According to a new report by the independent group Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec), the UK open banking industry has reached a crossroads and suppliers require more certainty about its future path. 

Nearly 5,000 people are working in the UK open banking and the industry raised over £880 million last year, so a lack of direction could impact the continued progress of open banking. Coadec’s report believes there is an opportunity for the industry to accelerate to the next level, but could be impacted in other countries in Europe if the wrong decisions are made by regulators.

In 2018, UK banks were required to introduce the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) open banking regulations, which resulted in the launch of the application programming interfaces (APIs) in finance, providing customers with more control of their accounts.

The end goal was to enhance competition in an industry traditionally controlled by large financial services businesses. Customer banking data is shared by the industry via APIs, with permission from the customer, allowing companies to deliver customised solutions.

Over seven million people in the UK used open banking in 2022 and according to data reported to Open Banking Limited building societies, two million users were added in the last year. While open banking has continued to progress and develop a new sector of financial-based technology, the next stage of open finance can go much further.

Open finance will see companies share data across far more services, like mortgages and loans, and offer new products and solutions from other organisations. 

The Coadec report explains that a multibillion industry is emerging beyond payment account data to create a new era of innovation and competition. Luke Kosky, fintech policy lead at Coadec explains that the growth of open banking has been a success for the UK. The industry has grown to over £4 billion in five years, and with the right support and regulation, the opportunities for open banking are limitless. However, Kosky emphasises that we have reached a defining moment for open banking and the next steps will define future success. 

There is some uncertainty in the sector as companies await a report from the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC) which replaced the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE). One request of Coadec is retaining the OBIE past April, believing the OBIE must continue in its current form for the short term to protect the integrity of the open banking industry.

The CFA Institute, a global association of investment professionals, has introduced a guide for AI and Big Data services in investments, published by the CFA Institute Research Foundation. The guide details how asset managers use AI and big data technologies to streamline the investment process and enhance investments and business performance.

With contributions from data scientists and investment leaders at market leaders, the CFA Institute Research Foundation AI handbook provides a detailed insight into the investment industry’s adoption of data science to offer investment plans to deliver more resilient portfolios, make more informed trading decisions, streamline client plans, generating client-focused services and create additional business intelligence.

Margaret Franklin, the CEO of the CFA Institute, explains that their business considers the combination of AI and human intelligence a winning formula for success in finance in the future. As AI and big data solutions become more pronounced in financial markets, industry leaders must be well-prepared to effectively measure and incorporate these services. Franklin hopes the AI handbook will support the industry in adopting AI and big data solutions meaningfully to benefit their customers.

AI handbook details

The AI handbook is presented from the industry perspective, including real-world examples and tested solutions. Larry Cao, senior director of research at the CFA Institute, explains that industry requirements have expanded from asking for details on how AI and big data work to requesting an action plan supporting their business strategy as AI and ML measures become part of the mainstream. The AI guide is the latest in a series of research from the CFA Institute, focusing on supporting practitioners and policymakers with the necessary services to evaluate and implement AI and big data to the highest standards.

No single operating model for data science integration can work for all finance and asset management businesses. Technology must adapt to work for culture, structure, core values, budgets and strategic priorities. The guide will support companies in commencing, refining or planning the next stage of their data science vision.

The latest Women in Finance report highlights how the finance industry is making positive changes toward increasing female representation in senior leadership roles in finance.

The report suggests that the average representation of women in senior roles increased to 35% in 20222 and that nearly three-quarters of signatories increased the number of women in senior management positions. Furthermore, the report suggests businesses are progressing toward their goals, with half setting a target of reaching 40%.

The HM Treasury introduced the Women in Finance Charter in 2016 and has published a review of the progress annually in partnership with the think tank New Financial. Certifiers of the Charter must declare their progress to the Treasury against their independent targets for women in senior management roles.

