Press Release: Advanced Analytics Will Gain Traction With Data Literacy

PRESS RELEASE – WÜRZBURG, October 29th, 2020

BARC (Business Application Research Center) releases the results of its new topical survey “The Future of Analytics”. The global survey gives insights into current use of advanced analytics and sheds light on its future development in terms of its role for companies, relevant user groups, processes and technologies. The study is available for download free of charge thanks to sponsorship by Dataiku, Qlik and Tableau.

Key findings

#1: Implementing analytics requires a mix of the right technology, education, strategy and internal marketing
#2: Automated machine learning and augmented analytics can support experts but will not replace data science teams in the future
#3: Data management and analytics literacy needs to be improved

Tools, skills and strategy drive advanced analytics forward

Although advanced analytics has been a hot topic for several years now, promoting it within the organization is the top priority for its successful use. 97 percent of survey respondents regard it as important to promote analytics, as well as data understanding and competence, within their company. Having the right tools for the right users is rated as the second most important requirement (95 percent).

How important are the following points in the successful use of advanced analytics in your company? (n=298) © BARC

Another important point is the definition of a holistic data strategy. In terms of future investment priorities, improving data management is rightly seen as a top priority by 64 percent of respondents. “It is not surprising that improved data management is considered a success factor and an investment priority,” said Alexander Rode, Analyst and Data Scientist at BARC and co-author of this survey. “Advanced analytics requires access to data for entire new user groups, making new data sources accessible and establishing relationships between data beyond traditional data warehouse models.”

AutoML makes data scientists and business analysts more efficient – but won’t replace them any time soon

With automated machine learning applications (AutoML), mathematical models are trained, optimized and evaluated automatically on the basis of data selected by humans. More than 80 percent of respondents see AutoML solutions as a way to make business analysts and data scientists more efficient. But expert knowledge is still required to use these solutions and interpret results. While 79 percent of respondents see AutoML being increasingly used by data scientists, only 53 percent see business analysts, who often lack deep statistical knowledge, using these tools.

To what extent do you agree with the following statements regarding automated machine learning (AutoML)? (n=277) © BARC

Only 20 percent anticipate that the roles of data scientist and business analyst will be replaced by automated machine learning solutions. “This makes sense as there are many analytical tasks that require human intervention, such as problem formulation, selection of the right method and error measure, and interpretation of results,” explained Rode. “Data science still requires human input on, for example, the definition of use cases, the evaluation of results and decisions about whether to operationalize a prototype and integrate solutions into the organization.”

About the survey

“The Future of Analytics” is a BARC market research study that examines the future prospects for the development of advanced analytics in terms of its role for companies, relevant user groups, processes and technologies. It is based on a worldwide survey of 317 companies of various sizes and industries. The authors of the study are BARC Analysts and Data Scientists Dr. Sebastian Derwisch and Alexander Rode.

Useful links

– Further information about “The Future of Analytics” and to download the study
– Infographic

About BARC

BARC (Business Application Research Center) is one of Europe’s leading analyst firms for business software, focusing on the areas of data, business intelligence (BI) and analytics, enterprise content management (ECM) and customer relationship management (CRM). The company was founded in 1999 as a spin-off of the Chair of Business Administration and Information Systems at the Julius-Maximilians-University in Würzburg. Today, BARC combines empirical and theoretical research, technical expertise and practical experience, including a constant exchange with all market participants.

Contact

For further information, please contact:

Regina Schmidt
Communications Manager
Tel: +49 (0) 931 880651-47
Mobile: + 49 (0) 1520 431 82 39
Email: rschmidt@barc.de