Which type of analytical report typically uses SQL queries?

Descriptive analytics is primarily concerned with summarizing past data to provide insights into historical trends and outcomes. This type of analysis typically employs SQL queries to extract, manipulate, and analyze data from databases. SQL is particularly effective in retrieving specific datasets, aggregating data, and generating summaries that reflect what has happened over time.

In descriptive analytics, the focus is on understanding data trends, patterns, and key performance indicators by using historical data. SQL queries are perfect for this purpose because they can efficiently process large datasets, perform calculations, and return results that help in creating reports and visualizations that enhance decision-making based on historical performance.

In contrast, visual analytics often combines data visualizations and interactive dashboards rather than relying solely on SQL for analysis. Real-time analytics involves processing data as it arrives, typically utilizing streaming technologies and other methods that may not focus on traditional SQL queries. Predictive analytics utilizes statistical models and machine learning techniques to forecast future trends, which goes beyond the historical focus of descriptive analytics.