Q1 TECHNOLOGY TALENT REPORT

TALENT
HARD TO
FIND

DEMAND
VS
SUPPLY
WHEN WILL THE TWAIN MEET?

MARCH 2018
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IT + IT = IT
INDIAN INFORMATION INDIA
TALENT TECHNOLOGY TOMORROW

- Sh. Narendra Modi

Prime Minister of India

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SO MUCH
TECHNOLOGY,
SO LITTLE
TALENT.
- Vernor Vinge

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DATA
SCIENTISTS
THE
SEXIEST
JOB OF
THE 21ST
CENTURY
- Harvard Business Review
 10

ABSTRACT Cyberspace is flooded with articles, blogs,

discussions and posts around the demand &
supply problem in talent, Data Sciences,
AI/Machine learning, Deep learning and the like.

HOWEVER, HARDLY ANYONE DOUBTS

OR QUESTIONS THE FACT THAT THERE
IS A DEFICIT OF DATA SCIENTISTS
AND ANALYTICS PROFESSIONALS.

This edition of TBM GROWTH report explores

the opportunities, traps and answers for
professionals, businesses and organisations
grappling with a never-before demand-supply
chasm in Data Sciences talent. The Report
examines the debates & disagreements around
the scale of the deficit, what that supply and
demand gap will look like in the near future and
the real opportunities to solve this problem
effectively & creatively.

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PREFACE FOREWORD
TALENT SUPPLY THE SEARCH FOR
VS MARKET DSA TALENT
DEMAND

14 17

INDEX
INDIA
THE CENTER
STAGE

21

THE REAL BUILDING AN

PROBLEM - EFFECTIVE
BEYOND RESPONSE
THE HYPE TO THE TALENT
PROBLEM

27 35

KEY
TAKEAWAYS

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PREFACE
As digital technology
profoundly changes
business practices as we
know it, and as industries
pick up momentum on
their journey towards a
digital future, the war for
hi-tech professionals gets
into top gear.
MNC’s, Start-ups and
marketing departments
are falling over
themselves to on-board
technologists – in
particular, professionals in
the domains of data
science, big data, machine
learning and data
analytics - to improve
products and services,
build competitive
advantage and scale up
quickly.
14
There’s just one problem. Despite the bait of
lucrative packages and benefits - and frantic,
BUT FIRST THINGS FIRST
pillar-to-post chase sequences - these data HOW DO YOU BRIDGE THE
scientists are turning out to be a rarer species CURRENT GAPING GAP BETWEEN
than imagined. DEMAND AND SUPPLY IN THE TECH
That’s right. Global skill shortage for data TALENT SPACE? HOW DO YOU
sciences and analytics is the one big challenge PREVENT THIS SKILLS SHORTAGE
economies around the world are grappling with FROM INCREASING –
(and having a hard time doing so). The stats YES, LET’S ADDRESS THE
check out. 71% of APEC CIOs have stated that ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM -
skills shortages are hindering their organization’s SLOWING YOUR BUSINESS DOWN?
ability to keep pace with change. And as per a
study by a leading consultancy firm, the global
Do we need to re-look the issue more
demand for data scientists is anticipated to
creatively? Are there hidden data pools and
surpass supply by more than 50 % in 2018.
unexplored zones we are missing? Are training
Experienced professionals in the job market are institutes to be blamed? What can data
expected to face a hike of 50%-70% based on science professional themselves do differently
their domain and the talent. And India is ready to make themselves more relevant to hiring
to become a mammoth marketplace for data requirements? How can companies and
scientists in 2018, with foreign employers recruiters come together to solve the crisis as
jumping in the fray to fish. Yes, the future looks a team? And why just throwing money at the
big, even at conservative estimates. problem won’t work anymore?
10
09
TALENT SUPPLY
VS MARKET DEMAND
08
07
TALENT SUPPLY MARKET DEMAND
06
05
04
03
02
01
00
EMBEDDED INFRASTRUCTURE TEST & QUALITY FRONT MOBILE MACHINE LEARNING
& APPLICATION & CLOUD ASSURANCE -END AND DATA SCIENCE
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16

DATA SCIENCE
CAPABILITIES
RISING TO MEET
THE MANDATE
ADOPTION OF AI & MACHINE LEARNING-DRIVEN
DATA SCIENCE CAPABILITIES IS SKYROCKETING.
Businesses are deploying In-house training
& improving data-literacy levels to bridge
the talent gap & beat the cost challenge

4800 IN 2018

3000
IN 2017

SOURCE: GARTNER GLOBAL DATA SCIENCE PLATFORMS MARKET IN ( US$ MILLIONS )

