Activate a Career in Data Science

Editor's Notes

• #5: For those unaware, the Internet of Things (IoT) refers to ‘smart’ objects – anything from car, to home appliances – that can connect to a network to pass and receive data. Essentially, a device that links the physical and digital worlds.    Although IoT has been around for many years, with some evidence of it as early as 1832, it would have been unheard of by anyone other than high level technology folk until recent years. According to Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), the IoT was born in-between 2008 and 2009 at simply the point in time when more “things or objects” were connected to the Internet than people. Since then, innovation has shifted even further, moving beyond traditional connected devices to pretty much anything with a power supply. Nowadays, IoT is a widely used phrase that you’re likely to have heard or spoke about at some point or another.    This popularity hasn’t gone unnoticed and other industries want a piece of the pie. Manufacturers have created their own version of IoT, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), which is commonly used to monitor production processes and capture data for quality control and management. A recent research report by Navigant found that IIoT devices, software and services are expected to exceed $1 trillion by 2027.    While it’s clear that more companies are adopting IoT and IIoT competencies to service a competitive advantage, many are still unaware of how to harness the potential connected devices can offer ― not to mention concerns around security and data breaches. If we fail to make the most of the benefits the technology offers, there is a growing risk that traction will be halted.   
• #6: As a whole, the Internet population has grown by 7.5 percent since 2016 and now includes over 3.7 billion humans. In terms of data usage, that’s a hell of a strain. On average, the US alone spits out 2,657,700 gigabytes of Internet data every minute. The growth of Internet-based media platforms and services are having their day in the sun, but not all. Amazon, YouTube, and Netflix are some of the biggest users of Internet bandwidth. While Amazon is enjoying record profits (around $258,751 sales per minute, up from $222,283 last year) and YouTube is streaming more than ever (4.14 million videos watched per minute), Netflix has seen a 20 percent decrease in the number of “hours” their viewers watched shows per minute compared to 2016. Although we appear to spend our days huddled over a laptop or smartphone indoors, we seem concerned about the weather. The Weather Channel website received a deluge of 18 million forecast requests, a 22 percent increase from the previous report. Last year’s report found that more than 3.5 million text messages were sent every minute. Now, it’s around 15.2 million texts, a 334 percent increase. Other highlights of the visual report include: Uber taking 45,787 trips each minute, Spotify adding 13 new songs, we tweet 456,000 times, post 46,740 Instagram photos, Google 3.6 million searches, and publish 600 new page edits on Wikipedia each minute. The Internet also copes with 103,447,520 spam emails every minute.
• #7: What is a data engineer? Data engineers build and optimize the systems that allow data scientists and analysts to perform their work. Every company depends on its data to be accurate and accessible to individuals who need to work with it. The data engineer ensures that any data is properly received, transformed, stored, and made acessible to other users. What is a data analyst? Data Analysts deliver value to their companies by taking data, using it to answer questions, and communicating the results to help make business decisions. What is a data scientist? A data scientist is a specialist that applies their expertise in statistics and building machine learning models to make predictions and answer key business questions. A data scientist still needs to be able to clean, analyze, and visualize data, just like a data analyst. However, a data scientist will have more depth and expertise in these skills, and will also be able to train and optimize machine learning models.
• #9: What Is Digital Disruption? Digital disruption is a transformation that is caused by emerging digital technologies and business models. These innovative new technologies and models can impact the value of existing products and services offered in the industry. This is why the term ‘disruption’ is used, as the emergence of these new digital products/services/businesses disrupts the current market and causes the need for re-evaluation. An Example of Digital Disruption: Kodak Cameras Fail To Capture Future Markets Kodak were one of the first to introduce cameras to the mainstream market. They monopolised the markets for the majority of the 20th century, but unfortunately failed to keep up with the changing identities of their customers and the changing needs and expectations that came along with them. Digital cameras made the move from being a just piece of photographic equipment to being a much more life-friendly, fun gadget. And where as Kodak originally had their target consumer pegged as female, the male digital camera market opened up thanks to the ‘gadget’ culture. Some clever marketing from other digital technology brands led to changes in consumer perceptions and created a new ‘need’ for photographic gadgets. This allowed brands such as Sony and Canon to swoop in and steal the hearts of the consumers with their new technologies and approaches, while Kodak stuck to their guns and fought the change for as long as they could. Despite rapidly losing market share, they refused to succumb to the inevitable force of digital disruption and in 2012 they eventually declared bankruptcy.
• #10: Right now, Big Data projects are helping to: Cure disease and prevent cancer – Data-driven medicine involves analyzing vast numbers of medical records and images for patterns which can help spot disease early and develop new medicines. Feed the hungry – Agriculture is being revolutionized by data which can be used to maximize crop yields, minimize the amount of pollutants released into the ecosystem and optimize the use of machines and equipment Explore distant planets – NASA analyzes millions of data points and uses them to model every eventuality to land its Rovers on the surface of Mars and plan future missions. Predict and respond to natural and man-made disasters – Sensor data can be analyzed to predict where earthquakes are likely to strike next, and patterns of human behavior give clues which help aid organizations give relief to survivors. Big Data technology is also used to monitor and safeguard the flow of refugees away from war zones around the world. Prevent crime – Police forces are increasingly adopting data-driven strategies based on their own intelligence and public data sets in order to deploy resources more efficiently and act as a deterrent where one is needed. Make our everyday lives easier and more convenient – Shopping online, crowdsourcing a ride or a place to stay on holiday, choosing the best time to book flights and deciding what movie to watch next are all easier thanks to Big Data.