Overall this year’s report was very positive, with the main headlines including:

• Average female representation increased to 35%, indicating an improved picture for Charter signatories, as this number remained at 33% in 2020 and 2021.
• 77% of signatories have either increased (71%) or maintained (6%) their proportion of women in senior management.
• Signatories’ targets are rising, with half (50%) setting a target of at least 40%.
• Of the 73 signatories with a 2022 deadline, 44 hit their targets, and the remaining 29 missed, down from 31 in 2021. Of the 29 missing, 22 were close – within five percentage points or five appointments of hitting their targets.
• For the first time since the Charter’s creation, the top quarter of firms (52) have achieved at least 40% female representation in senior management. 

Source: Women in Finance Charter Report gov. uk

In response to the report, Treasury Lords Minister Baroness Penn stated that the results were very positive and that the signatories have shown commitment to delivering on this agenda by utilising data, setting targets and working to develop and inspire the next generation of leaders. Baroness Penn believes the report should indicate progress and remind us to stay focused. Penn wants to ensure the Charter remains a tool for maintaining competition, innovation and productivity. 

Amanda Blanc, CEO at Aviva and Government Women in Finance Champion, explains that the results are encouraging but believes we must continue progressing to ensure lasting changes. It’s positive that leaders are accountable for diversity in their business and that data is used effectively to support this issue.

Blanc highlights that a quarter of businesses now have 40% of women in senior management roles. While this is promising, we must continue to do more to ensure we improve the rate of change to achieve permanent acceptance of women in finance. Yasmine Chinwala, partner at New Finance and the lead author of the report, believes the progress is evidence that the principles of the Charter work. They encourage businesses to focus on the challenge of female representation like other strategic areas, with a target, progress and accountability. 

The data suggests that more businesses are discovering the connection between diversity targets and pay is making a difference, with over 60% reporting that the link to pay has been effective. Creating this link to pay means diversity is increasingly recognised as a business issue rather than an independent or voluntary issue managed by D&I teams.

Many businesses today struggle to maintain pace with the demand for harnessing data for decision-making. A mix of legacy systems, lack of digital skills, underinvestment and mounting unstructured data are some of the main reasons which have left many organisations feeling quite limited in their ability to use data effectively.

Data challenges impact various teams, but the CFO and its finance team typically face additional challenges with the scrutiny around management and regulatory reporting. Furthermore, the finance function often plays a vital role in data with expectations to provide seamless data service for the rest of the business. 

The value of data fabric in finance

According to Gartner, data fabric is a data management design that allows augmented data integration and sharing across diverse data sources. Data fabric have become more common over the last few years with the rise of data sources, formats and silos. Gartner highlighted data fabric as a strategic priority tech trend in 2022 and predicts that by 2024, data fabric deployments will significantly improve data utilisation and reduce human-driven data management activities in half.

Data fabrics offer a centralised, single layer of interaction that bring data, regardless of location, in a process that doesn’t require duplication. The data fabric can manage the lifecycle of that data, applying active data to manage privacy policies and compliance via role-based access controls. 

The role of the CFO in the data fabric

For CFOs managing complex data and finance landscapes, using a data fabric provides easier access to data, increased performance and the ability to operate more efficiently and at a lower cost. 

Data fabrics empower finance and businesses to deliver data models and use data without the relevant coding skills. Traditionally, an application has a predefined data model, which means finance and IT teams must bring in data points from other systems and match them to predetermined models. This can be tedious as people find it challenging to fit existing data into rigid data models. Using data fabric enables teams to flexibly create a data model within finance through a process referred to as data cataloguing. This enables data models to be generated by finance experts rather than technical users. 

Added flexibility with data fabric

A data fabric methodology enables finance to be more flexible in a database application. Finance can apply the most relevant data storage tool that fits the purpose. Using a data fabric approach allows selections that ensure we access the best capabilities and performance. 

Reduced costs with finance

One benefit of data fabric is reducing the cost of finance functions by eliminating redundant storage systems. Considering the current economic challenges and the rise of cloud computing, this is a critical area for IT and finance leaders looking to deliver an efficient infrastructure that fulfils the requirements of the business. The decrease in data ‘lifting and sharing’ has reduced the number of integrations and points of failure, reducing the need to request IT support to tackle potential issues. 