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FOREWORD
TBM GROWTH AND THE SEARCH FOR DSA TALENT
The TBM Growth leadership has been involved
in Hiring Data science talent since 2005 when
the first captives came to India with plans to hire
large number of Quants, DSA and Data Engineers
to create offshore and hybrid DSA practices to
support requirements in their USA & Europe
operations. It also fueled the Analytics & Data
sciences consulting industry and development of
capabilities in the ITO & KPO players.
There were challenges then in 2005 in
finding the right mix of Quants with Skills
and Experience. The situation has not eased
off and as expected has only aggravated as
the new data sciences technology adoption
has picked up pace across all industries. The
magnitude, pace and intent to become data
driven is only multiplying and the solutions
needed are not yet in place for most. Every
major industry is growing its soft-quant and
hard-quant workforce: from transaction-
heavy financial services and retail industries
to data-intensive health industries to fast-
transforming manufacturing and
knowledge-intensive industries like
information and professional services.
This skills shortage is a global phenomenon and
the dearth of qualified talent is also driving up
salaries - data scientists in the US can expect a six-
figure starting salary, while recruitment website
Glassdoor has ranked data scientist as the top
profession for the past two years, based on job
openings, salary and overall job satisfaction.
However, the skills shortage could be even
larger than suspected. There are many job
positions that aren't called data scientists -
they're called business intelligence, customer
intelligence and so forth - but what they're
looking for is a data scientist in some form or the
other. The International Data Corporation (IDC)
predicts a need by 2018 for 181,000 people with
deep analytical skills, and a requirement five
times that number for jobs with the need for
data management and interpretation skills. A
well understood the gap of talent to supply is
only widening and the demand for talent is only
increasing. Yet, there is no clear set of
capabilities that define a “data scientist,” because
different problems require different skill sets”,
the report states. “Some organizations are taking
a multipronged approach by supplementing
campus recruiting with alternatives—from
turning to managed analytics to cultivating in-
house talent.”
Academia and industry are trying to find solutions,
but some don't come cheap and quick. Software
giant SAS runs three courses through its
Academy for Data Science - six-week courses to
become certified as a SAS Big Data Professional
or an SAS Advanced Analytics Professional cost
$9,000, while the eight-week SAS Certified Data
Scientist will set you back $16,000.
18
TBM Growths Talent practices is constantly
exploring the strategic options for hiring DSA
talent in the face of the skills gap. It's our
understanding that business for sure will need to
structure hiring and workforce planning less by
traditional skillsets and more by the set of DSA
skills needed to build cohesive, multidisciplinary
teams that can deliver business results.
Though academia needs to get its act together
and the hiring managers have a major task in
educating themselves about data sciences
practices and challenges.
THIS TALENT REPORT
ATTEMPTS TO COMPILE KEY
LEARNINGS FOR
UNDERSTANDING AND
HOPEFULLY MEET HIRING
EXPECTATIONS IN FACE OF
THE RISING TALENT GAP IN
DSA AND THE ALLIED FIELDS
REQUIRING QUANT SKILLS.
As the global demand for data sciences skyrockets, so are
investments and staffing requirements – especially in
hotbed economies like India, China and Indonesia.
Monitoring and managing the talent shortage,
therefore, is an area that needs serious monitoring and
immediate action.
Deepak Kaistha
Managing Director & CEO
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FUNCTIONS THAT The global demand for data sciences is

increasing and the investments and
As per McKinsey study, the global demand

WERE AFFECTED
for data scientists is anticipated to surpass
staffing requirements will skyrocket in supply by more than 50 percent by 2018.
countries like India, China and Indonesia.

BY SKILL SHORTAGE Filling the job vacancies or shortage of talent Source:

techcrunch.com/2015/12/31/how-to-stem-the-

IN 2016 & 2017

pool is to be seriously monitored and the global-shortage-of-data-scientists/
business growth will scale up seriously.

42% 34% 34% 32% 32%

39%
29% 27% 29% 29% 27%
2016 28% 26% 25%
2017

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 GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 22

