And many tools are advertised as if they can be consumed with beer and bread, which is apparent every time you read the trade journals, attend a conference, or speak with a vendor. Take the term OLAP, for example. It was a clever marketing term that referred to multidimensional modeling and analysis, and although it was coined to sound as if it were a serious scientific term that did not denote any tool in particular, the term came to be associated with a particular class of data storage and analysis tools, namely OLAP tools. As I pointed out in an earlier column, this debate is ridiculous. The real issue is how to tune the storage and calculation of multidimensional data for a particular set of use scenarios.
Data mining is no better.
It too is a clever marketing term. Data mining refers to the use of quantitative methods for estimating relationships between two or more variables for the use of understanding and predictions. It is most definitely an outgrowth of statistics. The implicit promise of data mining was that if you buy a data mining tool, your problems will be solved. And of course, well-paid consultants get to point out that it's the consultant, not the tool, that's important.