Furthermore, CFOs can decrease the cost of finance by eliminating siloed finance teams validating, managing and reconciling multiple datasets for their purpose. A data fabric enables these activities to be centralised, resulting in a more cost-efficient finance department.

Gartner recently suggested that data fabrics have the potential to reduce data management activities by up to 70% and accelerate the time to value, which has significant implications for finance teams. From reducing the need to deliver point-to-point integrations between systems to reduce repetitive tasks, finance can reduce the time to value. 

Data fabrics enable extensions on top of core applications. Using a data fabric makes it easier to integrate other applications that use the same data set, assuring end users that their data is accurate. Data fabric is a strategic technology approach that offers considerable benefits to CFOs and their teams. From improving flexibility and performance to reducing the cost of finance, this is a vital technology that will provide business value.

With the next industrial revolution progressing, a considerable amount of new data is being created, stored and analysed daily. This information massively impacts our economy, workforce, culture and society. Our experiences, whether it be individually or collectively, are significantly influenced by data. 

We collectively create data, but as it stands, women account for only 26% of data and AI positions in the global workforce, with the gender gap continuing to expand at the senior level. This is a concerning statistic considering we are well aware of the impacts of data bias in recruitment, finance and other industries. 

Women in data have never been so critical in our data-focused world. Fortunately, several female leaders have contributed massively to the industry and have created the path for the next generation. For International Women’s Day, we should highlight women’s impact on the data industry.

Reducing the gender gap

While the industry does need to improve its image to STEM graduates, there are an increasing number of international projects supported by tech leaders like Google, Microsoft and Salesforce with backing from the World Economic Forum, aiming to improve gender equality in the industry. Successful female leaders like Fei-Fei Li, the founder of Stanford AI lab, have been doing great work improving diversity in data for several years. More women are joining their ranks and becoming role models and mentors, inspiring the next generation of young women looking to pursue a career in data and AI.

Reducing the gender gap goes beyond adapting recruitment processes and implementing gender and diversity targets. Industry leaders must ensure their company culture enables women to feel capable of voicing their opinions and providing the insights that often provide companies with a competitive advantage. Studies show that teams capable of rethinking their strategies based on the contribution of female employees are far more likely to deliver successful concepts. With the more female leader in the industry, we can generate opportunities for female contributors to succeed in ways other businesses won’t be able to ignore.

Promoting diversity in data

Women are advocating diversity and inclusion in data, tackling the current gender biases in industry. Thanks to an increasing number of women, businesses are implementing the necessary steps to eliminate data bias and provide alternatives when creating insights from big data. Pre-determined algorithms impact every part of our lives, so women must be involved to avoid widening the existing gender gap. Furthermore, women are improving business performance, with studies indicating those companies in the top 25% for gender diversity are 15% more likely to achieve their financial goals. Some of the most successful tech startups consist of twice as many women in senior positions than less successful tech companies.

Supporting data and innovation

Women in data are incorporating their skills and talent to deliver innovative solutions capable of tackling challenges and generating new ideas for a business that will shape the future of data and analytics. Businesses must focus on improving gender diversity within their data teams if they plan to be part of a growth market controlling more than £20 trillion of global consumer spending. Gender-diverse data teams can deliver a system recognising what female end-users want, allowing businesses to provide a far more effective service.

Data opportunities for women

A recent study by the World Economic Forum discovered that over 90% of employers intend to implement user and big data analytics, with data scientists and analysts considered one of the top ten emerging jobs. Many businesses have just started their data journeys and are now recognising the value of gender diversity. While there is progress with the number of women working in data, there remains a significant gender gap. Businesses and individuals must continue working on creating more opportunities for women in data. By doing this, we can deliver a more diverse and inclusive industry that supports everyone. 

As this year starts to accelerate, finance leaders are reconsidering their growing list of priorities, which likely focuses heavily on increasing efficiency and data protection. According to a recent survey of UK finance leaders, the key priorities for finance teams over the coming year include cybersecurity (44%), Cloud and SaaS technologies (42%) and big data analytics (29%). 

