Data Mining
There is so much information stored in the computers that run business processes in every company, large and small. But is this information used effectively? What could businesses learn if they collected all the information in one place and analyzed trends and patterns? They might learn a lot that could save them money. And that's where data mining comes in.

What is data mining?
This course web page in the business school at UCLA defines data mining as the "process of analyzing data from different perspectives and summarizing it into useful information - information that can be used to increase revenue, cuts costs, or both."

What do you do as a data miner?
You would help to develop processes for integrating data from a variety of databases, making sure that the databases can "talk" to each other. You would assist business decision makers in developing queries to analyze the data and develop reports so that the decision makers could look at the data in useful formats.

What kind of training do you need?
You need a strong background in database design and administration and a good understanding of businesses processes. Companies are often looking for people with experience or background in statistics. For sample job descriptions look at: kdnuggets.com

For more information about data mining in general take a look at: http://www.thearling.com/

• http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/story/0,10801,93824,00.html
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