• #11: Digital transformation reshapes every aspect of a business. As digital technology continues to evolve, I believe that successful digital transformation will require careful collaboration, thoughtful planning, and the inclusion of every department. During recent years, we’ve seen shifts in how traditional leadership roles operate, as silos break down and the scopes of various roles widen and change. Digital transformation has morphed from a trend to a central component of modern business strategy. Smart machines and artificial intelligence (AI) are taking off in a big way. Our relationships to technology continue to evolve. Soon machines will be able to learn and adapt to their environments. AI has long been considered the realm of science fiction, but as technology improves, AI becomes a reality. While advanced learning machines may replace low-skill jobs, AIs will be able to work collaboratively with human professionals to solve intensely complex problems. AI stands to become one of the most disruptive forces in the IT world. Digital transformation is driven by the Internet of Things (IoT). Speaking of how invaluable big data is to marketers, the IoT offers immeasurable insight into customer’s mind. It’s also changing how daily life operates by helping create more efficient cities and leaner enterprises. Businesses and customers alike will continue to benefit from the IoT. With an estimated 50 billion IoT Sensors by 2020 and more than 200 billion “Things” on the Internet by 2030, it is no question that IoT will be not only transformative, but disruptive to business models. The advent of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR): The booming success of thePokémon GO AR app is a wakeup call to any business that hasn’t evaluated the potential of AR and VR. These technologies were once limited to the gaming realm, but they’re now easier to implement than ever before. The mainstream shift toward AR and VR provides new ways to connect with customers and offer unique, memorable interactions. The popularity of AR and VR also open up the gates for workplace gamification. I predict that by next year gamification will go from a footnote to a core business strategy. We are currently researching this and anticipate there will be a strong roadmap for incorporating gaming into the workplace along with VR and AR for improved employee engagement, retention and customer experience.
• #12: Since 2000 digital disruption has demolished 52% of the Fortune 500, with tech disrupting many industries such as music, publishing and retail. There are many cases already of established players who failed to ignore customer demands and reacted too slowly. Remember Blockbuster? We now have Netflix. Other examples abound: Companies like Amazon, Volkswagen and McDonalds are all at the top of their game through fostering and leveraging innovative, even disruptive, supply chains built around strategic relationships and mutual trust In four years, Airbnb has completely disrupted the hotel industry and today has more than 100 million users Robotic process automation helped an international insurer cut down reporting times from 90 to 12 minutes, with 100% accuracy Electric carmaker Tesla, which produces a fraction of vehicles compared with major US automakers, has achieved a higher market capitalisation than any — based on its prospects, not profits. It uses personalized digital marketing, as opposed to a dealer network, to drive sales.
• #13: What Is Learnability Anyway And Why Should You Care?  Learnability – or the desire and capability to develop in-demand skills to be employable for the long-term – is fueled by an individual's eagerness to learn and capacity to change based on acquiring and acting on new learnings. Some of us are born with it, some of us acquire it, and all of us are capable of it. To find success on our terms and live a rewarding life requires learnability. Without it, we risk becoming obsolete and losing our way in our fast-paced, changing world.  In the business world 4.0 the need for new skills grows as fast as the need for others decreases. According to a study by ManpowerGroup, employers believe that 65% of people born after 1995 will be employed in jobs that don’t even exist yet, and up to 45 % of people's activities can be automated. This doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be less jobs, rather there will be new jobs requiring different skills. In such a world, curiosity and learnability are required of the employee of the future to be able to adapt to new business conditions. The so-called learnability, which means the willingness and ability to learn and adapt new skills during working life, will become the key to success for both employees and entrepreneurs. The following four steps are recommended to incorporate learnability successfully: Look beyond the curriculum vitae: the skills that students are taught in university are not necessarily the ones they need on the job market today. Recruiters should look for candidates and employees that show enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge. Choose carefully: the best further education options should be reserved for employees who have proven their ability to learn fast and are highly motivated. Give it time: if you want to establish a habit of learning, you have to create a space where the mind is challenged - for example by looking at a business case from an unusual angle. Motivate learners: you can reward employees who initiate actions to promote learnability. Such actions are, for example, inviting external speakers or organizing discussion groups. The best employees want to expand their competencies, says Swan: “Give them the opportunity to challenge themselves”.   From an individual standpoint, learnability is enhanced when you: Find areas of interest. Go long, go broad, go differently. Stretch yourself. Convert your coffee habit into a learning habit. Learn that one thing you have been putting off  Find a friend/ buddy/ partner to learn with, sharing the investment and the community of learning.  Make it social. Online learning communities abound. Reward yourself. Seek increased pay or monetary rewards if it’s a vocation as much as an exploration. Nurture yourself through new knowledge, new skills and the accomplishment of positive change.