The Big data Talent War

Big data has emerged as a key element of business strategy and implementation. Many leading business organizations are actively using advanced data analytics while others are just getting started.

However, as it happens with any new domain, companies are facing challenges in getting the best out of data analytics; the main issue being the manpower issue.

The main concern here is finding the right talent who can set sail to the Big data world, converting all that data into actionable insights. There is growing realization among CIOs and others in the C-suite that it is not as simple as adopting some new technology or hiring some statisticians for the analytics job.

The good news is that the Big data skills gap is being widely acknowledged and many vendors help to bridge the gap with the right tools and outsourcing. Some of these efforts have borne fruit, but Big data, as many experts believe, still need to be seen on a much larger canvas – something which decision makers still fail to do.

The Missing ‘Skills’

The growing amount of unstructured data, in the rapidly growing information era, calls for special skills. David Meer, a strategy and business partner at a technology firm, feels that companies need a core team of professionals who know how to use the advanced statistical algorithms and machine-learning protocols that are necessary to handle large and disparate amounts of data coming in at high velocity.

Unfortunately there aren’t many people today who are trained to handle and analyze data sets of this type and magnitude. Although colleges are revving up their training in Big data, there will still be a huge crunch for talent. Companies need to be prepared to fight that war.

However, even if companies are able to get hold of the best of talent, it does not ensure success. It is important to build and cultivate a group of people who can speak the language of both business and analytics.

Affordability is also an issue. Experience at analytics makes people better at it, but these employees are usually more in demand and hence harder to employ.

Perhaps, the whole issue is best summed up by Massey University PhD student, Simone Gressel, ‘The job of a data analyst is to understand all the business needs as well as the actual data and its components – but it is hard to find someone like that in real life. There is clearly a skills gap.’