Data Discovery

What Does Data Discovery Mean?

Data discovery, in the context of IT, is the process of extracting actionable patterns from data. The extraction is generally performed by humans or, in certain cases, by artificial intelligence systems. The data presented is typically in a visual format and may look like a dashboard, depending on how it is presented in the application.

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Techopedia Explains Data Discovery

Data discovery is a type of data use that relies, in large part, on technologies that have enabled the aggregation and use of big data. Big data sets are composed of large and heterogeneous types of data that are fed into business systems for the purpose of gaining business intelligence (BI).

In data discovery, humans – or, in some cases, certain types of artificial intelligence technologies – look at data from various sources and try to extract important or meaningful information from that data. This is done in order to support various business objectives. Data discovery tools use a variety of methods such as heat maps, pivot tables, pie charts, bar graphs and geographical maps to help users accomplish their goals.

Some experts see data discovery as similar to data mining, which is a process used by some companies to try to extract actionable data from a large data set. In some ways, data discovery may also be explained by its similarity to electronic discovery (e-discovery); in e-discovery, which often pertains to the legal field, assigned IT professionals extract data from large data sets that may be applicable or relevant to a case or process. The idea of data discovery takes a similar approach – sifting through a large field of data for relevant and actionable items that stand out.

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…