With organisations across virtually every industry utilising some form of digital technology, digital transformation is no longer a foreign concept. Yet, despite its widespread implementation, it’s a phrase that still causes anxiety among 80% of the workforce. As the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged the acceleration of new technologies amongst 47% of business leaders, with 29% developing plans to digitise in the future, this warrants a conversation around the role of the human workforce.

Amongst the most widely adopted technologies is cloud-based software, which, hand-in-hand with interoperability, allows enterprises to experience vast efficiency gains, cost savings, and improved customer service. Many organisations are also using this technology to digitise their supply chain, with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and big data expanding companies’ potential with the ability to automate nearly 80% of work and 70% of data processing.

Interestingly, this means the capacity to make informed decisions has never been greater. With enhanced insight into consumer behaviour, businesses can utilise this information to tailor their services and inform future planning. Not only does this generate growth opportunities, but it also empowers the workforce to transition their roles from more onerous, time-consuming tasks towards impactful and more fulfilling contributions within their company.

The value of data

Digitally led automation, such as the introduction of OCR software, has become a driving force for process optimisation across organisations. One of the primary benefits lies in eliminating time-consuming manual tasks, such as data entry, re-keying, and administration. As these tasks form the foundation for many employees’ roles, it is understandable that individuals may feel anxiety around automation. However, in practice, automation creates multiple possibilities that show workforce anxiety around the purpose of their roles needn’t increase.
Primarily, increased access to data analytics means that employees are free to take on less monotonous roles in place of a more rewarding career, for example, strategy development and operational management roles that would allow staff to drive fundamental changes across the business. They could also become involved in the product ideation process, improving the current service offering.

Not only does this improve daily productivity and efficiency, but it also provides greater scope for progression. Enhanced digital capability can help develop new skill sets and provides career opportunities that would have previously been unattainable. However, extended managerial support and flexibility are required to underpin this employee development alongside a smoother transition to new technologies and processes.

Organisational potential

Amidst the current economic backdrop, businesses face vast cost restrictions and financial pressures. However, the software can provide valuable insight into customer behaviours across other areas of the organisation, which can inform operations and build a more effective strategy. This data also offers insight into which areas of the business can deliver a better return on investment and where resources should be scaled back or reallocated to maximise profit. These data insights provide greater flexibility to respond to changing circumstances and remain competitive in a challenging marketplace.

One of the main drivers for long-term technological change within enterprises is AI. As these systems continually learn and adapt to organisation requirements over time, they will play an increasingly important role in how businesses interact with customers, stakeholders, and employees.

Customer preferences

Advanced technologies highlight the value of the human touch within the workforce, and this is particularly true within customer service. Our research into business leaders’ attitudes towards digital transformation found that 90% believe that the human touch within customer service is increasingly critical alongside new technology – 40% of business leaders even described this as a ‘100% mission critical focus.’
Throughout the pandemic, customers across almost every industry experienced depleted customer service levels. Now, as businesses and individuals face economic challenges, the requirement for efficient customer service teams has arguably never been more critical.
As technology collects and stores valuable insight, organisations can use this information to improve future customer experiences. Whether this means adapting procedures based on recurring scenarios or equipping businesses with the resource saved from manual data entry and repetitive tasks to appoint dedicated customer service teams. This supports business leaders’ desire for human influence and makes organisations more likely to increase their competitive standing.

The human outlook

Digital transformation encompasses a variety of new technologies with transformative applications. However, employees unsure of what this transformation means for their careers must remember that its benefits do not solely apply to enterprises. Corporate digitisation and the human workforce must work in tandem with one another for technology to work to the best of its ability. As a result, this is an exciting time for employees to advance their roles and capabilities and develop a data-led skillset to use as a launchpad for exceeding their career potential.

This year’s outlook has radically changed from predictions a year or so ago. At the end of 2021, executives were focused on the recovery phase from the pandemic and overall confidence in the economy was quite positive. While predictions with rising interest rates, accelerated technology integration and struggling labour markets did occur, the economic outlook for the coming year isn’t as positive as previously anticipated.

