Which analytics category forecasts future outcomes based on data?

Which analytics category forecasts future outcomes based on data?

• A. Descriptive analytics
• B. Prescriptive analytics
• C. Predictive analytics
• D. Diagnostic analytics

Answer: (C)

Predictive analytics is about forecasting future outcomes from data. It uses historical data and statistical or machine learning models to estimate what is likely to happen next and with what probability. That makes it the right choice for questions about predicting future results. Descriptive analytics summarizes past data to show what happened. Diagnostic analytics looks for reasons behind past outcomes. Prescriptive analytics suggests actions to influence future results, rather than just predicting them. An example would be using past sales data to estimate next quarter’s demand.

Predictive analytics is about forecasting future outcomes from data. It uses historical data and statistical or machine learning models to estimate what is likely to happen next and with what probability. That makes it the right choice for questions about predicting future results. Descriptive analytics summarizes past data to show what happened. Diagnostic analytics looks for reasons behind past outcomes. Prescriptive analytics suggests actions to influence future results, rather than just predicting them. An example would be using past sales data to estimate next quarter’s demand.