Knowledge graphs are quickly emerging as a powerful tool for managing and analyzing complex datasets. By organizing data into a network of interconnected concepts and relationships, knowledge graphs use cases offer a more flexible and intuitive approach to data management than traditional relational databases.
In this article, we will explore some of the most popular knowledge graph use cases in data analytics, including recommendation systems, fraud detection, natural language processing, entity resolution, and machine learning. We will also discuss the benefits and challenges of using knowledge graphs in data analytics, and provide some examples of real-world applications.
What is a Knowledge Graph?
Knowledge Graphs are a revolutionary technology that turns raw data into machine-understandable knowledge. However, to fully understand the definition of knowledge graphs, it is essential to comprehend the differences between data and knowledge. Knowledge is:
- Situational
- Layered
- and constantly changing due to new discoveries.
These contextual factors are often missing from traditional data management systems, leading to gridlock, timeline delays, missing datasets, and mistrust.
Knowledge Graph use cases are specifically designed to address the fluctuating nature of knowledge. They provide a flexible foundation for digital operations, seamlessly integrating new data, definitions, and requirements. Unlike traditional data management systems, Knowledge Graphs capture context, allowing for nuanced understanding and associations between concepts. This makes it easier to master data, add new data sources or properties, and perform analyses with greater accuracy and trust.
The ability of Knowledge Graphs to represent complex relationships and dependencies between data entities enables a variety of use cases, including recommendation systems, fraud detection, natural language processing, entity resolution, and machine learning. Overall, Knowledge Graph use cases offer a powerful and flexible approach to data analytics, enabling users to integrate, analyze, and visualize complex data sets in new and innovative ways.
Technically speaking, a knowledge graph can be defined as a graph-based knowledge representation that organizes and integrates information from multiple sources, in a manner that enables machine understanding and reasoning.
At its core, a knowledge graph is a collection of
1. nodes (representing entities or concepts) and
2. edges (representing relationships between these entities or concepts).
The nodes and edges are annotated with labels and properties that provide additional context and semantics to the data. This graph-based structure allows for efficient and flexible representation of complex and dynamic knowledge and enables various forms of analysis and inference.
To create a knowledge graph, data from various sources are first extracted, transformed, and loaded into a graph database. This data can come from structured sources such as relational databases, or from unstructured sources such as text, images or audio. Once loaded, the data is mapped to a shared schema or ontology, which defines the entities, properties and relationships that are relevant to the domain of interest.
In addition, knowledge graphs can be enriched and extended over time as new data sources become available, making them a powerful and adaptive tool for knowledge management and discovery. Overall, Knowledge Graph use cases offer a powerful and flexible approach to data analytics, enabling users to integrate, analyze, and visualize complex data sets in new and innovative ways.
Google Knowledge graph
In 2007, two notable graph-based knowledge repositories, DBpedia and Freebase, were established to store general-purpose knowledge. DBpedia extracted data solely from Wikipedia, while Freebase included various public datasets. Although neither of them referred to themselves as a ‘knowledge graph,’ they developed and implemented related concepts.
Subsequently, in 2012, Google launched its Knowledge Graph, which was built on the foundations of DBpedia, Freebase, and other sources. The Knowledge Graph featured data extracted from indexed web pages, including the CIA World Factbook, Wikidata, and Wikipedia, through RDFa, Microdata, and JSON-LD content.
Entity and relationship types associated with this knowledge graph were categorized using terms from the schema.org vocabulary. The Google Knowledge Graph effectively complemented string-based search within Google and gained immense popularity, eventually bringing the term ‘knowledge graph’ into mainstream usage.
In recent years, knowledge graphs have become closely associated with linked open data projects that emphasize the connections between entities and concepts. They are also extensively used by search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Yext, question-answering services such as WolframAlpha, Amazon Alexa, and Apple’s Siri, and social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook. You can check Google KG API and experiment as well.
Popular Knowledge Graph use cases
- Search Engines: Search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo use knowledge graphs to provide users with more accurate and relevant search results. Knowledge graphs help search engines understand the relationships between entities, enabling them to provide contextualized search results.
- Personalization: Knowledge graphs can be used to create personalized experiences for users. By understanding the user’s interests and preferences, a knowledge graph can provide personalized recommendations, news, and content.
