data science
What It Means
Data science is the process of extracting valuable insights and knowledge from your company's data to solve business problems and make better decisions. It combines statistics, technology, and domain expertise to turn raw data into actionable intelligence that drives business outcomes.
Why Chief AI Officers Care
Data science directly impacts revenue growth, operational efficiency, and competitive advantage by enabling predictive analytics, customer behavior insights, risk assessment, and automated decision-making that can reduce costs by 10-30% while identifying new revenue opportunities worth millions.
Real-World Example
A retail company uses data science to analyze customer purchase history, website behavior, and seasonal trends to predict which products each customer is most likely to buy, resulting in personalized recommendations that increase sales by 25% and reduce inventory waste by $2 million annually.
Common Confusion
Many executives think data science is just advanced reporting or that having lots of data automatically provides insights, when it actually requires specialized skills to ask the right questions, clean messy data, and build models that generate reliable business predictions.
Industry-Specific Applications
See how this term applies to healthcare, finance, manufacturing, government, tech, and insurance.
Healthcare: In healthcare, data science enables evidence-based decision making by analyzing patient data, clinical outcomes, and ope...
Finance: In finance, data science enables institutions to enhance risk management, detect fraud, optimize trading strategies, and...
Premium content locked
Includes:
- 6 industry-specific applications
- Relevant regulations by sector
- Real compliance scenarios
- Implementation guidance
Technical Definitions
NISTNational Institute of Standards and Technology
"Methodology for the synthesis of useful knowledge directly from data through a process of discovery or of hypothesis formulation and hypothesis testing."Source: NIST_1500
"Interdisciplinary science that uses statistics, algorithms, and other methods to extract meaningful and useful patterns from data sets—sometimes known as “big data.” Today, machine learning is often used in this field. Next to analysis of data, data science is also concerned with the capturing, preparation, and interpretation of data."Source: AI_Ethics_Mark_Coeckelbergh
Related Terms
Discuss This Term with Your AI Assistant
Ask how "data science" applies to your specific use case and regulatory context.
Start Free Trial