AI & DATA ANALYTICS
the relevant business users able to easily access and analyse the data ? Are they aware of what is available ?” says Balleyguier . Of course , the definition of what a stakeholder should be is also expanding . “ An increasing number of tools are available to make the use of data more accessible to nonexperts . In the same way that anyone is now able to create a website without being an expert web developer with the appropriate tools , or analysts can make rather complex calculations on data using Excel without coding , there has been a surge in the number of platforms to allow business users to create rather complex data visualisations or dashboards . These platforms can be directly connected to the data sources to allow more informed and agile business decisions .”
Data silos The benefits of that democratisation are manifold . “ Democratising access to analytics helps resolve the disconnects that may happen between the business and the analytics departments and mitigates the shortage of expert skills available ,” says Balleyguier . “ This in turn helps companies identify and solve more business problems , with the same resources , at faster speed , without relying on a siloed department of experts .”
Data future The future of connected data will of course involve expanding to hitherto untapped sources , but it will also require technological advances . “ A decrease in the time to insight , as advancements in hardware such as chip design , automation in many parts of the analytics process and embedded analytics directing into applications that business users will utilise , will enable employees to get answers to their business questions in seconds , rather than having to wait hours or in some cases days ,” says Spooner . That process is already underway , with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic accelerating existing trends . “ Geo-location or mobility data has been instrumental in managing the disruption of COVID-19 , and this trend will continue : augmenting analytics with a wider variety of data like images , text or location , will continue to be a key enabler in the years to come ,” says Balleyguier .
130 September 2021