Emerging Challenges that Create New Opportunities for Data Analytics Professionals

Emerging Industry and Organizational Changes

To master innovations being developed at breakneck speeds, you must understand these emerging industry changes: 

Real Time Data 

Real-time data processing is finally here. It lets organizations work on real-time data that influences decision-making. Numerous organizations can benefit from this. 

Systems that follow real-time protocols can capture tons of data fields, which produce information in real-time. To interpret that information, you need more than machines; you need people who can decipher signals and work with analytics at an expert level. 

Additionally, if you are dealing with customer data, there is also the threat of non-compliance. Regulations such as the GDPR have made it extremely difficult for organizations to misuse customer data. So you must know even better how to work with the information, to ensure you’re following the law. 

Data-analytics professionals need to improve their grasp of real-time data management and study new AI and Cloud Computing applications Cloud Computing powers real-time data analytics. You can also shed light on machine learning, supply chain management, and IoT applications. 

Adoption of New and Emerging Technologies 

Data analytics is growing wild, and no business wants to remain behind. In their efforts to excel, and to save costs, organizations are always adopting new and emerging technologies for data analytics. 

Implementing new and improved technologies within their workplace might be less expensive and more efficient for organizations, but they seldom have the right workforce to handle all of these changes. New technologies almost always bring new challenges to data privacy and security. These challenges are only solved when employees tasked with managing data analytics are well-versed in all aspects of their field.

Determining What Data to Use 

The high influx of data generated by consumers poses challenges in choosing which data to use. You surely cannot use all the available data, which is why you must use consistent and standardized metrics for selecting the data. 

Generating Meaningful Output 

When businesses spend a fortune on data analytics tools, they want meaningful results. Otherwise, the system would not justify its purpose. The actionable insights you gather must improve the business. 

Identifying Relevant Use Cases

Data analytics experts also need to identify the most accurate and relevant use cases. Anyone associated with the field of analytics will be able to reflect on how complicated this can be, especially if you’re working with newer technology. If a business wants to convert their data into insights and decisions, the business must choose the most relevant use cases. 

Start by determining the problems you’re trying to solve (e.g., optimizing meetings). Then select roughly five use cases that could help. Any more than that and your data can become cluttered and burdensome. From there, study each use case, and look for measures of success, who owned the case study, and any other vital pieces of information that grant more clarity.

Need for Predictive Analysis 

Predictive analysis and maintenance let you forecast future outcomes by looking at historical data. This enables businesses to work with more precision, and with more agility because they have an idea of what’s coming.  

Mastering New Analytics Trends 

Some newer trends in analytics include: 

• Augmented analytics: achieved through the amalgam of statistical and linguistic techniques 
• Continuous Intelligence: when real-time analytics are integrated with business processes 
• Graph Analytics: when relationships are formed between areas of interests 

Tackle These Challenges to Generate Opportunities

Challenges, like the ones we have talked about above, require new and adaptive approaches. Data analytics experts can overcome those challenges in the following ways: 

Acquire Data Visualization Skills 

Regardless of what techniques or tools you are using, you should be able to visualize data. That will let you map what happens to it and convey this information to others. 

Understand the Data Value Chain in Full 

As a data analyst, you need to comprehend everything in the data-value chain fully. Understanding the value chain allows you to put everything into context and find out how one step of the process is connected with another. 

Communication 

As a data analytics professional, you should be able to present your findings and analytics in front of teams and decision-makers. The insights will only be understood when they are communicated in a transparent, clear, and descriptive manner. So you must ensure you possess good communication skills.

Engage Stakeholders

Keep all stakeholders engaged by building a positive flow of information. It also helps to understand and meet their expectations. 

Practice 

You need to practice your skills on massive real-life data sets. The experience that you gain from these data sets will help you solve organizational problems in the long run. This practice will eventually lead to a flurry of positive results. 

Conclusion

While new opportunities open doors to more success, they also bring challenges, and you must overcome those challenges. Otherwise, you won’t be able to take advantage of the exciting innovations in data analytics, because other issues will still hold you back. 

Data Analytics is being applied in many valuable ways, too.  For example, the city of San Diego just created a Data Powered Center with over 4,200 intelligent sensors to make the city-wide streetlight system more efficient. The technology is based on recent innovations in data analytics, and all new initiatives like this require new approaches and analytics. Projects like this would not be possible without qualified data analysts.

Data-analytics professionals, as well as aspiring data analysts, can gain the education, training, and certifications to help them harness these new opportunities. Check out Simplilearn’s Data Analyst Certification Training, co-developed with IBM, to boost your career in this exciting and growing field.