Automation software business Yooz explains that finance leaders prioritise cyber, cloud and big data because, in this digital age, these are the three core sections for effective and secure financial management. All three provide businesses with improved financial visibility but they enable the ability to manage and store large volumes of critical data, working as a security basepoint for business and client information. The mistaken release of sensitive details, the consequential damage to reputation and the need for excessive paperwork can be avoided by implementing these processes. Here are some of the focus investment areas for finance teams in 2023 and why now is the time to prioritise them.

Cybersecurity Cyber-attacks are a growing concern for all businesses in every industry. Victims of cybercrime in the last year include major organisations such as Microsoft, the Red Cross and Cambridge Water, all representing a considerable increase in cyber attacks since the previous year. A recent study suggested that in the UK, over 80% of companies had experienced at least one cyber-attack, compared to 71% in the previous year. In the same study, data suggested that UK businesses had the 5th lowest investment in IT security, standing at a little over 11% of their total IT budgets.

Considering that human errors are often the typical cause of cybersecurity breaches, with over 80% of data breaches involving a human aspect, finance teams must be prepared on the range of cybersecurity risks and the most appropriate processes to eliminate them. To effectively tackle cyberattacks, finance teams should ensure cybersecurity measures become part of their daily activities, implementing continuous security monitoring using automation. Automation can provide the best safety net for detecting and preventing cyberattacks in finance, enabling quicker detection of fraud compared to the average person. Being capable of authenticating documents and automatically detecting invoice fraud and other forged materials holds significant value for companies, particularly those dealing with customer data.

Cloud/SaaS technologies

It wasn’t long ago that finance solutions were launched onsite, but with the rise of remote and hybrid working environments, cloud and SaaS technologies have become a pivotal part of digital business.

Thanks to the advantages of cloud technologies, accounts payable teams are capable of being reactive, productive and agile. Access to cloud and SaaS solutions enables finance teams to work whenever, which has benefitted retention rates and made business more appealing. Furthermore, cloud and SaaS solutions provide better security, compared to traditional on-premise options and provide total visibility of digital payments within a single platform. By using secure credentials, employees can interact with company data and other software to complete tasks remotely without undertaking manual updates.

Something particularly important at present is how cloud systems can support businesses with uncertainties and potentially disruptive events. With some degree of unknown, it’s vital to invest in adaptable systems that can scale. Systems delivered via the cloud equip businesses with high-performance solutions without investing in costly alternatives.

Big Data and Analytics

Finance teams are particularly data-intensive, which means there is an opportunity to process, analyse and leverage data in various ways. Big data analytics can assist finance teams with identifying fraudulent activities and offer preventative measures because the data available can be used to measure unusual financial activity. Additionally, big data analytics can support businesses in assessing risks and implementing steps to control them. Both historical and real-time data offer valuable insights into customers, businesses and transaction companies. Equipped with big data analytics, finance leaders are discovering new opportunities to enhance predictive modelling, better forecasting, and making informed decisions on large data sets.

Focus on maintaining the bottom line 

This year brings new priorities, and finance leaders must focus on smart investments that improve security, productivity and longevity. Finance leaders must ensure smart digital investments convert into wins for their businesses. Focusing on measures that support transformation, increase digital capabilities within their teams and support a drive for better forecasting and harnessing data will deliver success.

As operating processes become more challenging, CFOs are exploring beyond traditional metrics to determine and highlight the key strengths of their businesses to current and potential investors.

Finance leaders are facing a range of new challenges this year. Inflation is rising rapidly, interest rates have increased faster than anticipated, and several major economies face a period of deep recession. The Office for Budget Responsibility has suggested we may experience the biggest decline in living standards in the UK for nearly sixty years.

With rising economic pressures, many CFOs have prioritised ways to grow their business over the next few years. According to research by Gartner, most CFOs are preparing for a decline in revenue and increased costs over the short term. A study by Deloitte indicates that a little over 90% of UK finance chiefs expect a drop in their operating margins over the next year. Taking this into account, many finance leaders are exploring specific metrics that can determine the health of their company, even if the top-line growth is struggling.

