If we were reliant on “big data” and the internet prior to the pandemic, we’re now completely beholden to it. As we speed rapidly toward this so-called ‘new normal’, businesses of all shapes and sizes are embracing digital transformation and data-driven strategies at a rate that’s never been seen before.
In part, that’s due to businesses attempting to stay agile in a world where social distancing, lockdowns and hybrid working have become commonplace, but it’s also down to an unprecedented shift in consumer behaviour.
According to one report, our global use of data increased by nearly half (47%) during the first year of the pandemic. Data exists everywhere, in every facet of business, and “big data” is only going to get bigger.
It’s raising a very important question that few businesses are asking: do we need more data, or do we need more data science?
The democratisation of data
Data has been well and truly democratised. Every click or tap a user makes has the potential to produce strategy-shaping data for businesses, from how they interact with a mobile app or webpage, to what details they choose to share in exchange for a product or service.
It’s almost become too easy for businesses to gather data; most are practically drowning in it but only scratching the surface of what that data can do to help them achieve their goals.
According to one source, most businesses only actually analyse a tenth (12%) of the data they possess. As we all know, data is only useful if it can be interrogated, or interpreted, and implemented in a useful way. Why have strategies in place to gather data if barely any of it is being used to improve processes, workflows and customer experiences?
Businesses embedded in the digital economy have been using the phrase ‘data-driven’ for a decade or more, but what does that mean? Filling up a car’s fuel tank alone doesn’t get you from A to B; you need somebody to map a route, read the road and then actually drive the car. Too many businesses stop at filling up the fuel tank − or storing data − and consider themselves ‘data-driven’.
The problem is, their car isn’t going anywhere. So who are the drivers, and why are they in such short supply?
Not enough cooks
According to IBM, last year saw demand for data scientists and data-savvy candidates, such as data engineers, surge by almost 40%. That’s because, in a world where businesses are leaning increasingly on digital ecosystems to engage with potential customers, they need to be able to put all the data they’re harbouring into action.
Demand for data scientists has always been trending upward as businesses strive to use data in new ways, but the pandemic has been a catalyst like no other.
Demand for data scientists has always been trending upward as businesses strive to use data in new ways, but the pandemic has been a catalyst like no other.
That demand becomes even more of a challenge when you consider just how much of a broad church data science truly is; mathematics, programming, SQL knowledge, machine learning and data visualisation are among the most sought-after data science and data engineering skills in 2021.
With pressure mounting on businesses to embrace data science as a culture rather than just a function, demand for data scientists and data engineer candidates has soared. But with the number of data science roles being created far outweighing the number of available candidates, where does this leave businesses?
Nurture over nature
With pressure to obtain data science skills so high, and supply comparatively low, businesses are facing a challenge they never quite anticipated. Nobody could have foreseen that roughly three million data science roles would be created in 2021, making today’s recruitment environment very much a candidate’s market.
How is a business supposed to create a ‘culture’ of data science without bottomless pockets and the means to attract candidates that are already in high demand?
It’s important to stress that one data scientist does not make a business ‘data-driven’. If data science is to be embraced as a philosophy and an approach to overcoming challenges and finding opportunities, businesses instead need to imbue their already competent workforce with skills in analytics, programming, business intelligence and data engineering.
By upskilling their existing workforce, businesses can nurture a truly data-driven culture instead of trying to retrofit one artificially by slowly bringing in outside talent. Data science and related skills should be viewed as a team pursuit, blending an affordable recruitment pipeline with the upskilling of in-house staff to gradually uncover the myriad benefits of a more scientific approach to problem-solving.
In other words, businesses need a grassroots solution to transform their teams into a data-savvy workforce fit for 2021.
If businesses truly want to “build back better” as we emerge from the pandemic, data science is going to be a huge part of the conversation.
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