The world is changing rapidly thanks to technological advancements and we have been completely taken over by digitalization. Big data has been gaining more and more importance in our digital world, as all companies use big data in their systems to improve operations, provide better customer service, create personalized marketing campaigns, etc. which results in big data experts being increasingly in demand.
Global Demand
Big data is a transversal technology. Sooner or later, all companies are going to require experts with the capacity for analysis, data storage management and programming. The sectors in which they are most needed are those that have traditionally based their strategy on data culture, and that already have a significant volume of them. The most significant are financial and insurance companies, but also telecommunications, transport companies and the public sector. There is a sector that is often overlooked, but has turned out to be a leader: the content industry. Netflix or Amazon would not be the same without their recommendation systems, which are based on data analysis. Other documentation-intensive sectors, such as the legal profession or translation services, are going to be transformed and will need these professionals. And the same will happen with health services, given the intensive processing of data and images.
What Does a Big Data Specialist Do?
A Big Data specialist is a professional who has extensive knowledge in a series of tasks involved in the life cycle of data management such as: identifying various sources of information, storing and extracting large volumes of data, designing the architecture of the business ecosystem where the data is processed and consumed for exploration, modeling, analysis, visualization and monitoring in real time. Depending on their functions, a Big Data specialist must have business, technical and analytical skills to get the most out of the information. As the use of Big Data platforms increases more and more to give way to digital transformation, it is common for companies to develop their own systems with legacy components, in the cloud or both, so Big Data experts must have domain in different programming languages, technological applications, but also tools in cloud environments.
The Future of Big Data
The future of Big Data is closely linked to the digitization and innovation processes in which companies from both public and private sectors are immersed, which will result in many benefits in political, economic and environmental fields at a global level. Big Data is more than a fashionable concept, it is a necessity, because the use of traditional Business Intelligence tools, by themselves, do not offer enough options and benefits that Big Data platforms provide. Globally, about 79% of the job offers are related to Big Data jobs according to statistical data collected on the LinkedIn portal. A decade ago, in 2012, an article was published on the Harvard Business Review website where the profile of the Data Scientist was labeled “The sexiest job of the 21st Century”. Currently, Data Scientist specialists are on LinkedIn’s “Top 15 Jobs on the Rise” list based on data analyzed during April and October 2020. Hiring for these profiles grew by almost 46% since 2019.
Reliability of Big Data
The study of data quality standards did not begin until the 1990s, and it was not until 2011 that International Organization for Standardization (ISO) published the ISO 8000 data quality standards, but they need to be refined. In addition, research on the quality of big data has only recently started and there are hardly any results. The quality of big data is crucial, not only to be able to obtain competitive advantages but also to prevent us from making serious strategic and operational mistakes based on erroneous data with consequences that can be very serious. Online safety has become top priority, not only when it comes to big data analysis, but also when performing any online activity. For example, at live dealer casinos safety is crucial, as they only hire people who have experience in online games of chance themselves and know exactly what to look out for and what should be avoided, as well as the factors that contribute to a high-quality gambling site. In addition, there is no doubt that the best live dealer casinos provide the closest thing to a real casino experience.
In general, Big Data specialists obtain attractive salaries that vary depending on the sector, type of industry, geographic location, experience and skills of the professional.
