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Harnham blog & news

With over 10 years experience working solely in the Data & Analytics sector our consultants are able to offer detailed insights into the industry.

Visit our Blogs & News portal or check out our recent posts below.

Weekly News Digest - 11th-15th Jan 2021

This is Harnham’s weekly news digest, the place to come for a quick breakdown of the week’s top news stories from the world of data and analytics. KDNuggets: 20 core Data Science concepts for beginners The field of Data Science is one that continuously evolves. For Data Scientists, this means constantly learning and perfecting new skills, keeping up to date with crucial trends and filling knowledge gaps.  However, there are a core set of concepts that all Data Scientists will need to understand throughout their career, especially at the start. From Data Wrangling to Data Imputation, Reinforcement Learning to Evaluation Metrics, KDNuggets outlines 20 of the key basics needed.  A great article if you’re just starting out and want to grasp the essentials or, if you’re a bit further up the ladder and would appreciate a quick refresh.  Read more here.  FinExtra: 15 DevOps trends to watch in 2021 As a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no doubt that DevOps has come on leaps and bounds in the past year alone. FinExtra hears from a wide range of specialists within the sector, all of whom give their opinion on what 2021 holds for DevOps.  A few examples include: Nirav Chotai, Senior DevOps Engineer at Rakuten: “DataOps will definitely boom in 2021, and COVID might play a role in it. Due to COVID and WFH situation, consumption of digital content is skyrocket high which demands a new level of automation for self-scaling and self-healing systems to meet the growth and demand.” DevOps Architect at JFrog: “The "Sec'' part of DevSecOps will become more and more an integral part of the Software Development Lifecycle. A real security "shift left" approach will be the new norm.” CTO at International Technology Ventures: “Chaos Engineering will become an increasingly more important (and common) consideration in the DevOps planning discussions in more organizations.” Read the full article here.  Towards Data Science: 3 Simple Questions to Hone Python Skills for Beginners in 2021 Python is one of the most frequently used data languages within Data Science but for a new starter in the industry, it can be incredibly daunting. Leihua Yea, a PHD researcher at the University of California in Machine Learning and Data Science knows all too well how stressful can be to learn. He says: “Once, I struggled to figure out an easy level question on Leetcode and made no progress for hours!” In this piece for Towards Data Science, Yea gives junior Data Scientists three top pieces of advice to help master the basics of Python and level-up their skills. Find out what that advice is here.  ITWire: Enhancing customer experiences through better data management From the start of last year, businesses around the globe were pushed into a remote and digital way of working. This shift undoubtedly accelerated the use of the use of digital and data to keep their services as efficient and effective as possible.  Derak Cowan of Cohesity, the Information Technology company, talks with ITWire about the importance of the continued use of digital transformation and data post-pandemic, even after restrictions are relaxed and we move away from this overtly virtual world.  He says: “Business transformation is more than just a short-term tactic of buying software. If you want your business to thrive in the post-COVID age, it will need to place digital transformation at the heart of its business strategy and identify and overcome the roadblocks.” Read more about long-term digital transformation for your business here.  We've loved seeing all the news from Data and Analytics in the past week, it’s a market full of exciting and dynamic opportunities. To learn more about our work in this space, get in touch with us at info@harnham.com.

