Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 19 | Page 38

FEATURE: BIG DATA ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// The amount of data being produced globally is only set to increase – and the value of it cannot be underestimated. Four regional industry experts talk to Intelligent CIO about how enterprises and organisations should best approach Big Data and business analytics to unlock its full potential. Reghard Van Jaarsveld, Engagement Manager at Decision Inc Reghard van Jaarsveld, Engagement REGHARD VAN JAARSVELD, Manager at Decision Inc MANAGER AT ENGAGEMENT Even though data analytical skills have been touted over the past few years, there is a new breed of specialist emerging to take this to the next level – the data scientist. Companies need to constantly review, analyse and interrogate the data they have at their disposal to enable better decision-making as well as improved solution development. A data scientist requires skills across several disciplines. The likelihood is that businesses will pool a variety of skills in multi-talented teams that constitute what a data scientist is all about. This results in attention shifting from an individual to getting groups of people working effectively together. DECISION INC With worldwide revenues for Big Data and business analytics expected to reach more than US$210 billion by 2020, it is no wonder that getting to grips with the data at hand is fast becoming an organisational priority. Curiouser and curiouser Even though many people think that data science revolves around throwing technology Harnessing the power of Big Data 38 INTELLIGENTCIO www.intelligentcio.com