Last week, Dataiku hosted an EGG-citing day of presentations and panel discussions from industry leaders and experts. The insights they provided tell us a lot about the current state of data science and where it seems to be heading.
After the smashing (get it!) success of our first conference in New York last year, Dataiku decided to bring EGG to London for the inaugural EGG UK Conference. A day full of incredible stories, use cases, and thoughts on the future of data science, EGG UK offered incredible insights on the current state of data science.
While each speaker brought such unique and valuable ideas in their presentations, there were some overarching themes that capture some of the biggest ideas in data science right now:
It’s a Team Sport
The World Cup wasn’t the only talk of teamwork during the event. A concept echoed throughout nearly all of the talks (our CEO’s included) was the special importance of proper team management in the overall success of data projects.
Whether that mean gathering people with diverse skill sets or finding new and creative management strategies, the team must always come first.
This belief is teamwork was not dampened the following day by England’s loss to Belgium.
In Data Science We Trust
Data science cannot work if higher ups and colleagues do not have trust in the data solutions being offered. Many of our speakers made clear the importance of a culture of data-centricity as a key to success. If models are being generated that aren’t being readily accepted into everyday practices, then projects will never come to completion.
O16n (as always…)
In case our previous blog posts and white papers didn’t drive home this point enough, many of our speakers emphasized the importance of bringing models into operation. If insight is the end goal, then the data project will almost certainly end up being useless. Data teams need to own the entire data project, from start to finished product.
Only Just Hatching
Nearly every speaker explained how machine learning and artificial intelligence are two industries that are almost certainly going to shape the future of tech and business. Furthermore, every speaker emphasized how quickly ideas around data analytics and BI are changing. Many speakers reiterated how exciting an industry ML and AI are to be in right now!
AI and ML are industries that are both in their infancies and are positioned to completely change the world of tech and business!
Data, Data Everywhere
Another common theme was the speed and volume at which the amount of available data is growing. Increasingly ubiquitous IoT integration and growing data storage capabilities are behind a lot of the potential growth in the industry. A mentioned downside of this, however, is the shortage of data scientists available right now.
Demand is growing much faster than supply of data scientists, which will only accelerate as the industry expands. But the good news is that other roles (like data analysts, for example) can help lighten the load on data scientists.
What’s Good for the Goose…
Perhaps the most incredible thing about EGG UK 2018 was the huge number of use cases for data science offered by our presenters. From retail recommendation engines to military and public services, from better banking apps to public transportation integration at Uber, a huge variety of industries made their cases for the importance of data science. Data was also highlighted for its capacity to tell stories in clear and compelling ways.
In summary, EGG UK 2018 was a showcase of the exciting direction data science is heading in, where decisions are data-driven at all levels in nearly all industries. People from every type of background and area of operation are seeing the immense capacity data has to completely transform what they are doing.
Stay tuned for an upcoming series of blog posts where we take a deeper look at a selection of our EGG UK 2018 presentations.
EGG UK is just one of many EGG conferences Dataiku will be putting on this year. If you’re interested in joining us at a conference here in Paris or across the pond in New York City, click the link below!
