It took about 75 years for the telephone to connect 50 million people. Today a simple app can reach that milestone in a matter of days. The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil but data. Given the meteoric rise of the Digital Economy across the globe, realizing the huge potential of data is not only necessary but also indispensable. No organization is it for business or non-profit, can ignore the importance of Data.
From revealing potential market opportunities which were previously untapped to providing actionable insights for precise and accurate decision making, analyzing data can do it all. Marketing experts today utilize data to identify the target audience and thus effectively market products to the intended customers. Supply chain experts utilize data to predict possible bottlenecks in the system and to minimize the chances of delay. Production managers utilize internal data to streamline processes and eliminate possible problems in the production line. Business leaders take effective decisions armed with insights from data and governments frame policies based on historical data.
Rapid digitalization has led to the rise of digital economy and the nudge provided by the pandemic has necessitated businesses to embrace complete digital transformation. Interestingly experts are of the opinion that to exist and to progress in the digital economy one must utilize data!
Exactly how much data we are talking about?
Well, according to Google, from the beginning of our existence till 2003 human beings generated about five exabytes of data. And today we produce around 3 exabytes of data every day. For reference, 1 exabyte is equal to 1 quintillion bytes!
Moreover, it is not only the volume which is big but also the variety of it. We human beings are diverse and billions of people across the globe are using the internet and a variety of devices for an innumerable number of purposes. Thus, the variety of data generated cannot be imagined quite easily either!
Thus, unlike oil, the availability of data is not the problem. The problem is accessing the kind of data that is usable and can be trusted. And just like crude oil, raw data needs to be refined, so that it can be utilized for a variety of purposes. For instance, social media networks generate an enormous amount of user data which is then captured in a number of forms and stored. However, this data is unusable without a proper strategy for defining it, labeling it, and categorizing it. This task can be overly complicated and requires precision of the highest level. This is where Data Science comes into play!
Data Science is the scientific study of accessing, accumulating, storing, and analyzing data so that it can be utilized. One of the most lucrative and promising fields today, data science is attracting the most talented minds today. The job of a Data Scientist has been often termed the coolest job of the twenty-first century and there is an ongoing trend of either upskilling with data science courses or taking up data science as a career field right from the beginning. Especially in India, it has been observed that the demand for data scientists is very high and the remuneration offered for a data science job role is tremendous.
A Data Scientist helps to realize the full potential of data!
In general, a data scientist finds out ways of how to access usable data, how to store it and how to create a system so that the stored data can be utilized automatically. From inventing tools that are capable of automatic data ingestion to deploying AI or ML for automatic data analytics, Data Scientist does it all.
Companies today hire a team of data scientists to implement data-driven business strategies. For instance, Data Scientists can build a system for a particular business which can automatically churn out accurate predictions about how successfully the business’s products might perform, thus letting business leaders to calibrate the product models in such a way that it performs better.
A team of data scientists can also help businesses by digging out crucial insights about consumer behaviour based on which the business can drive success. Let us read a very good true story about the above scenario:
In India everyone has heard about Nykaa- the ever-growing E-commerce company in India. Today almost everyone in India who shops online knows Nykaa and prefers buying cosmetics from the company. This is despite the fact that when Nykaa was entering the market, it was quite impenetrable owing to tough competition from Amazon and Flipkart who dominated the Indian E-commerce market. However, Nykaa utilized data about consumer behaviour in India. From deep insights dug out by data scientists, the brand understood that there is a lack of good and reliable cosmetics provider in the e-comm sector. Since both Amazon and Flipkart are aggregators, they will never be able to sell 100% genuine cosmetic products owing to the fact that the Indian market is flooded with sellers selling fake products. It is not possible for Amazon or Flipkart to verify products sold by the various sellers on their platforms. Armed with this information, Nykaa targeted cosmetics. The company bought products directly from well-known and trusted brands and started managing an in-house inventory. Soon, consumers in India realized that Nykaa could be relied upon easily when it comes to cosmetics and the company tasted unimaginable success!
Does Data Science Intrigue you?
If you are interested in upskilling with data science then you must look to upskill with Data Science courses. Since both the volume and veracity of data tend to be very high, the task is not that simple and requires a number of skills- both tech and non-tech and both theoretical and practical. Developing keen business acumen and grasping mathematical concepts of statistics, probability, and regression are also necessary. However, there is nothing to worry, a good data science course will be able to teach you all the skills that are necessary to become a successful data scientist.
