Benefits & Advantages of using SQL

My previous post on SQL focused more on the functional aspects of SQL as a Data Analysis tool. This post will build on the same.

To put things straight, when I write this piece or the subsequent pieces on Data analysis tools, I am neither employed with the companies that own these tools nor am I being incentivized to promote one tool over the other.??

These pieces are simply there to help readers and audiences understand the significance of their own business data which they can use to their own advantage to reap economic benefits in the form of incremental revenue opportunities, cost minimization opportunities and thus, profit maximization avenues.

Let us understand the Top 10 Benefits of using SQL as a Data Analysis Tool →

• Easy to learn and use as it uses simple commands like SELECT, UPDATE etc
• Offers fast and efficient data retrieval capabilities
• Can handle large databases but only structured data per se
• It is a globally recognized standardized language supported by major DBMSs
• May offer some bit of real-time analysis and retrieval of structured data
• Can integrate data from different databases, spreadsheets, or cloud systems
• Removes duplication by enforcing strict data integrity rules?
• Offers flexibility in Data analysis from basic reports to somewhat advanced
• Users can customize queries to fetch specific insights applying filters?
• It is cost-effective for businesses offering open source DBs such as MySQL etc.?

Now, let us understand the Top 10 Advantages of using SQL as a Data Analysis tool →

• SQL is compatible with most database management systems MySQL, Oracle
• Works with structured & organized data thus easy for users to retrieve data
• Routine reports and queries can be automated using stored procedures
• SQL databases offer robust security features to control user access?
• SQL supports data exploration offering trend identification & specific insight generation capability
• Easy integration with other BI & visualization tools such as PowerBI, Tableau
• Offers cross-functional utility across all the different business functions?
• Minimizes data redundancy through use of normalization & use of Keys
• Offers robust performance when dealing with large datasets
• SQL offers scalability as databases can scale as business data volumes grow

All in all, SQL does have its own set of benefits and advantages but a few limitations may be that its ability to handle unstructured data is far from satisfactory. SQL is fine for historical data analysis but not so much for real-time data analysis. As the size of datasets becomes larger, SQL may become slower and inefficient in some cases. SQL does not offer ML, predictive modeling or even deep statistical analysis capabilities. Although SQL is easy to learn and great with data manipulation, businesses must keep the limitations of SQL in view as well.??