TechTheDay

Major business decisions today are big data-driven. And today, data science is making inroads into many business and industry sectors. The field is growing quickly. Many industries are revolutionized by data science. But what is data science?

Data science

Broadly, data science is defined as obtaining clean predictors from raw data. The results help in formulating actionable information.

A 2013 study reported that 90 percent of the world’s data was created between 2011 and 2012. That is nine times the amount of data generated in the past 92,000 years. The projection is that by 2020, the number will reach about 44 zettabytes. A zettabyte is one sextillion bytes or 10²¹bytes. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) determines the set of standards on technology, including computer storage measurements.

Data is gathered from several platforms, channels, and sectors, including internet searches, healthcare surveys, e-commerce sites, social media, and cellphones. The increase in available data paved the way for the study of huge data sets. It leads to the development of better tools for the operation of all industry sectors. 

How data science affects businesses

Although the application of data science is not physically tangible, businesses are already using it to facilitate their business processes. It is vital for research and your daily activities. Data science helps businesses run more efficiently. 

1. It empowers officers and management in decision-making

A data scientist with excellent experience can be a strategic partner and advisor to an organization’s upper management. Data science provides the right business intelligence for corporate executives to execute smarter decisions to enhance business operations. They can better understand the problems, quantify the data, use the right tools to provide solutions to the problems and translate the findings in easy-to-understand information for each team.

2. It helps companies improve their products

Without consumers, a business will cease to exist. Attracting customers is one of the top priorities of any business. However, companies do not dictate what consumers need. Instead, they have to create products and services that fit the customers’ requirements. They have to be satisfied with the products for them to remain loyal to a brand. Proper analysis of consumer data helps in the innovative development of better products. 

3. It helps in managing businesses more efficiently

Businesses generate tons of data every day. But if they do not know how to use it, they will remain stagnant. Today, data scientists help many companies turn data into useful information to drive their businesses towards success. A data scientist can help analyze the data, discover patterns in staff behaviors, and the products’ health. Data analysis can help predict the success of business and product strategies.  

4. Develop predictive analytics 

Predictive analytics is a critical part of any business. It enables the company to handle a variety of data competently. Using historical data, it can forecast future outcomes. The predictive analysis goes through several processes, from detecting fraud to optimizing marketing programs, improving business operations, and reducing risks. 

Data science does not only apply to businesses. Broadly, it is essential in augmented reality, healthcare, gaming, internet search, planning airline routes, targeted advertising, speech recognition, website recommendations, advanced image recognition, and anomaly detection. 

As a bonus, did you know that there is an increasing demand for data scientists? Roughly, a data scientist’s average annual salary is $117,345. This is why it is called the sexiest job of the 21st century by the Harvard Business Review.