Data analytics trends that will dominate the rest of 2018

It’s hard to believe but 2018 is already more than halfway done. Pretty remarkable how time flies, isn’t it? The good news is that for us data analytics enthusiasts, it’s been a year of steady growth and improvement and there certainly is room for more. 2018 was a year that swung open doors for several data analytics trends – trends that will likely continue in the years to come as the data analytics landscape continues to adjust.

From the implementation of GDPR and similar regulations around the world to a stronger pivot to data lakes to an increased role of IoT, AI, and machine learning, data analytics has seen a wave of trends that are more than just temporary fads. In the following sections, I dive into a few of these data analytics trends and identify why they’re a few you need to pay close attention to – potentially factoring them into how you go about your own data management.

GDPR has been one of the most important data analytics trends

Never has the topic of protecting personally identifiable and consumer information been more prevalent than it has been in 2018. From the moves made by the European Union to the reporting of the many incidents of data security breaches around the world, the emphasis on data security has been encouraging to say the least – despite there being a lot more to do on this front.

In addition to the mandatory criteria of the regulations, data protection laws and this enhanced attention on data security/privacy will provide companies and organisations with a new opportunity to build trust with their customers by setting up secure policies. In this day and age, consumers are far more informed and you can rest assured knowing that they will almost always opt for organisations that have policies that protect them. Recent reports indicate that consumers won’t hesitate to exercise their rights when they feel unsatisfied – just ask consumers in the UK.

The Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and machine learning will continue to have significant impact

As emerging technology like IoT and AI continue to grow and be leveraged by a wide variety of organisations, I expect their role and impact on data analytics and management to expand furthermore in the months/years to come. In fact, the faster these technologies are adapted, the greater their impact will be and this will be one of the most prominent data analytics trends to shape this space in the years to come.

At the heart of this technology is one single core objective – generating more data and leveraging more insights for better decision-making. That’s what it all boils down to. As more devices become interconnected and smarter, this will require organisations to place a greater emphasis on real-time analysis and processing. The result? A greater reliance on data analytics platforms capable of processing this information rapidly and meaningfully. The move to data lakes will, therefore, be less about convenience and more about value.

At the start of 2018 and for much of last year, data lakes were expected to be one of the biggest data analytics trends of 2018, however, over half a year in, this thinking has changed substantially.

For a few years now, data lakes have served as a dumping ground of data – acting as a great way of storing massive quantities of data unless, of course, users wanted to gain actionable insights from this data. On this front, data lakes have not been as effective, which is why many are now calling their value into question.

What I expect to see in the coming months is a shift where data lakes are merged with emerging technologies like AI and machine learning to help generate better insights for businesses and organisations. Anything short of a change on this front and it’s likely that data lakes may end up being one of the few negative data analytics trends in the future.

Data-related jobs and roles will grow exponentially

Given that many organisations are now focusing on data analytics with laser-like focus, you can expect the opportunities for employment in this field to increase exponentially. Tools and platforms like SAS are only half the story and organisations are going to need to place greater emphasis on recruiting data experts to generate and interpret the right insights.

I expect to see a significant increase in the role of CDOs and the number of data analysts and curators within businesses and organisation. This isn’t just a phenomenon that is taking place here in Australia but around the world and it will be one of the most undeniable data analytics trends you can expect in the remainder of 2018 and in the years that follow.

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