csctownhall

but is it perceived as a "tech field"?

@sorincos Today it is - but most customers I talked to over the last months agree data scientist (the double deep ones - see above) are growing into becoming (at least part of) the glue between information, decision and business value

@jerryaoverton believes #datascience is less diverse, but through events like this, we can encourage different, out of the box thinkers to explore the field, see things in a new way. It is these different viewpoints & backgrounds that can be most valueable

@ChrisFangmann And that's exactly why this is so exciting for us! Imagine new c-level roles coming up such as Chief Data Officer or Chief Analytics Officer - it fundamentally changes how companies are run and how data is valued!

@jinz1 I'd bet this takes less than 5 years to come up in large enterprises - probably earlier in startups

Not nearly as much as I would like. I think the root cause is a lack of diversity in thinking styles. I'm hoping to see more non-traditional thinkers enter the fray.

@JerryAOverton Does regular recruitment practice reduce the diversity in thinking styles?

@CCR2000CCR I don't think so. I think what throttles diversity in this area are the things published and speakers who influence.

Jerry is on it! :-)

Although we are doing pretty good....but could imagine a lot of the folks for this subject (decide on career) are right now in class...

Interesting. It would be interesting to do a social media analysis on the main drivers of town hall participation

@JerryAOverton Yup

What about using it to identify potential participants; drive the participation rate.

@CCR2000CCR Another good one.

@CCR2000CCR Actively address potential participants before it happens - even if they're not registered - I am sold

@jerryaoverton great idea! Please let us know!

attention to details, observing pattern and anomaly without a known questions - like a detective!

@jinz1 Bias, is it a problem, particularly when observing patterns? If yes, how to recognise it?

@jinz1 I've heard folks says "let the data lead." Don't go in with pre-defined questions necessarily.

@jinz1 I like that analogy.

That's a very effective approach! I also called it "don't stop at the asking". At work you are likely to receive a request, but go beyond that, i.e., ask more questions, follow the data lead.

@CCR2000CCR (Carl R) Good point. I imagine bias is a problem. Hoping @jinz1 or @jerryaoverton weigh in.

I'm a data scientist. For me it means that I use data to run experiments and get to hidden truth

Guess we also need to acknowledge we all use data to make better decisions - maybe not fully aware....I use my historical information to select drinks for dinner parties based on what my friends like

Not really in data - more of a qualitative analyst looking to exercise the other half of my brain

I am a product leader for analytics. For me it means to create an analytic product/solution that brings the insights to my customers without them asking the question

@billfiora Good point. Probably should have talked more about the importance of partnering with those who have qual. expertise.

@jinz1 Do you find automation to be pretty important to what you do?

I am a Health Informatics Professional and Consultant. Health Informatics is the interdisciplinary study of the design, development, adoption, and application of IT-based innovations in healthcare services delivery, and information science.

@jinz1 ... or to get them to ask the next question(s)

Service Management, and therein is a large and accessible dataset, and surely ripe ..

Another reason I think there needs to be a #datascience TV show. The more being #datadriven is part of pop culture, wider acceptance it will have.

@JerryAOverton I can imagine you as the new TV rock star ;-)

Lol. Nah, I was hoping my character would be played by Taye Diggs.

@JerryAOverton Now we're talking business - you're already looking for someone to play YOU!

We are seeing lots of investment in industries like Insurance, Healthcare, Retail, and Auto

Realtime, context based analytics

companies are investing into real-time insights like crazy! This means a lot of investment into data, although I am a strong advocate to say - "focus on insights!"

@JerryAOverton Yes - most industries have now understood the value and actually not only start #DipYourToeIntoTheDataLake but also start hiring data scientists - increasing demand

Good to hear - any life insurance examples?

I think the schools -- elementary through college -- are where to start. Students of all stripes need to see data as a possible career, without necessarily having to be hard core tech. It takes all kinds.

I also suggest each of us start, wherever we are - data can be telling and there are so many tools making it easier for us to leverage data in our own departments!

I think most companies are on an evolution toward cognitive computing: descriptive statistics -> predictive modeling -> prescriptive modeling -> cognitive computing

@JerryAOverton Yes. As I'm sure you've seen, IBM already is using cognitive computing/business in its positioning

I am in particular hopeful that the deep learning aspect of AI will get bigger in the enterprise world - leveraging neural network and national language processing, etc.

spreadsheet reporting in sales?

For, the worst part is convincing reluctant stakeholders to act on the insights we find. That can be a real uphill battle.

And that's the business or management side, not the technical side. Interesting.

@LisaAnneBraun Yes, the human side of being a data professional is much more challenging than the technical.

I'd question there are long-life full suites....as long as we're not sure we've asked all questions we won't have all answers

I think suites like these pushing parts of #datascience to commodity-- which I think is a good thing.

@JerryAOverton Agreed. Newer suites are improving the UI so that data science does not appear so daunting

@billfiora Well said.