What is the main advantage of using descriptive analytics?

The main advantage of using descriptive analytics is that it provides insights into what has happened in the past. This type of analysis focuses on summarizing historical data to understand trends, patterns, and outcomes. By analyzing past data, businesses can gain valuable insights that inform strategic decisions. For example, descriptive analytics can reveal sales trends over the past year or customer behavior, enabling organizations to understand their performance and make more informed decisions going forward.

This approach does not involve making predictions about future events, automating decisions, or eliminating the need for future data, which are characteristics of other analytics types, such as predictive analytics and prescriptive analytics. Instead, descriptive analytics plays a critical foundational role in helping organizations understand historical contexts essential for informed decision-making.