Data Aggregation and What Do You Need It For?

All industries need relevant data as well as data aggregation to keep their business afloat.

However, conducting market research can be time-consuming and tedious, especially without the help of processes like data aggregation. 

 

 

Data aggregation refers to how data is collected from different sources and summarized in an easy-to-understand unified form. 

This process comes before data or statistical analysis.

Then, once the data is compiled through aggregation, it is analyzed and used in making sound business decisions.

 

How Does Data Aggregation Work?

It involves gathering data from numerous sources.

Usually, the sources may vary according to your reason for aggregating data. 

For example, suppose you need data for marketing purposes.

In that case, you can gather it from previous market campaigns by you or your competitor.

Numerous software solutions are available that you can use for the data aggregation process.

These tools work by conducting the following procedures:

 

Extracting Data

The tool first targets the data required and isolates the data depending on the company’s needs.

One of those tools is ZenRows, a web scraping API that comes in handy because all you need is to request the HTML of a page or part of it. It handles everything for you, from rotating proxies to headless browsers.

 

Transforming the Data

Once it has identified the needed information, it converts it to the correct template or format ideal for data analysis.

 

Analyzing the Data

This is the last process that involves creating a summary from the data.

It might also include data visualization and critical performance indicators, which could be used by the business to make decisions.

 

Standard Tool Used in Data Aggregation

A standard tool is Whatagraph. It helps optimize the process and offers a way for you to monitor the interaction on various channels.

Whatagraph also provides data extraction, allowing transform and format the data in a neat and presentable report.

Another primary helper in the process of data gathering is proxy servers.

Remember, to beat the competition; you need to know what your competitors are doing.

However, sometimes, your competitors can come from another region which you cannot access from your country.

In that case, proxies help hide your identity and allow you to scrape data from your competitors’ websites.

Aside from this, they help bypass any geo-blocking restrictions on the site. 

For example, a proxy France can help access a geo-restricted website in France.

When you have bypassed these restrictions, you can then scrape the necessary data and use what you’ve obtained to make intelligent business decisions.

If you are considering scraping data from websites in France, learn more about proxy France.

 

Manual vs. Automated Data Aggregation

Manual data gathering involves conducting surveys or issuing questionnaires to gather data.

After this, you manually compile the data and visually represent it to make a decision. 

Manually gathering data is already an extensive, tedious, and time-consuming task, especially if you just started your business.

Furthermore, gathering information manually is expensive, and the results may be inaccurate.

On the other hand, automated data aggregation involves using software to gather data, analyze and present it.

Since it is an automated process, it takes less time, and you can easily compare information from various sources.

Additionally, data aggregation software features multiple integrations.

Thus, you can easily connect with other data sources.

Overall, it makes the process easy and yields better information to help make better strategic decisions.

 

Importance of Data Aggregation

Through data aggregation, you take an essential step in getting the best outcome to help you reach your business objective.

For example, it allows you to measure your return on investment after incurring marketing expenses.

Moreover, by effectively understanding and comparing channels in your businesses, data gathering helps you know where you need to direct your budget.

In addition, data aggregation is comprehensive and covers numerous sections.

Thus, it helps you identify which area is getting more traffic and determine how to improve. 

With data aggregation, you get to understand the value of your marketing activity, which is essential, especially if you have been using two sources.

Lastly, data gathering will help you identify which source offers the highest importance to you and allow you to maximize it to reach your business goals.

 

How the Health Industry Can Benefit from Data Aggregation

From biotech to pharmaceutical companies, the healthcare system is keen on providing evidence-based decision-making.

After all, everyone in the supply chain needs actionable data – from employers to payers; this is where data aggregation comes in.

Data aggregation makes it possible to get cohesive and shareable information that everyone can access.

Healthcare mainly benefits from data gathering because of the following reasons:

 

It offers high-quality and reliable data

Manual data aggregation involves holding a survey that polls ten people.

However, with automated data aggregation, one question can be asked to thousands of people.

As a result, it increases the data size and improves the quality of the data.

 

It helps monitor healthcare trends better

Imagine if doctors could identify a potential diagnosis by relying on previous healthcare trends; it would be highly effective.

In that case, data collection helps monitor healthcare trends to help medical service providers effectively monitor patients.

 

It guarantees trust and transparency

There needs to be trusted among the product creators, caregivers, and patients for the healthcare system to improve.

In line with this, data aggregation promotes transparency which increases trust among all the parties.

 

Conclusion

Data collection offers a fast and effective way for your business to collect, analyze and present data that is actionable in decision making. 

After all, it takes a considerably short time and yields more accurate results than manual data aggregation.

Besides, it consolidates vast amounts of data to get you exactly what you need.

So, why not use it for your business?