iGenius takeaways from the Gartner D&A Summit in London
The Gartner Data & Analytics Summit in London may be over, but we keep on talking about it, whether it’s on LinkedIn, on our website, during calls, with clients, by the coffee machine…
From what we discovered to what we learned, here are 5 takeaways from the event:
- The Generative AI impact on business is huge
- Privacy and transparency require more attention
- Data storytelling and data visualization are very important
- Data democratization is key to getting the most out of your data
- Empowering AI and data talent will help your company attract and retain them.
Generative AI impact on businesses
“AI was everywhere at the event.” -Lucia Zecchinato, iGenius.
In his presentation, Gartner VP Analyst Anthony Mullen discussed the benefits, risks, and opportunities of generative AI models to tap business value and minimize risks, stressing the importance of being aware of pros and cons.
Everyone is integrating GPT-like models to have generative AI capabilities for their business, but here’s what must be considered: 1) prioritizing sustainability over jumping on the latest cutting-edge technology, 2) setting up internal rules as well as a transparent approach and strategy to use these capabilities for data & analytics depending on the purpose 3) letting people -not AI - make the final decisions since generative AI can give people the insights they need to make data-driven decisions quickly and easily.
Data visualization
“Data storytelling is becoming more and more essential!” -Jana Pilato, iGenius.
Data & analytics need to be ‘seen’ and understood by a much broader audience. People struggle because of poor UX/UI experience in data visualization and storytelling and because traditional BI tools are still too complicated, requiring lots of technical intervention from the data team.
Data storytelling is not only a skill that helps organizations make sense of their data. Great UX/UI performance should be a priority for businesses to make data easier to understand for business people and to extend its reach. This way, businesses would be more inclined to adopt data and generate lots of value for data people too.
Data privacy and security
“Everybody is concerned about the safety of their data” -Nicolas Pantaleo, iGenius.
The most frequently asked questions we got at our Gartner stand were about data security and reliability of information.
Data privacy and security require more attention today, particularly with the rise of Artificial Intelligence and the massive quantity of online data. When it comes to their data people’s greatest concerns are about: 1) Reliability of information provided by AI-powered BI tools; 2) Management and storage of their data to minimize risk and breaches; 3) Understanding how AI models work to make the most of the opportunities and benefits instead of just mitigating risks.
Data democratization
“It’s all about hyper simplified access to data” -Paolo Albano, iGenius.
In her presentation, Gartner Distinguished VP Analyst Rita Sallam, unveiled the top trends in data and analytics (D&A) technology for 2023 and how companies can leverage these trends to drive new business growth, efficiency, resilience, and innovation. She pointed out that ‘data sharing’ is essential and that humans remain the final decision-makers.
Data democratization is not only about making data accessible but also about improving the decision-making process, increasing data adoption, changing how business and data people conduct their day-to-day business, and maximizing the value generated from data. The consensual feedback received at the event was that data democratization and collaboration at scale were helpful for all team members within a company, including managers, prospects, clients, and stakeholders. prospects, clients, etc.
Data team empowerment
“A common misconception is that we need to train more people in D&A skills. We need them to understand how to support business stakeholders in their goals and objectives.” -Gartner VP Analyst Jorgen Heizenberg.
As Gartner VP Analyst Jorgen Heizenberg said in his presentation, cross-team collaboration is key to building successful data, analytics, and AI teams.
The hard work of data teams is rewarded when business people consider the data made available to them and incorporate insights into their daily business decisions. Data and analytics must be accessible across an organization to create an ecosystem where technology can help access it quickly and easily, without the need for complex technical knowledge.
Interacting with professionals at the Gartner D&A Summit in London made us realize that the potential of generative AI is on everybody’s mind. There is a growing interest in making business data and analytics accessible and easy to use, including the need to identify data & analytics pain points, the importance of having a clear strategy, safe data, and a simple UX/UI interface. Our goal is to extend the reach of data to a broader audience by making it accessible and easy to put into perspective thanks to our GPT for Numbers and build more data culture opportunities and value as a result.
