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In the current digitally-driven times, technology and data are omnipresent. Owing to tech advancements, data analytics is one of the important markets today. According to India Brand Equity Foundation, the Indian Data Analytics industry is expected to hit the $118.7 billion mark by 2026. The data analytics has become a vital component of businesses across industries. It provides actionable insights into customer behavior along with comprehensive market analysis thereby providing a competitive edge to organisations. Due to all these reasons, data analytics is gradually gaining popularity across the world.

Why Data analytics is useful?Data analysts are the experts who translate, gauge and capture valuable insights from the large volumes of unstructured data that has been collected for the sole purpose of organisational growth. This data can be utilized for greater sales, product development, optimized operations, and reduction of risks through accurate forecasting models. The analysts analyze the data and gather knowledge via the insights. This knowledge is further applied across the realms of processes and industries.

In todays times, data analytics is the most important component for any business. It helps them gather insights on market trends and make data-driven decisions thereby maximizing profits. The application of Data Analytics is immense spreading across sectors. Finance, E-Commerce, banking, logistics, supply chain, healthcare, etc. are just to name a few fields where the technology is marking its presence.

Applications of Data Analytics:The application of Data Analytics as a technology is diverse. One of the major applications is when it is used in the HR domain. Helping in talent acquisition, HR analytics is the data-driven approach that helps recruiters leverage the potential of this technology for sourcing deserving talent.

Another field where the tech has prominent usage is for capturing insights that improve healthcare decisions thereby offering benefits to the patients. It is due to healthcare analytics that patient care has enhanced, diagnosis has become accurate as well as quick and preventive healthcare can be practiced easily.

Financial Analytics is yet another segment where Data Analytics is applied to seek answers to specific business challenges as well as forecast the financial future of the organisation. The insights provide information on financial scenario of the company by evaluating operations, budgets, and other transactions thereby rendering a helping hand in business growth. Apart from the private sector and corporates, even the government is harnessing the power of data analytics for improving the state affairs, city governance, ensuring public welfare and is using it as a solution to deal with macro level issues.

Data analytics: The in-demand skillsetAs per IBEF reports, the Indian Data Analytics market is anticipated to play an integral role in driving the future of fourth phase of industrialization. It will also help in creating various employment opportunities. The study further points out that the industry is expected to create over 11 million jobs by 2026. It will also witness 33.49% increase in investments in AI and ML learning by the end of this year.

As organizations are adopting Data Analytics at a rapid pace, it is emerging to be a viable career option for the students. It thus becomes an ideal career move for both students and professionals to pursue this field. Various industry reports highlight that there has been a 30% spike in Data Analytics and Science jobs this year as compared to last year. According to LinkedIns Job on the Rise 2022 report, ML Engineer and Data Science Specialist are the fastest growing segments and are expected to be the in-demand job roles in the times ahead.

Courses for Data Analytics:The demand for data analysts is high. However, the fact of the matter is that talent with the required skillsets is lacking. As a result, the talent skill gap is significant and there is a growing need for professionals with Data Analytics skills who can drive organizations with a data-driven approach in the future. There are several courses and reputed institutes that are offering data analytics courses. Students can explore the courses according to their requirement. Student can also explore courses like PGDM in Data Analytics that are offered by B-schools.

These programs help the students in making data-driven decisions with the assistance of valuable insights. They indulge in holistic learning with a key focus on management in all the disciplines of analytics. The learners also get an opportunity to have hands-on learning on the diverse tech-driven integrated tools and analytic platforms complimenting the theoretical knowledge. They also gather learning about building data-driven strategies with the help of automation that would contribute in optimizing operations and inducing innovation in organizations.

What are the career options in Data AnalyticsStudents with the right balance of managerial and analytical skills can make their mark in the field of data analytics. The field is perceived to be as a lucrative employment avenue that comes with high payscale and a plethora of job roles. Being an in-demand skill, the industry standards offer handsome salary packages to data scientists and analysts. The professionals can earn anywhere between Rs 2 lakhs to Rs 12 lakhs approximately. The average salary is estimated to be around Rs 4 lakh as per the experience and skillset of the professional.

Job aspirants can seek employment across Data analyst, Data architect, Statistician, Project Manager, Chief Data Officer, and ML engineer roles amongst many more. There are different fields and degrees that you can specialize in as per your interest. For instance, Forensic data analysts help recover and protect digital data pertaining to criminal and cybercrime investigations. Data mining is another specializing field wherein professionals analyze data to decipher trends and patterns.

Summing up!

Data is set to be the future of businesses and will disrupt their operations across sectors. Hence, it would be appropriate to say that Data Science and Analytics are emerging to be promising career avenues. As organizations increasingly rely on AI, ML, and Big Data, the demand for Data Analytics is spiking exponentially. Those who are intrigued by numbers and if working with statistics as well as insights interests them, then they should certainly consider PGDM courses in this field as it can be a lucrative career option!(The writer is Professor, IT Management, FORE School of Management, New Delhi)

Read more:

What is data analytics and how it may help in your career? - Economic Times