Ewan Dunbar

Ewan Dunbar

15. January 2021

Weekly News Digest: 4th-8th Jan 2021

Happy New Year! This is Harnham’s weekly news digest, the place to come for a quick breakdown of the week’s top news stories from the world of data and analytics.  TechRepublic: How IT can prepare for the coming hybrid work environment As the world continues to feel the pressures of COVID-19 , remote working is no longer the temporary and novel approach to work that we had envisaged. Vaccines are being approved and healthcare professionals are supporting its rollout across the globe. And, as each dose is administered, we move one step closer to what is likely to become a hybrid working situation. It is therefore pressing for tech leaders to prepare for a shift to this style of work. TechRepublic have explored how these leaders need to ensure that their technology is agile enough to support the needs of the workforce. Yet they also need to look beyond the tech, to redefine how teams work together. Read the full article here. Forbes: 350 CMOs: 3 Marketing Supertrends For 2021 ... And The No-Hype Future Of Marketing Tech We’re a big fan of this piece from John Koetsier, writing for Forbes. He describes how the marketing trends of the year ahead will take a focus on the holistic transformation in a digital-first world. Drawing on the thoughts of a range of Chief Marketing Officers, Koetsier explores that a mixture of new, emerging technologies will see the evolution of marketing to put digital right at the core. Openpath CMO Kieran Hannon, “Now meaningful customer-centric digital transformation can accelerate.” Suzanne Kounkel, Chief Marketing Officer for Deloitte, “Fusion is the new ecosystem. Fusion is the art of bringing together new business partnerships, customer insights, and digital platforms to create ecosystems.” Tristan Dion Chen, CMO of University Credit Union, “It is without a doubt crucial to recognize how COVID-19 has ushered in a strong sense of empathy as a driving force within the marketing industry.” The marketing industry is set to experience continued innovation and growth. Read more on this here. ZDNet: Facial recognition: Now algorithms can see through face masks Last year was a year unlike any other. The complete shift in the way we have had to go about our day-to-day lives, brought about by the ongoing implications of the COVID-19, is still being felt now. One of these changes to our lives is the compulsory requirement to wear a face mask when leaving home. Now, of course, this requirement has brought up some challenges for using our technology, such as banking and payment applications, which need facial recognition to activate it! However, ZDNet have reported that algorithms can now see-through face masks (pretty sweet, right?) The US Department of Homeland Security has carried out trials to test whether facial recognition algorithms could correctly identify masked individuals. This could be a real support for travel, banking and mobile technology in the future. Read more on the trial here.  Towards Data Science: Predicting the outcome of NBA games with Machine Learning The NBA season is back and well underway. Will the Los Angeles Lakers take the top spot again this year? Lots of fans will be making their own predictions as the season begins, but new research has been used to help predict the outcome of NBA games – with the help of the insightful tech that is machine learning. Focusing on five core steps, the team at ‘Towards Data Science’ used Big Data Analytics to help them predict the outcome of games: Scraping Relevant DataCleaning and Processing the DataFeature EngineeringData AnalysisPredictions Through the research, they found that the best published model had a prediction accuracy of 74.1 per cent (for playoff outcomes), with most others achieving an upper bound between 66–72 per cent accuracy. That’s scarily good! Click here to read more on the study and see the statistics in action. We've loved seeing all the news from Data and Analytics in the past week, it’s a market full of exciting and dynamic opportunities. To learn more about our work in this space, get in touch with us at info@harnham.com.

Sam Maughan

Sam Maughan

08. January 2021

The Top Data Trends for 2021

Back in 2019, there was speculation that 2020 was going to the year for Data Science and, whilst it certainly was, the reason for its acceleration wasn’t entirely planned. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the implementation and use of all disciplines within Data, including Data Analytics, Machine Learning, AI and Data Science, grew exponentially across all industries globally.  Since March 2020, teams have been using data to help themselves navigate the unknown. By having tangible hard numbers and statistics, decision makers have been able to make informed business choices which not only make supply chains and service offerings more effective and efficient but save time and money - both crucial elements for any company, but especially in a time of crisis. This growth of Data & Analytics is set to continue as we move further into 2021 (and beyond). Figures suggest that 2020-2022 could be the biggest period of growth the industry has ever seen, from being worth $189bn globally in 2019 to an estimated $274bn in 2022. This not only means more innovation and disruption from numerous businesses globally, but also a higher demand for Data specialist recruitment.  So, what exactly could this growth look like over the next 12 months? The rise of the Machine Learning Engineer (MLE) Usually, when companies want to build a data-driven business model and analyse the data, they would hire two separate roles in order to do this: A Data Scientist to do the deep dive analysis and then build the model, this model would then be passed to an Engineer who would write the code and deploy the model so it can run effectively in a business setting and get results.  However, as a direct result of the pandemic, companies are now looking at ways to get as much as they can out of their financial investment and make their teams leaner. Machine Learning Engineers mould the roles of the Data Scientist and Engineer into one and the salary investment would be slashed by half.  But implementing this change won’t be an easy feat for employers straight away. Machine Learning Engineers will be harder to find that Data Scientists and Engineers, as many data specialists won’t have an all-round knowledge of both disciplines instead, holding specific specialisms in one area. Nevertheless, with this increased demand for MLEs, we will see people who are earlier in their careers building up the necessary skills to have the perfect CV for a MLE, making them much more employable. An increase in e-commerce  This year we will undoubtedly see an increased focus put on e-commerce. As our world becomes increasingly more virtual, companies will be trading more than ever online and, to be successful, many of them will need to invest heavily in the data and technology needed to run e-commerce efficiently. From updating their website to implementing more analysis and testing, these aspects will allow companies to better understand what their consumers are doing online, ensuring that their e-commerce platform is fit for purpose.  Amazon is a prime example of where most e-commerce retailers will be aiming for over the next few years. Aspects that we take for granted from the retail giant, such as being told when something is out of stock and the expected delivery date of our order, is in fact a very complex data and algorithm platform that takes large financial investment to perfect. However, we will likely see more and more smaller businesses looking at how they can create and build something similar for their own sites.  IR35 won’t be the death of the contractor  In 2021 the economy will continue to rely heavily on an agile workforce, however, with the introduction of IR35 in April many companies are going to pause, or stop altogether, the hiring of self-employed contractors; instead, opting for permanent members of staff. A Catch-22.  That said, this won’t necessarily be a long-term issue. IR35 started in the public sector and at that time, a lot of companies locked up and didn’t hire contractors. They suffered from losing those highly skilled individuals and became worse off for it and, over time, the issues were resolved, and contractors could once again enter the workplace without too much worry.  The business world will, of course, have teething problems with this and we are likely to see the number of contractors decline in the first half of 2021. Many of these individuals may opt to take on permanent roles for the time being, accepting a lower net income but, after a 12 month delay and with a greater understanding of the IR35 processes and legislations, businesses should feel more confidence in continuing to hire contractors, especially in high level roles. Diversity One of the biggest trends we’re likely to see in the industry in the year ahead lies within Diversity and Inclusion. The market has been traditionally quite poor when it comes to diversity, especially where gender is involved. Currently, only 18-25 per cent of the market is female and these percentages decrease the further up the career ladder you look. After the events of this year, such as the Black Lives Matter movement, more businesses in the space are going to focus on how to improve their diversity.  Of course, there is no quick fix, and this will be a theme for many years to come but 2021 will certainly be a great starting point. Internal structures and procedures will need to be revisited by HR leaders and senior teams and tackling the problem much be started at the roots with aspects such as the hiring process and attitudes towards Diversity and Inclusion within existing internal teams.2020 has been a rollercoaster of a year and one that has witnessed huge change, growth and innovation within all areas of Data. The Data & Analytics market remains full of exciting and dynamic opportunities. To learn more about our work in this space, take a look at our latest roles or get in touch with us at info@harnham.com.

