Graph Analysis and Visualization: Discovering Business Opportunity in Linked Data

Introduction

This book is about the application of graph visualization and analysis for business. Graph applications are a unique and valuable resource for discovering actionable insights in data. In recent years, analysts inside some of the world’s most innovative companies have been intensively exploring graph-based approaches to a gain deeper understanding of the dynamics of their businesses while discovering opportunities and strategies for improvement.

As the volume, variety, and velocity of available data has grown, so has the need for techniques and technology to make sense of it all. Organizations have become acutely aware of the limitations of simple dashboard-style charts. Dashboards are good at showing metrics and trends. They can inform you when areas of business are underperforming or outperforming others, but they cannot begin to tell you why, and understanding why is key to taking effective action.

The function of a graph is to represent links between things, revealing the structure and nature of relationships in data. Relationships are fundamental to the why and the how of things, which is one of the reasons graph analysis and visualization has so much potential for value.

Looking back on 20 years of our personal history designing and building new applications for business and intelligence analysts, the authors realize that graphs have played a role in many of those solutions. Today, several of our most significant research and software development efforts are, ...