The boom in digitization and modern technologies has caused a huge increase in data volumes in organizations. In order to take advantage of their value, the companies must be able to read and analyze them. However, most companies lack people who have these skills. The fact that data analytics is experiencing a boom is confirmed by the fact that it is currently the fastest growing area of business services, even faster than the previously dominant IT development or support services. Therefore, according to a survey by the ABSL association, 74 % of business services centers in the Czech Republic need to recruit experts for the position of data analysts.
The increasing use of modern technologies and the enormous growth of digital content are resulting in the expansion of big data. With the growing amount of data, companies need to be able to read and analyze them. Only through it they can use them effectively and gain value from them for their decisions and further progress. Thus, companies increasingly need workers who master these skills. The importance of data analytics can be expected to continue to grow. The volumes of structured and unstructured data are growing exponentially, and according to the consulting company International Data Corporation, their volume doubles approximately every two years. Global data generation is expected to increase to more than 180 zettabytes by 2025.
The fact that data analytics is experiencing a boom is confirmed by the fact that it is currently the fastest growing area of business services, even faster than the previously dominant IT development or support services. According to a survey by the ABSL association, 74 % of business services centers in the Czech Republic, therefore, need to recruit experts for the position of data analysts.
„Data analytics services ranked 4 out of the top 5 in the fastest growing business services provided by Czech centers. It is not only about creating and analyzing reports and statistics, but also about creating intelligent solutions, “
says Jonathan Appleton, Director of the ABSL association, and adds:
„However, many people on the Czech market do not master the skills related to advanced data analytics. Thus, companies must solve their shortage either by recruiting from abroad or by internal education of existing employees, which we help to develop as part of our digital strategy. We also consult with universities about the growing need for this type of experts.“
Innovation and more effective strategies thanks to data analysis
The work of data analysts consists of researching data and creating statistics and reports, which can predict future trends and design more effective strategies for management. Data analysis is most often used for making technological decisions, finding new growth opportunities, or financial management, in the department of information technology, finance, sales, and marketing. The data analyst should be familiar with data models and databases and should be able to visualize data using a variety of tools and languages. In addition to mathematics, statistics, and econometrics, these experts should master at least the basics of programming. According to a salary survey by the Grafton Recruitment, these employees can earn between 40,000 and 50,000, and in Prague as many as 55,000. A more advanced role in data analysis is represented by a data scientist, data engineer, or BI analyst. Their wages can reach up to the six-figures amount.
„In the business services sector we use different maturity of analytics. Most basic is descriptive analytics in which the analysts use visualization tools, such as PowerBI, to prepare reports on existing data. At ABInBev, we also create predictive or prescriptive models developed by data scientists and ML experts that predict what will happen through mix on historical data and forward-looking algorithms. These solutions bring financial results of over 10 times the invested value. For every 1 CZK we invest in it, we get 10-15 CZK out of it,“ says Jaromír Staroba, head of Pragues Digital Hub of the brewery company ABInBev, and adds: “AI/ML & Data Analytics is a great tool with which we have driven in 2021 projects which delivered millions of USD of value to mother company.“
Education is so for now mainly corporate
According to Jaromír Staroba, it is very difficult to find data analysts or scientists on the Czech market. Therefore, the centre most often uses existing colleagues for this type of work, who have demonstrated analytical skills, who then, with the help of internal training programs and support from the company’s data analytics center based in India, train the necessary knowledge and skills. Both the employee and the employer benefit from this investment.
Internal training programs in business services centers do not focus only on data analysis, companies must develop their employees in other disciplines as well.
„According to our survey, employees and, consequently, companies also lack skills in implementing robotic automation, customer orientation, or managing innovative projects. These disciplines are not yet very often offered on the education market, so 98 % of centers develop their educational programs internally. The only exception is the teaching of foreign languages, which the centers more often provide through external contractors”
adds Jonathan Appleton”.