According to Edmund Reese, the CFO of fintech company Broadrisge, there are three specific areas to focus on during a downturn. The first is client retention, which could involve adapting payment terms to alleviate economic difficulties. The second is capital strength, which focuses on liquidity maintenance, especially if cash flow is a long-term concern. The third factor focuses on the accounting ratio, typically referred to as operating leverage, which concerns the cost structure of a business. If the revenues of a company with a high operating leverage, i.e. large fixed outgoings relative to variable costs, increase, that typically has more benefit on profit margins. But, if the revenue declines, the same high leverage can be challenging because the company has limited ability to reduce its cost base.

Reese explains that you need to create a plan with scenarios and determine what triggers to use at the right time. Reacting to situations as they appear may result in an inappropriate response.

Focusing on productivity and growth

Some businesses will continue focusing on the same targets despite the broader economic conditions. Scott Bogard, CFO of Exacta Land Surveyors, explains that his company is very focused on productivity, ensuring its workforce is carefully managed and continues to provide as many opportunities as possible to enhance productivity.

In a period of recession, businesses must recognise that the processes they did yesterday won’t necessarily be the right choice for today. Economic downturns often provide opportunities for more established companies to increase market share if smaller competitors lose business. This is another metric that displays business strength, even if revenues are staying relatively flat. Bogard believes that with strong liquidity, their company can capitalise on the market share, on winning new clients to replace existing clients that may be doing less business in the future.

CFOs face increased pressure to provide guidance on business performance, which can be challenging with the uncertainties surrounding the existing economic conditions. Matt Benaron, the Co-Founder of VantagePoint Consulting, explains that many CFOs struggle to forecast for the next year with so many likely changes predicted for the near future. Finance leaders who will prosper during this period will be those that have invested in technologies to enable them to predict scenarios and outcomes. Having solutions to allow leaders to understand their options will likely create better financial results.

Reese also believes it’s important for CFOs to manage people’s expectations across the entire business with how to manage the downturn. Every recession is different, so we must recognise that some solutions from the past won’t necessarily work today. We must adapt and be willing to apply new metrics if the business has had to change plans due to unforeseen market changes.

Businesses may begin exploring non-traditional metrics to monitor success, particularly those within the environmental, social and governance fields (ESG). Many investors are closely following these types of metrics. As more investors adopt ESG frameworks for risk and opportunity assessment, this will drive new metrics of business success and profitability.

Technology can create other non-traditional metrics, allowing companies to gain new information, such as data on the efficiency of a supply chain. It is really about utilising the data finance leaders have access to. By exploring more granular data, CFOs can identify trends that influence decision-making and create insights that may help with performance in a way that traditional reporting cannot do.

Data privacy, AI and crypto are becoming critical parts of regulation this year. As technology progresses, the demand for regulation increases at a similar pace. Governments have tried to maintain pace with the rise of new tech and other platforms, attempting to protect customers, drive competition and deliver safe areas for consumers. In the last year, cyber attacks impacted big and small businesses. As we move into 2023, it’s clear businesses must protect themselves against potential cyberattacks, and inevitable that the rising focus on data protection and security will transform into stricter regulations.

In a recent interview with Verdict, several industry experts voiced their opinion on the coming year. Seth Batey, data protection officer of data movement platform Fivetran, explained that companies seeking the potential of big data must prioritise evolving data privacy changes and regulations. Ignoring this will impact profitability and potentially damage the entire business. Batey believes a new era of data privacy reform is upon us.

For 2023 we will likely see more combined security options between leading cloud providers and other security software options as more executives ask IT leaders about their security systems and regulations. The tech industry is experiencing considerable growth, but this year we will see additional legislation which impacts AI businesses significantly. In the short term, it may have a detrimental impact on AI, but in the long term, uptake will likely increase due to higher customer confidence in products and solutions. The new legislation will reduce the accountability placed on businesses developing AI technologies.

Data centres will experience a rise in regulations this year as the world continues to manage rising energy and water consumption and the constant challenge of climate change. Increased pressure to meet customer demands has forced governments across all levels to focus on data centres and their excessive consumption of these resources. Data centres are estimated to account for nearly 3% of global electricity consumption and predicted to reach 4% by 2030. An average hyper scale data facility consumes between 20-50MW each year, the equivalent power required for 37,000 properties. This year we will see a rise in data privacy regulations and security and the implementation of new measures to manage the negative impacts of technology on our planet.

