Upgrade your Digital and Analytics capabilities in 2024
With the increasing reliance on data across multiple industries, and the transformative impact it can have on decision-making and business processes, the field of data science has experienced significant growth in recent years. In this article we spotlight some of the main factors that have fuelled this growth and why it has become an attractive career path offering a wide range of opportunities and generous remuneration.
Explosion of data
Quantifying the amount of data produced globally is no easy task, however, the World Economic Forum estimates that, by 2025, we’ll be generating 175 trillion gigabytes annually. While this number may seem hard to comprehend, it’s safe to say that the digital era has led to an unprecedented growth in the volume, velocity, and variety of data. As businesses become increasingly digitised, both in their interaction with customers and their internal processes, they face the growing challenge of dealing with massive datasets. Extracting meaningful insights from this wealth of information requires sophisticated data analysis techniques.
Advancing technology
Capturing, storing, and manipulating this wealth of data would not be possible without the continuing development of supporting technologies. Advances in computing power and storage capabilities have enabled the handling and processing of large datasets. New industries have emerged in areas such as cloud technology, making it more feasible for organisations to leverage data science techniques and extract value.
Availability of big data tools and frameworks
The development and widespread adoption of big data tools and frameworks, such as Hadoop and Spark, allow for efficient processing and manipulation of these large-scale datasets by data scientists. The integration of machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) into business processes means organisations are increasingly utilising ML algorithms to analyse data, make predictions, and automate tasks, leading to improved efficiency and competitiveness.
Demand from industry
Growing awareness among businesses of the value hidden away in their data has unlocked enormous investment in this area. With the potential to inform strategic decisions, enhance customer experiences, and optimise operations, organisations are recognising the strategic value of data as a competitive asset. Consequently, organisations are moving towards data-driven decision-making that instils confidence through scientific analysis, rather than traditional decision-making processes that may be swayed by ‘gut-feeling’ or confirmation bias.
The cyclical effect of this growing demand on the development of new algorithms, techniques, and tools means that there is continuous evolution and sustained growth in the field. More and more industries are looking to data science to help solve business problems and find advantage.
Consequently, demand for skilled practitioners has never been higher, and even for those already in the field, there is a constant need to upskill and stay ahead of the latest developments.
Develop your career in data science
Whether you’re new to data science and looking to build the foundation skills to support a career change, or already have some experience and want to develop your capabilities further, UTS Open has a number of microcredential courses that offer recognised qualifications and can set you on the path to success.
Data Analytics Foundations – This course is designed for professionals who are new to working with data and covers the fundamentals of data analysis. Understand the value and power of data, master key concepts and terminology, explore clustering and analysis techniques and begin analysing and visualising a range of data sets.
Data Engineering Foundations - This provides a comprehensive overview of the foundations of data engineering. A set of infrastructure platforms and capabilities that allow organisations to acquire, transform, store and curate data, with the ultimate goal of unlocking value.
Advanced Data Analytics – Tailored to professionals with some familiarity working with data, this microcredential combines state-of-the-art research and practical techniques in data analytics, covering the knowledge and capacity to initiate and conduct data mining research and development projects.
Explore these and other courses in the field of analytics and data science with UTS Open.
