The past eighteen months have been a learning curve for everyone – after all, this is the first global pandemic we have faced that has required us to rely on technology to get through it. The world went into lockdown, and we all went online. Streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix kept us entertained, Amazon delivered us face masks and toilet paper the next day, and Deliveroo brought us our groceries when we were unable to get to the shops. All of these streamlined services pivoted quickly to the “new normal” – thanks to the use of big data and AI.
However, big data and the way we handle it has not just had an impact on our social world, allowing us to access a more streamlined and efficient marketplace, it has also had a large effect on how many organisations do business. Many companies are in the process of asking themselves very challenging questions to help shape their future data strategy, such as:
- Does our existing workforce have the mindset and skills required to work effectively with the data we need them to?
- What technologies are available that we can adopt to improve our data optimisation and usage?
- How can our business truly become data-driven?
A future that is data smart
What businesses are really asking themselves at the moment is how can we use data to inform our business decisions wisely? If the COVID pandemic has taught us anything it is that data is critical for informing our decision making and helping us to prepare for all possible scenarios. This now means that, more than ever, there is a need for employees with the necessary skills to be able to crunch this data quickly and implement the correct strategy needed to analyse and process this data too.
As we all get used to the world again post-pandemic, and how things have changed, including economically, politically and socially – many of us are looking towards big data and the tools associated with data science to help us to continue to decide on the best way forward.
There will be a mass move towards Cloud and SaaS
Many businesses have already realised that an integrated data and analytics strategy is key to being able to seize opportunities quickly, and pivot with the market as it continues to be volatile over the coming years. This integration relies heavily on the adoption of both the Cloud and Software as a Service.
Moving from traditional on-premise data environments to the Cloud and SaaS allows businesses real-time access to data in a nimble fashion and ensures they have tremendous scalability options and great cost-saving benefits as well. It will also allow them to invest more in other areas that will help them to continue to outperform their more static competitors.
Businesses must create a data-driven culture
This push towards a data-driven future, and adoption of the Cloud and SaaS, also means that C-Suite managers and data specialists are having to pivot and ensure that everyone within the business is comfortable with working with data successfully.
With more and more data now becoming more accessible for the whole workforce, data analyst roles are changing to become data advocates for the whole company, encouraging everyone to be involved in the data and analytic ecosystem. This way everyone can propose new ways of sorting and providing the data and can help to identify potential improvements in processes, which will drive operational efficiencies in the end.
At the end of the day, however, data scientist jobs will still be incredibly important as they are the people who decide if the technologies we are using are fit for purpose as well as being responsively designed and deployed.
If you want to help businesses embrace new data and analytics models or you need to boost your data and analytics team, then the consultants here at Agile Recruit can help. Contact us today, to find out how.
