Chapter 14: From Data to Decisions: Knowledge Discovery Solutions for Intelligent Enterprises

Nilmini Wickramasinghe
Cleveland State University, USA

Sushil K. Sharma
Ball State University, USA

Jatinder N. D. Gupta
University of Alabama in Huntsville, USA

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Abstract

To compete in today's environment, organizations have to develop an ability to use intelligently the knowledge assets already inherent within them as well as the new intellectual capital they create daily. Many companies have already adopted some type of business intelligence (BI) tools such as report writers, spreadsheets, and, more recently, OLAP to gain a competitive advantage in decision making. However, these tools are woefully inadequate at analyzing data patterns. Thus, superior tools and methods are required. Knowledge discovery is about understanding a business. It is a process that solves business problems by analyzing the data to identify patterns and relationships that can explain and predict behavior. It enables an organization to better understand its core business processes by searching automatically through voluminous data, looking for patterns of events, and presenting these to the business in an easy-to-understand graphical form. Knowledge discovery is then a competitive necessity for today's organizations.