Numerous vendors have already adopted this interface. Say a company is looking at a huge volume of data, such as tens of millions of records of visitors to its Web site. To the human brain, the records are just raw data, but data-mining algorithms can distill patterns by grouping records together based on similar attributes. Soon, distinct customer profiles emerge from these clusters of data. For example, an online store could recommend products, serve up Web pages or display ads based on customer interests and needs.
Prediction can work hand in hand with segmentation.
Using data-mining algorithms, a company could examine historical data to identify which products or services past customers bought, their credit status, age, gender, city and so forth, then use that knowledge to predict the buying preferences of new customers with similar characteristics. We've focused on several key areas of improvement. First, SQL Server 2000 is fully Web-enabled through XML support. SQL Server 2000 is scheduled to ship this summer. All rights reserved.