions about unknown

future events. Whereas statistics is the science used primarily in

‘Research.’ Statistics help in concluding the data by collecting,

analyzing, and presenting.

 For a business to bloom, it must collect and generate facts that

reflect its current status. Statistics help change these facts or data

into information to support rational management decision-making.

How Does it Work?

In Predictive Analytics, predictive models use known results to develop or

train a model that can be used to predict values for different or new data.

This modelling provides results in the form of predictions that represent a

probability of the target variable based on estimated importance from a

set of input variables.

Statistics summarizes the data for public use.

There are two main statistical methods: Descriptive Statistics and

Inferential Statistics.

 Descriptive Statistics: It summarizes the data from a sample

using indexes such as mean or standard deviation.

 Inferential Statistics: It concludes the data subject to random

variation, such as observation errors and sample variation.

Predictive Analytics includes Data Collection, Data Modelling, and

Statistics. Predictive models play a vital role in predictive analytics.

There are two types of predictive models.

 Classification models

Decision trees

 Regression models

A popular method in statistics and works for predictive analytics too.

 Predictive Analytics is not single; it includes and depends on

algorithms and methodologies. Examples are Regression models,

Time series analysis, etc.

 Statistics help analysts build a predictive model to foresee business

results, so it typically comes under data science, statistical analysis,

and other skilled data analysis.

  In Predictive Analytics and Statistics, data engineers help gather

relevant data and prepare it for analysis. In a way, statics acts as an

input data source for predictive analytics.

 Once the data is collected, a statistical model is formulated, trained,

and modified to produce accurate results. The model is then run

against the selected data to generate predictions.

 Let’s take real-life examples or scenarios to understand them better.

Some famous examples are Weather forecast, Trading, Healthcare,

and retail.

 In reality, it’s all about finding patterns in vast data. Applying

suitable statistical models allows you to gain insights from the

information available. The hidden designs unveiled by the process

make it possible to make predictions.

 Let’s examine one scenario to understand how statistics and

predictive analytics guess future events.

 Big companies are using predictive analytics. For example, open

your Amazon site and take a look around the site. A considerable

percentage of the screen is devoted to “recommended” products,

and each recommendation area is a slightly different predictive

algorithm based on other data.

Predictive Analytics vs Statistics

Comparison Table
Below is the Comparison Table, which explains the differences between

Predictive Analytics vs Statistics:

 Predictive Analytics Statistics

Definition Predictive analytics is a branch Statistics, in simpler terms, is a

of data analytics to predict collection of numerical facts. It is

future events. the science of collecting, classifying

and representing numerical data.

Why it Predictive analytics can Statistics are essential for research

Matters? identify the risks and analyzers, and businesses.

opportunities for the future. By

 Using statistics, they can be
using Predictive analytics, the
 informed about the risks.
business can effectively
 They can evaluate the credib
interpret big data for their
and usefulness of information
benefit.

make appropriate decisions.

It involves applying statistical Statistics and predictive analytics w

Relation analytics techniques to predict together to make good decisions fo

the future. the future.

Methods/ Predictive analytics software Some of the Statistics techniques a

Techniques relies heavily on advanced

 Arithmetic Mean
algorithms and methodologies.
 Standard Deviation (Sigma)

 Logistic Regression  Regression

 Decision Trees
  Time Series Analysis  Hypothesis testing, etc.

 Machine Learning

 Artificial Intelligence, etc.

Uses / Using the information from Statistics can be used in many rese

Fields predictive analytics can help fields.

companies and business

 Science
applications.
 Technology

 Predictive analytics  Business

suggest actions that can  Biology

affect positive  Computer Science

operational changes.  Chemistry etc. It aids in decis

 Analysts can use  making

predictive analytics to  Provides comparison

foresee if a change will  Explains the action that has

help them reduce risks,

taken place
improve operations, and

increase revenue.  Predict the future outcome

 Estimates of unknown quantit

 Branches Predictive analytics is one of The two main branches of statistics

the types of Data Analytics. descriptive statistics and inferentia

The other analytics are statistics.

descriptive and prescriptive.

Conclusion
Predictive Analytics and Statistics are used to analyse current and

historical data to predict future events. Predictive analytics uses many

techniques, from data mining, statistics, modelling, machine learning, and

artificial intelligence. Predictive analytics requires a high level of expertise

with statistical methods and the ability to build predictive data models. So

we can conclude that both work together to draw conclusions and

predictions from the data.