More and more personal information is being collected and stored by tech businesses. Industry experts anticipate governments worldwide to implement stricter regulations to protect customer data. As AI integrates further into the industry, governments will introduce new measures to ensure the accountability and transparency of new systems, requiring businesses to explain their AI processes and support them with a human-based process for selected decisions. More regulations will emerge as new technologies emerge to manage the negative impacts of technology, such as the impact on jobs. Industry experts predict a rise in measures to increase retraining and re-employment of people impacted by automation.

Security continues to be a top priority for IT professionals this year, despite the ongoing political volatility driving escalating energy prices and spiralling costs for IT products and services. The current geopolitical conditions will likely encourage further cyberattacks on all businesses. The IT industry must continue investing heavily in cyber resilience, including adding more defensive capabilities.

We have already witnessed a change in data privacy with some leading technology companies worldwide. The EU digital agenda represents a new era of privacy and antitrust laws. Improved regulation will make it easier for regulators to manage data privacy rules.

In 2023, we will likely witness tighter tech regulations around ESG reporting. Businesses can follow these measures if they have accurate and consistent data for ESG reporting. Data represent one of the most critical factors for delivering insights and measuring metrics related to ESG. With data assets being vital to achieving net-zero, businesses will need to create a platform of data integrity to ensure strategic decisions are based on assured ESG data. Businesses must invest in tech that combines data integration, data governance and quality. 

Now, more than ever, organisations need trusted data to enable confidence in decision-making, setting structured targets and measuring the progress of green plans. By developing a data integrity strategy, businesses can rest assured they are making critical decisions based on information they can trust. 

With organisations across virtually every industry utilising some form of digital technology, digital transformation is no longer a foreign concept. Yet, despite its widespread implementation, it’s a phrase that still causes anxiety among 80% of the workforce. As the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged the acceleration of new technologies amongst 47% of business leaders, with 29% developing plans to digitise in the future, this warrants a conversation around the role of the human workforce.

Amongst the most widely adopted technologies is cloud-based software, which, hand-in-hand with interoperability, allows enterprises to experience vast efficiency gains, cost savings, and improved customer service. Many organisations are also using this technology to digitise their supply chain, with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data expanding companies’ potential with the ability to automate nearly 80% of work and 70% of data processing.

Interestingly, this means the capacity to make informed decisions has never been greater. With enhanced insight into consumer behaviour, businesses can utilise this information to tailor their services and inform future planning. Not only does this generate growth opportunities, but it also empowers the workforce to transition their roles from more onerous, time-consuming tasks towards impactful and more fulfilling contributions within their company.

The value of data

Digitally led automation, such as the introduction of OCR software, has become a driving force for process optimisation across organisations. One of the primary benefits lies in eliminating time-consuming manual tasks, such as data entry, re-keying, and administration. As these tasks form the foundation for many employees’ roles, it is understandable that individuals may feel anxiety around automation. However, in practice, automation creates multiple possibilities that show workforce anxiety around the purpose of their roles needn’t increase.
Primarily, increased access to data analytics means that employees are free to take on less monotonous roles in place of a more rewarding career, for example, strategy development and operational management roles that would allow staff to drive fundamental changes across the business. They could also become involved in the product ideation process, improving the current service offering.

Not only does this improve daily productivity and efficiency, but it also provides greater scope for progression. Enhanced digital capability can help develop new skill sets and provides career opportunities that would have previously been unattainable. However, extended managerial support and flexibility are required to underpin this employee development alongside a smoother transition to new technologies and processes.

Organisational potential

Amidst the current economic backdrop, businesses face vast cost restrictions and financial pressures. However, the software can provide valuable insight into customer behaviours across other areas of the organisation, which can inform operations and build a more effective strategy. This data also offers insight into which areas of the business can deliver a better return on investment and where resources should be scaled back or reallocated to maximise profit. These data insights provide greater flexibility to respond to changing circumstances and remain competitive in a challenging marketplace.