Mark Bremer

Mark Bremer

07. January 2021

A Pick Of Our Top Data Stories From 2020

It has been a year packed with news and views. We’ve seen it all, from buzz words like ‘Big Data’ through to in-depth research about automation and machine learning; 2020 has showcased the rapidly changing pace of the Data & Analytics market. In our increasingly data-driven world, the working landscape has been dramatically transformed as a result of the way in which the sector has scaled. We are more reliant now on data than ever before, as data and analytics have been supporting leaders to make difficult decisions, especially in a period of uncertainty. When you combine this continued growth with the impacts of the pandemic, it’s no surprise that the Data & Analytics market continues to be in the spotlight. As a direct response to the pandemic, we’ve seen remarkable innovation and transformation across the sector. We have picked out a few of the most striking stories in data and analytics from the past year. Take a look below. Google acquiring Dataform At the end of the year, we saw Google Cloud acquire London-based start-up Dataform. As a business that has seen continued growth in their mission to make day-to-day business processes cheaper and simpler for organisations, Dataform was a significant scoop for the tech giant. However, this isn’t the first time this year that the global corporation has snapped up another data-based company. Earlier in the year they also took on Business Intelligence platform Looker, in a bid to enhance its data analytics services for multi-cloud customers. That’s as well as Actifio and Cornerstone too. But what do these moves mean for the future capabilities of Google Cloud? Using the strengthening data capabilities added by the series of acquisitions, there continues to be added functionality and accessibility to the cloud’s platform, allowing a range of services for individuals and businesses alike to be streamlined. All we can say is, watch this space. Read the full article here. Data startups securing more funding In a year of highs and lows, it’s exciting to have seen a great range of data-focused startups securing much-needed funding, in some cases, repeatedly.  Take Skyflow for example. The startup that helps companies to protect personal data raised $7.5 million early on in May, and in its latest round, secured an additional $17.5 billion. With plans to target specific markets such as finance and healthcare, (areas that are notorious for holding sensitive data) it seems the sky is the limit for this startup. Disciplines within Data & Analytics are innovators, adapting to the needs of their customers and building up (and securely managing) datasets in a range of forms. It will be interesting to watch how these organisations scale in the next year, and how their teams of talent grow to propel them forward. Read the full article here. Accelerating the use of data & analytics across varying industries In recent months that have been shrouded by uncertainty, what has been remarkable is the swift and progressive response of the Data & Analytics sector to the effects of the pandemic. In this report from Information Age, there is mention of the significant value add that data and analytics has brought to businesses in the past year. We know that the adoption of more efficient technologies has been supported by the use of data across a range of industries. From retail, government and media, all the way through to healthcare, industries are expanding their use of data and analytics in meaningful ways. Ultimately, the response to the pandemic has been sped up by the implementation of both data and technology. It is the convergence of these powerful tools that has streamlined processes, supported industries to crossover and innovate change, and provided some much-needed optimism and direction for concerned business owners. The transformative performance of our increasing use of data and technology means that, together, they can drive the most impactful changes, regardless of business size or sector. Read the full article here. There is no doubt that there has been a truly impressive range of news from the world of Data & Analytics this year. One thing that these stories share is that with this change comes great opportunity for engineers, analysts and data specialists to take on new roles in supporting organisations in their growth plans. We are certainly looking forward to what 2021 has in store for the sector. The Data & Analytics market is one full of exciting and dynamic opportunities. To learn more about our work in this space, take a look at our latest roles or get in touch with us at info@harnham.com.

David Farmer

David Farmer

24. December 2020

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