How to flourish in the changing world of Data and AI

The Pandemic has inadvertently changed ways of living, personally and professionally. While the outcomes have been both great and adverse, there is a wider acknowledgment of the fact that a robust Technology System and Digital Revolution can lead to accelerated growth for businesses and of course smooth operation. During this digital revolution, the world of Data and AI is changing very rapidly, creating unforeseen opportunities for all of us. So, how does one stay relevant in the changing world of Data and AI??While it is important to constantly upgrade yourself in core technology competencies, the focus of this article is to draw your attention to different aspects of nurturing your skillset.

My take in the next few paragraphs is something I have learned through my journey and is a personal point of view to share with the budding Data and AI aspirants.

The importance of transferable skills in the Data and AI space

To thrive in the data space, one needn’t have years of prior experience in data. We must learn how to capitalize on our prior knowledge and use it as a complementary asset to provide solutions to our clients. For example, if you have an enriched experience in SAP, you may try to get into SAP Data Analytics, where you can help your organization predict behavior and suggest better approaches. Data and Analytics is at the core of every enterprise reinvention and that means a number of integration points with different skills.

Domain?Knowledge

I want to share a short episode about an interview a couple of years ago, that was for a role in Financial Services. The candidate did not demonstrate much technical depth, but he kept insisting he was willing to learn any new technology. Of course, I wasn’t sure of his candidature at that point. However, we continued with the conversation and spoke about his experience in solving business problems. That is when he opened up about his extensive domain knowledge and how he successfully solved critical business problems by knowing the end-to-end processes, understanding the inefficiencies, and learning necessary technology on the go. The power of knowing your client’s industry cannot be underestimated. Pick one industry you relate to the most and build proficiency in it and follow the news to stay updated on the trends and major changes. Connect with mentors who have a similar background and will pass on their share of experiences.

Storytelling

Without the right context, data-driven insights can go unnoticed and unregistered by the audience. We need the right communication and prolific storytelling to apply our analytical aptitude to business problems. Storytelling is important for the overall strategy and implementation of the actions prompted by the numbers.???????

Automation Everywhere

With the amount of data being generated in today’s times, it's important to weave the chaos into order that cannot be human-dependent. Whether it is just a set of scripts to cleanse large volumes of data before it can be consumed for visualization or implementing a full-fledged data observability solution to ensure an error-free data pipeline, we must think of automation at every step.

Sustainability

In the pursuit of a better future, we must build sustainable solutions, and Data and AI plays a vital role. Building a good understanding of Sustainability in general, envisioning the client sustainability goals and opportunities in your account, and how Data and AI can help, can take your Data and AI journey to the next level. For example, every restaurant chain would like to optimize its supply chain and reduce the wastage of perishable items. If you are defining a modern data platform for the client, such sustainability opportunities must be in consideration.

Watch out for this space as more of our Data and AI colleagues share their thoughts and expand on each of these points.