There are three distinct types of analytics according to INFORMS:
Descriptive Analytics gives insight into past events, using historical data.
Predictive Analytics provides insight on what will happen in the future.
Prescriptive Analytics helps with decision making by providing actionable advice.
According to the professional society INFORMS, “analytics is the application of scientific and mathematical methods to the study
and analysis of problems involving complex systems."
The Center for Applied Analytics takes a broad view of analytics, encompassing a wide
array of statistical, probabilistic, and mathematical techniques.