Despite stricter financial policies to alleviate economic concerns, many executives still focused on growth. As businesses implement more human-focused management plans, the work environment and company culture, the predominant efforts are integrating technology into business systems and processes. Despite concerns about technology use and costs, digital acceleration, particularly in corporate finance, has risen significantly.

The progression of human resources

With the core of HR transformed by technology, the coming year will inevitably bring more automation and leveraging of data. Automating business processes will be vital for employer and employee relationship for 2023. Simplifying activities is a priority for HR employees. Whether enhancing reliability or expanding the benefits of applying banking as a service (BaaS), CFOs using a people-focused approach must consider what technology is out there to make their work more productive and flexible for their employees.

Leveraging New Technology

Studies have suggested that SaaS products are heavily dependent but often underused and typically very costly. Furthermore, using multiple tools or products to tackle the same problem is a big concern. These problems results from ‘SaaS Sprawl’ caused by the simplicity of implementing and managing software within a business. It often results in a company-wide lack of clarity in the technology stack.
While many leaders recognise the importance of selecting and delivering the right technology, it can be challenging. As fintech continues to transform daily activities in corporate finance, senior leaders should look for the right software for them and their business and not necessarily the most recognised or highest rate tool available.

Enhancing Reliability of Data

The increase in remote and hybrid working and dependence on the cloud has resulted in less reliable and secure data. CFOs must focus on data accuracy and ensuring they can predict, forecast and measure large data sets to ensure continued growth and success.
Nearly half of CFOs in a recent study claimed they lack accurate cash flow data, so utilising technology that makes financial data analysis accessible and easy will be critical in a disruptive economy. As our work conditions continue to change, the generation and management of data are essential. Regardless of industry, CFOs regularly forecast their information, as data reliability can vary. If frequent measuring happens with unreliable data, it impacts the productivity of a CFO and means important decisions and capital allocations are made on inaccurate information.

The Importance of Cybersecurity

Significant cybersecurity breaches have become commonplace in digital environments. Over a third of CFOs reported that cybersecurity is a top priority, and protecting their business, customers, and associated data continues to be of prime importance this year.
Ensuring your business has a response plan is paramount for this year, but having a cyber resilience plan in place will enhance the ability to manage a potential attack and ensure systems remain operational. Recognising the need to manage and plan a cybersecurity strategy is required. With new regulations on data breaches appearing, senior leaders must focus on managing risks that impact growth and take a closer look at their time and investment spent on security measures. Cybersecurity is no longer an optional element of business practice. It is an essential part of the business infrastructure.

As we begin a new year, one of the most highly regarded talent pools will be data scientists, as their particular skill sets will become even more valuable for businesses. 

During 2022, hiring in the tech industry exceeded many other sectors impacted by the transformation preceding the pandemic, the great resignation and a range of economic factors. This year, industry leaders expect to see tech hiring accelerate, especially in data science. With rising dependence on data and technology and new fields emerging, the overall value and demand for data-science-focused roles will increase. Data science hiring is anticipated to dominate this year as more individuals with the skills will explore a lucrative, skills-focused market, and these skills are particularly transferable in other markets like finance, pharma and supply chain. This will create more opportunities for potential candidates and reward them with higher salaries and incentives.

Power to the candidates The data science industry is still progressing as fields like AI and Machine Learning are accelerating. As a result, the meaning of a data scientist is constantly evolving, and businesses need to create teams with new skills. It’s challenging to have lots of experience in areas that are only emerging, especially for senior-level positions. Taking into account the changing roles, finding available talent can be challenging. Technology businesses will continue focusing on securing individuals for their data science roles throughout 2023. The niche skills data scientists have and the existing skill-based market have generated high competition for candidates within the tech scene. This means candidates have the power. 

The other factor giving candidates added ability in the market is that the knowledge and skills in typical roles such as AI, computer science and statistics apply across the board. As a consequence, a data scientist from any discipline can work in fintech, insurance or healthcare, and they can use their skills straight away. This means that as other industries beyond tech begin to apply for data science-related positions, this will create further opportunities for these candidates. 

The tight labour market and the possibility to transfer skills means candidates can negotiate their roles and benefits and seek more flexibility. 

