Generally speaking, data analytics comes in four types: 1. Descriptive, to answer the question: What`s happening? 2. Diagnostic, to answer the question: Why`s happening? 3. Predictive, to answer the question: What will happen? 4. Prescriptive, to answer the question: What actions should we take?
Reference: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/answering-whats-happening-whys-happening-and-what-will-happen-with-iot-analytics/