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Many hands make light work in a world awash with data

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Organisations need to have a data-centric culture to maximise value from data resources

While the impetus for transformation to a data-driven culture needs to come from the top of the organisation, data skills must permeate through all areas of the business.

Rather than being the responsibility of one person or department, assuring data availability and integrity must be a team sport in modern data-centric businesses. Everyone must be involved and made accountable throughout the process.

The challenge for enterprises is to effectively enable greater data access among the workforce while maintaining oversight and quality.

Businesses are recognising the value and opportunities that data creates.

There is an understanding that data needs to be handled and processed efficiently.

For some companies, this has led to the formation of a new department of data analysts and scientists, with the mission of evangelising data-driven culture across the organisation.

The data team is led by a chief data officer (CDO), a role that is set to become key to business success in the digital era, according to recent research from Gartner.

While earlier iterations of roles within the data team centered on data governance, data quality and regulatory issues, the focus is shifting.

Data analysts and scientists are now expected to contribute and deliver a data-driven culture across the company, while also driving business value. According to the Gartner survey, the skills required for roles within the data team have expanded to span data management, analytics, data science, ethics, and digital transformation.

Businesses are clearly recognising the importance of the data team's functions and are making significant investments in it. Office budgets for the data team increased by an impressive 23 per cent between 2016 and 2017 according to Gartner.

What's more, some 15 per cent of the CDOs who took part in the study revealed that their budgets were more than $20 million for their departments, compared with just 7 per cent who said the same in 2016.

The increasing popularity and evolution of these new data roles have largely been driven by new data protection regulations. And the evidence suggests the position will be essential for ensuring the successful transfer of data skills throughout businesses of all sizes.

SKILLS SHORTAGE

Data is an incredibly valuable resource, but businesses can unlock its full potential only if they have the talent to analyse that data and produce actionable insights that help them to better understand their customers' needs.

However, companies are already struggling to cope with the big data ecosystem due to a skills shortage and the problem shows little sign of improving.

The lack of talent in the tech sector has emerged as a major concern for Singapore's government and businesses today. While this skills shortage has long been a bugbear in the tech industry, it is becoming increasingly felt as companies across sectors ramp up their digital transformation efforts.

A 2016 survey by the Infocomm Media Development Authority revealed that the demand for infocomm professionals across all sectors is expected to rise by more than 42,000 from 2017 to 2019. Most in demand were technical IT specialists in areas such as data analytics and cybersecurity, with jobs expected to grow by about 33,400 over the period.

Data analytics will always be evolving as data becomes more abundant, new languages are introduced and new skillsets are required. As such, the gap in trained data analysts and scientists is largely a result of the fast-changing and relentless pace of technological innovation.

The writer is the regional VP of Sales, Asia Pacific, Talend Inc.

BUSINESS & FINANCE