Businesses depend a lot on their data systems, which will likely take a significant step forward throughout this year. As companies apply more technologies and implement them into their business, such as investing in the cloud, this will make data positions far more critical and further developments outside traditional tech positions. 

Data scientists are required for more than just monitoring trends and generating insights because as companies store more information and launch new technologies, it creates more areas of exposure to possible breaches and adds more regulatory issues. Cybercrime has been rising for the last few years, and companies that have ignored investing in data science talent to manage security and privacy face potentially losing significant sums of money. Furthermore, those that fail to invest in security risk management systems, tech and governance controls are unlikely to succeed. 

As a result, organisations will be looking to hire for positions where a data scientist can manage their data across multiple industries such as supply chain, fintech, insurance and financial services. This creates a range of new roles for data scientists and increases the price to acquire them. As other markets compete for this talent, they will focus on the same talent pool but with more competitors. This year we will likely see rising competition and better offers made to secure candidates.

New industries

Emerging markets such as crypto will only increase the value of data scientists as these new industries require data specialists in their companies. Businesses will look to hire data scientists to handle roles in risk management, control and governance as the market continues to become more regulated. The risk and regulation side of the business is typically an area in which many lack tech and data staff, as most have traditionally focused on hiring for growth areas rather than risk.

A high-level data scientist with the skills and experience will be in a strong position. The tech market has shown resilience in hiring top talent, but new opportunities are appearing across other industries, and emerging technologies will generate higher hiring and demand levels. Companies will face stronger competition and need to offer more benefits, flexibility options and compensation packages to secure the best talent.

In these new times, leveraging data to create significant value is no longer just a dream but a possibility that is well in reach for those capable of harnessing data purposefully. There are opportunities for global leaders across various industries to transform their approach towards data and convert it into a competitive advantage over other organisations. Data today can be the factor between winners and losers in business. Information from multiple sources is combined with technology to deliver accessible and valuable insights. Despite the advantages of big data solutions, there remain several untapped possibilities in the data scene.

Big data is emerging as a critical component in the world of technology. Nearly every company has access to data sets that leverage and deliver new processes and products. With the growing popularity of AI, big data has become even more accessible. Businesses invest considerable money in integrating big data solutions into their services. Businesses must understand industry-specific issues to benefit from the potential of big data.

With most businesses containing large information flows, innovations create quicker access to more accurate insights. These new trends generate new thinking, offering the best ways to apply it to work across the business. Technological progress is supporting businesses in enhancing their product’s performance further. Big data is creating several new growth opportunities, giving rise to a new segment of companies that measure and aggregate industry data.

Predictions for 2023

Businesses are moving into a data-driven business model, enabling them to make decisions based on generated valuable insights rather than intuition. This period of digital transformation will likely impact every industry throughout 2023, allowing companies to respond confidently in uncertain times.

Data governance in 2023

There are various reasons why the future is likely to hold more restrictive data governance for companies. The main one is the increasing demand for data protection and privacy regulations. Growing demand for data-driven decision-making encourages businesses to introduce more transparent plans around data. To comply with new regulations and data policies, companies must integrate augmented data management frameworks to survive and continue growing this year and beyond.

The demand for enhanced data security

Data breaches have become more frequent, and they’re likely to continue for some time. Businesses are exploring new techniques and investing in data security measures to stay ahead of escalating threats. According to Statista, during Q3 of 2022, internet users experienced around 15 million data breaches, a 167% increase compared to last year. Industry leaders place significant value on data security as these potential threats pose considerable risks to customer information.

The rise of predictive analytics

Predictive analytics is becoming increasingly popular within the big data scene. Businesses are widely implementing predictive analytics to understand how customers respond to specific services and products and to predict future trends. The predictive analytics framework applies to various industries for tasks like detecting credit fraud or determining when customers may default on payments.

A big data future

Big data is considered a big part of the future of all businesses and is critical for organisations to remain in touch and competitive with new and emerging trends in the field. Many companies are integrating big data systems in various ways to explore new opportunities, improve their existing business models and stay competitive in today’s changing landscape. Implementing big data has been critical for many companies to beat other businesses, and many emerging companies are adopting data-focused strategies to compete, acquire and innovate.