- E-commerce: E-commerce platforms can use knowledge graphs to improve product recommendations and search results. By understanding the relationships between products, brands, and user preferences, knowledge graphs can provide more accurate and personalized recommendations.
- Healthcare: Knowledge graphs can be used in healthcare to improve patient outcomes. By analyzing patient data and medical research, knowledge graphs can identify potential treatments and predict patient outcomes.
- Financial Services: Knowledge graphs can be used in financial services to improve risk assessment and fraud detection. By analyzing transaction data and customer behavior, knowledge graphs can identify potential fraud and risk factors.
- Content Management: Knowledge graphs can be used to improve content management and discovery. By understanding the relationships between pieces of content, knowledge graphs can provide better search and recommendation results.
- Intelligent Assistants: Intelligent assistants such as Siri and Alexa use knowledge graphs to understand and respond to user queries. By understanding the relationships between entities, knowledge graphs can provide more accurate and relevant responses.
- IoT: Knowledge graphs can be used in the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve device management and automation. By understanding the relationships between devices and sensors, knowledge graphs can enable more efficient and intelligent automation.
Unique Knowledge Graph Use Cases
Knowledge graph use cases are becoming more widely used in industries such as healthcare and finance, but there are also some unique examples that demonstrate their versatility and power. Leveraging the power of knowledge graphs, organizations can gain a more comprehensive understanding of their data, uncover insights and connections that might otherwise be hidden, and make more informed decisions.
- One of the key areas where knowledge graph use cases are making an impact is supply chain management. By modeling supply chain data as a graph, it becomes possible to identify bottlenecks, predicts disruptions, and optimize inventory management in real time. SCIKIQ is a great example of how knowledge graphs are improving supply chain metrics.
- Another area where knowledge graphs are making an impact is in marketing analytics. By analyzing data from multiple sources, including social media, search, and online reviews, marketers can build a comprehensive view of their customer’s preferences and behavior patterns. This can help them create more targeted and personalized marketing campaigns.
- In the world of cybersecurity, knowledge graphs are also proving to be a valuable tool. By modeling network data as a graph, it becomes possible to detect patterns and anomalies that might indicate a potential attack and to respond in real-time to mitigate the risk. This can help organizations stay ahead of emerging threats and keep their data and systems secure.
Overall, knowledge graph use cases are quickly emerging as a compelling technology for data analytics in various industries. As the world becomes more data-driven, the importance of effective data management and analytics will only continue to grow, making knowledge graphs an essential tool for organizations looking to gain a competitive edge.
How SCIKIQ utilizes knowledge graph
SCIKIQ uses a knowledge graph to improve data discovery, management, and governance within its data fabric. A knowledge graph is a powerful tool that connects and organizes data through semantic relationships, providing a comprehensive and efficient way to access and understand data.
In SCIKIQ’s data fabric, the knowledge graph is used to provide a visual representation of data lineage, metadata, and other key data attributes. By using a knowledge graph, SCIKIQ brings various use cases like can capturing and store relationships between different data assets, enabling users to easily understand the flow of data through their organization.
For example, if a user wants to understand the lineage of a specific data asset, they can simply follow the connections in the knowledge graph to see where the data came from, how it was transformed, and where it was ultimately used. This information can help users make informed decisions about data usage, improve data quality, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
In addition to improving data lineage, the knowledge graph in SCIKIQ’s data fabric can also be used to support data discovery and data governance. By organizing data into meaningful semantic relationships, the knowledge graph can help users quickly find relevant data assets and ensure that data is being used in accordance with organizational policies and standards.
Overall, the use of a knowledge graph within SCIKIQ’s data fabric provides a powerful tool for improving data performance, governance, and management. By leveraging this technology, organizations can achieve greater efficiency and agility in their data operations, while also ensuring that data is being used in a responsible and compliant manner.
Conclusion
SCIKIQ, as a data fabric platform that uses knowledge graphs, can be useful in various use cases such as data collaboration networks, data lineage and provenance, and data integration. It allows organizations to connect data from multiple sources, add context and depth to AI techniques like machine learning, and generate human-readable explanations. With its flexible and scalable foundation, SCIKIQ can easily accept new data, definitions, and requirements, enabling organizations to make better decisions and gain valuable insights from their data.