Do You Need a Big Data Scientist to get Useful Information?

The new revolution that is big data has brought to the forefront, the new job title of data scientist. The biggest question for businesses utilizing the cloud today is whether or not they need a data scientist. Before we can answer this question for you, we need to describe exactly who a data scientist is and their role.

The job title of the data scientist developed from that of a data analyst or business analyst role. As a matter of fact, the training is very much the same and involves computer science, modeling, statistics, analytics and math. The data scientist is, however, better placed when it comes to communicating findings to IT as well as business leaders.

What a Data Scientist Brings to your Business?

“A data scientist is an inquisitive individual who can spot trends in data just by staring at it,” Anjul Bhambhri, Vice president of Big Data at IBM. The question is, does your business need such an individual?

In order to answer this question, you will need to look at the various useful characteristics that a data scientist could bring to your business.  Some of them include:

• A data scientist has the capability to assess data from multiple sources, unlike a business analyst who will look at data from a single source.
• The qualified data scientist has the training and capability to sift through data looking for a previously hidden insight. This is a valuable benefit that can provide your business with a competitive edge.
• A data scientist doesn’t just collect and analyze data but has the capability to recommend useful ways to apply the data. The fact that a data scientist can communicate the recommendations to both the business leaders and IT leaders in your business is an added benefit.

These benefits make it seem like having a data scientist is necessary for your business to grow. A data scientist will certainly make it easier to get useful information but as to whether you need one, only your business can answer that.

You need to look at your business needs and determine whether you can do without one. Ideally a data scientist is useful if you deal in big data, or big data is a major part of your IT infrastructure. They can be a useful resource for you and your business.

You, however, need to utilize the services of your data scientist in a cloud environment. The cloud provides the right environment for a data scientist to do what they do best. This is because, with the cloud, you have IT resources readily available to enable distributed data computation.

So do you need a data scientist? Only your business can answer this question. If you deal with big data and you need a lot of information, you may need a data scientist. If you only use the cloud for relatively low data processes, you may not need a data scientist.

Do you think your business could use a big data scientist? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section. As always we value your opinion.