How Does Data Analytics Help in a World Shaped by COVID-19?

As technology becomes multi-fold in each sector, it creates large amounts of data to generate essential and valuable insights about the field. This is what has led to the boom of data in the past ten years or so. However, the data collected needs to be analyzed to bring in the decision-making insights. Data analytics helps industries and businesses make sense of the enormous volumes of data available for future development and growth. Investment in analytics is the difference between failing and successful organizations in the present and future.

Data Analytics and Intelligence Tools to Play a Key Role Post-COVID

As we are hoping for and looking towards economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic—some very important observations have been made. Among them is the acknowledgment that the manner in which IT practitioners and software developers work together will change in the post-COVID-19 world. The economic recovery today will look very different than the past recoveries we have had. Right now, we are entering a new phase of cloud computing. Organizations no longer make tactical infrastructure decisions but make more significant IT decisions, with an aim to enable transformation across the company. Data and what we do with that data are essential to this transformation. And how organizations enable their employees to catalyze transformation and solve the vital and impactful opportunities in their industries is most important.

Data analytics and intelligence were prioritized during COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, many companies canceled IT initiatives, with almost 55% of respondents canceling or delaying at least one technology project. However, 32% of respondents introduced or accelerated initiatives around improving the use of intelligence and data analytics. IT leaders realize how vital data is to their future success, even if resources are limited.

Digital-focused Embrace Advanced Intelligence Tools

Moreover, enthusiasm for big data analytics, ML, and AI technologies is most amongst organizations that have adapted to their digital transformation journeys. 54% percent of companies who identify themselves as “Digital native” or “Fully digitally transformed” are either using or considering to use these tools, versus the global average of 37%. And, these same organizations are warming up to the idea of AI more than their peers. Forty-eight percent felt that “Embedded AI across our full stack of cloud solutions will be critical” versus the 39% of digital conservatives. These organizations have realized that these digital tools assist them to be more agile, resilient, and prepared for the future.

Companies are Turning to Cloud to Maximize Insights from Data

As organizations tap into the promise of AI/ML and data analytics, they are turning to the cloud for help. While considering the cloud providers to work with, 78% of respondents said big data analysis is essential, which placed this capability right at the top of the consideration factors. This is not surprising, as cloud solutions provide a solution to the most common barriers and pain points to innovation.

COVID has also increased the importance of the technologies that are used for creating and comprehending high-resolution data on cities. Studies of social distancing using cell phone data have made people more aware of movement tracking and how these tracking metrics can be utilized to analyze the use of public spaces in general.

The keys for data science to succeed are interdisciplinarity and the desire to work together.