Data analytics has been evolving and transforming business for many years now. Consider that in 2018, the big data analytics industry in the U.S. was valued at $169 billion and is projected to expand to $247 billion by 2022. Digital data growth hits new records each year, and the International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts the world’s collected data will surge to 175 zettabytes by 2025. That unfathomable amount of data would occupy enough stacked Blu-ray discs to get to the moon 23 times!
What are businesses doing with all the data they are amassing? With 5G technology, the ability to upload and download data gets a substantial boost. Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s Master of Business Administration (MBA) with a Concentration in Data Analytics online program can equip you to enter the workforce with invaluable industry knowledge.
Here are seven data analytics trends expected to catch fire in 2021:
- Customer Data Platforms (CDP): So-called “bad data,” caused by companies relying on fragmented or inaccurate data from multiple sources, costs U.S. businesses roughly $3 trillion annually. CDPs collect, organize and use information from all the available sources. The trends of continually accelerating data collection and work-from-home will necessitate heavy investments in this technology. The industry will see increasing opportunities in customer relationship management (CRM) analytics for professionals who build and use CDPs.
- Augmented, Automated Data Management: Metadata, machine learning (ML) and data fabrics – defined as something that uses continuous analytics – will be used in conjunction to connect and automate data management processes dynamically. This will reduce the time to data delivery by 30% by the year 2023. This advancement will support the design and deployment of integrated data objects, regardless of platform, and provide many career opportunities.
- Analytics Visualization: One example of visualization in data analytics is the Johns Hopkins University dashboard that maps the spread of COVID-19 and its prevalence in certain geographic areas. The ability to glean quick insights in real-time continues to improve, and it is necessary to accelerate vital decision-making processes like flattening the curve of a pandemic. There will be increasing opportunities for professionals to work with big data and create presentations like dashboards and data stories that can more effectively communicate information without requiring users to do their own analysis.
- Actionable Data: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ML will assist data analytics professionals in turning voluminous amounts of unstructured, multi-format data into forms from which individuals can quickly mine actionable insights. This will enable faster, better-informed business decision-making and create new opportunities.
- Quantum Computing: Forbes defines quantum computing as the capability to “easily query, monitor, analyze, and act on data at scale, from any source at any time.” Used by corporations like IBM, Honeywell and Microsoft, this is a nascent technology that aims to create supercomputers that can process exponentially more data compared to current computers. Professionals involved in this field include mathematicians who will produce algorithms to make short work out of complex problems.
- Leveraging Data to Solve Global Problems: Scientists use data information to understand, prevent and resolve other global problems, including climate change and related consequences such as forest fires and natural disasters. Scientists and researchers synthesize data from meteorological, ocean and earth science research to better understand the precise current state of carbon dioxide emissions and inform political leaders’ decisions.
- Decision Intelligence: By 2021, more than 33% of large organizations will have analysts practicing decision intelligence and decision modeling. This encompasses a wide range of techniques used to make data-informed decisions using applications like complex adaptive systems. The objective is to enable non-technical users to derive actionable insights to make informed decisions and alter decision logic without involving data programmers. Behind-the-scenes work using AI will enable executives to leverage data in ways that only data professionals could in the past.
These trends will create an abundance of new career opportunities in fast-growing sectors with high salaries and opportunity for career advancement. A specialized data analytics MBA may be your portal to this bright future.
Learn more about Southeastern Oklahoma State University’s online MBA with a Concentration in Data Analytics.
Sources:
AnalyticsInsight: Top Trends in Big Data Analytics That Will Dominate in 2021
Forbes:
Top 10 Digital Transformation Trends for 2021
Six Trends in Data Analytics That Will Define the Next Decade
InformationWeek: Top 10 Data and Analytics Trends for 2021
ScienceAlert: How Do Quantum Computers Work?