One of the main drivers for long-term technological change within enterprises is AI. As these systems continually learn and adapt to organisation requirements over time, they will play an increasingly important role in how businesses interact with customers, stakeholders, and employees.

Customer preferences

Advanced technologies highlight the value of the human touch within the workforce, and this is particularly true within customer service. Our research into business leaders’ attitudes towards digital transformation found that 90% believe that the human touch within customer service is increasingly critical alongside new technology – 40% of business leaders even described this as a ‘100% mission critical focus.’
Throughout the pandemic, customers across almost every industry experienced depleted customer service levels. Now, as businesses and individuals face economic challenges, the requirement for efficient customer service teams has arguably never been more critical.
As technology collects and stores valuable insight, organisations can use this information to improve future customer experiences. Whether this means adapting procedures based on recurring scenarios or equipping businesses with the resource saved from manual data entry and repetitive tasks to appoint dedicated customer service teams. This supports business leaders’ desire for human influence and makes organisations more likely to increase their competitive standing.

The human outlook

Digital transformation encompasses a variety of new technologies with transformative applications. However, employees unsure of what this transformation means for their careers must remember that its benefits do not solely apply to enterprises. Corporate digitisation and the human workforce must work in tandem with one another for technology to work to the best of its ability. As a result, this is an exciting time for employees to advance their roles and capabilities and develop a data-led skillset to use as a launchpad for exceeding their career potential.

In these new times, leveraging data to create significant value is no longer just a dream but a possibility that is well in reach for those capable of harnessing data purposefully. There are opportunities for global leaders across various industries to transform their approach towards data and convert it into a competitive advantage over other organisations. Data today can be the factor between winners and losers in business. Information from multiple sources is combined with technology to deliver accessible and valuable insights. Despite the advantages of big data solutions, there remain several untapped possibilities in the data scene.

Big data is emerging as a critical component in the world of technology. Nearly every company has access to data sets that leverage and deliver new processes and products. With the growing popularity of AI, big data has become even more accessible. Businesses invest considerable money in integrating big data solutions into their services. Businesses must understand industry-specific issues to benefit from the potential of big data.

With most businesses containing large information flows, innovations create quicker access to more accurate insights. These new trends generate new thinking, offering the best ways to apply it to work across the business. Technological progress is supporting businesses in enhancing their product’s performance further. Big data is creating several new growth opportunities, giving rise to a new segment of companies that measure and aggregate industry data.

Predictions for 2023

Businesses are moving into a data-driven business model, enabling them to make decisions based on generated valuable insights rather than intuition. This period of digital transformation will likely impact every industry throughout 2023, allowing companies to respond confidently in uncertain times.

Data governance in 2023

There are various reasons why the future is likely to hold more restrictive data governance for companies. The main one is the increasing demand for data protection and privacy regulations. Growing demand for data-driven decision-making encourages businesses to introduce more transparent plans around data. To comply with new regulations and data policies, companies must integrate augmented data management frameworks to survive and continue growing this year and beyond.

The demand for enhanced data security

Data breaches have become more frequent, and they’re likely to continue for some time. Businesses are exploring new techniques and investing in data security measures to stay ahead of escalating threats. According to Statista, during Q3 of 2022, internet users experienced around 15 million data breaches, a 167% increase compared to last year. Industry leaders place significant value on data security as these potential threats pose considerable risks to customer information.

The rise of predictive analytics

Predictive analytics is becoming increasingly popular within the big data scene. Businesses are widely implementing predictive analytics to understand how customers respond to specific services and products and to predict future trends. The predictive analytics framework applies to various industries for tasks like detecting credit fraud or determining when customers may default on payments.

A big data future

Big data is considered a big part of the future of all businesses and is critical for organisations to remain in touch and competitive with new and emerging trends in the field. Many companies are integrating big data systems in various ways to explore new opportunities, improve their existing business models and stay competitive in today’s changing landscape. Implementing big data has been critical for many companies to beat other businesses, and many emerging companies are adopting data-focused strategies to compete, acquire and innovate.