Data is abundant. It flows from every machine and device. It’s a high-speed flow of data lava pooling in data lakes and churning about business ankles, begging to be interpreted and translated into powerful business insights that change the course of product, service and company. Into this swirling morass of insight and information dives the data scientist, the expert who can haul what’s needed from the data to solve mission-critical problems, make leaps forward in solutions and services, and catch hold of trends to ensure the organisation is always one step ahead of the rest. This rare breed of individual is in high demand as organisations increasingly recognise the value of data and the need to harness its full potential.

“The data scientist aspires to increase the predictive power the organisation has, using data and domain knowledge,” says Mark Chaban, general manager and chief technology officer, Specialist Technical Unit, Microsoft Middle East and Africa. “They use advanced techniques that stem from the fields of both statistics and computer science. Data scientists analyse large quantities of data to develop hypotheses and test them. They can also be responsible for the organisation’s growth via crossselling, upselling and increasing personalisation of services and products.”