01
INDIA: THE CENTER STAGE OF THE DSA TALENT GAP

“DATA SCIENCE NOW IN A GLOBAL SURVEY

IS THE (NOT SO) SECRET WEAPON OF CHIEF INFORMATION
FOR TECHNOLOGY DRIVEN COMPANIES OFFICERS (CIOS), 02 DATA
IN THE DIGITAL ERA”
71% OF APAC CIOS STATED DATA SCIENCE BIG DATA ANALYTICS
SKILLS SHORTAGES
HINDERED THEIR 01 Internet Financial Healthcare
Although companies in all countries are planning
ORGANIZATION'S ABILITY Searches Services
to re-skill and up-skill current employees to fill the Gaming
TO KEEP PACE Digital Communi
DSA talent demand, external job hiring will remain
WITH CHANGE - -cation Energy
a key strategy for companies are heavily invested
12% HIGHER THAN
in technology. With talent scattered across the
THE GLOBAL AVERAGE. 03
globe, it is evident that external job hiring will offer
significant growth momentum for companies and
Yet despite Indian talent in data sciences being With the markets hungry for them, professionals spends on salaries & compensations by
startups alike. Undoubtedly India is and will
highly sought after globally, bright professional with analytics as a part of their skill portfolio will employer. A steady increase in demand – as well
continue to be a key destination for hiring data
prospects and lucrative vacancies, easily scoop up lucrative jobs in this area. The as supply - in this talent pool is a trend that is
science talent and all global players fishing here
opportunities far outstrip supply at the current appetite keeps on rising, leading to lavish expected to continue over the next 4-5 years.
seek to gain multiplying advantage by hiring and
time. Platform-Setups for lurking technologies
training Quant talent from India. Source: Source:
across sectors will only increase the need for analyticsindiamag.com/wp- blog.coursera.org/demand-data-science-talent-playing-india/
data scientists further. content/uploads/2017/06/Analytics-and-Data-Science-India-
Research from the Everest Group shows that
Jobs-Study-2017-by-Edvancer-AIM.pdf
India holds between 35 to 50 percent of the STPL Source:
The lack of skilled professionals is throwing a stiff
global analytics services market as well. The www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/big-data-machine- www.firstpost.com/tech/news-analysis/startups-in-india-pay-
challenge for employers and brands looking to learning-ai-to-shape-job-market-in-2018/article10006991.ece huge-salaries-to-attract-talented-data-scientists-report-
country is fast-emerging as one of the world's
grow aggressively. The spike in demand for data 3677745.html
largest data science capitals, with companies
sciences and analytics in India is growing at a brisk
like Mercedes-Benz, Walmart, PayPal and AIG
pace. It is expected to rise in 2018 and keep
setting up captive data science centers in the
growing till 2020.
SALARY RANGE (US$) Source: Simplilearn
country. MNC's aren't the only ones targeting
experienced and talented data scientists with
attractive packages and benefits – so are start- DATA SCIENTIST
INDEED, JOB VACANCIES IN THE
ups and mid-size companies. SECTOR IS EXPECTED TO RISE TO 113436
NEARLY 80,000 TO 100,000 IN 2018.
EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONALS IN THE
BIG DATA SPECIALIST 62066
JOB MARKET ARE EXPECTED TO
RECEIVE A HIKE OF 50%-70% BASED ON
60476
THEIR DOMAIN SPECIALIZATION AND
ACUMEN LEVELS. DATA ANALYST
30,000 60,000 90,000 1,20,000

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INDIA: THE CENTER STAGE OF THE DSA TALENT GAP GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 24

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
OF MOST
DATA
SCIENTISTS

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8

Amazon Citi HCL

KEY
ORGANIZATIONS
WITH THE
MOST NUMBER Goldman
Sachs
IBM
OF ANALYTICS OPENINGS

Ernst
& KPMG J.P.Morgan
Young

Capgemini Accenture

Source: Analytics India Magazine & Edvancer 2017

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02
THE REAL PROBLEM - BEYOND THE HYPE
THE REALITY FOR DATA SCIENCE HIRING
IS THAT SEVERAL QUALIFIED PEOPLE
DON'T APPLY. THE MAJORITY OF
APPLICANTS ARE LACKING IN SKILLS OR
EXPERIENCE VIS-A-VIS THE JOB
REQUIREMENTS. AND THOSE WHO ARE
QUALIFIED ARE ALREADY ENGAGED AND
HAVE LITTLE MOTIVATIONS TO MOVE.
There is an underlying universal problem of the
lack of understanding about what skills a
company needs to be successful with data
science and machine learning initiatives. The
result is the current obsession with data science
unicorns. Most Chief Executives believe that the
ideal data scientists aren't just wunderkinds in
advanced computing, mathematics and
statistics- they're creative, non-linear thinkers
with excellent communication skills. In popular
parlance they're unicorns — magical, mythical
creatures that don't exist in reality.
A Data Science Unicorn, is one who is equally
versed in technology, data science, and
business. Such professionals are a highly valued
resource of any data science team. In reality,
however, the majority of data professionals are
experts in the first two areas – technology and
data science, but lack business/domain skills.
Data science projects are not just about ETL and
building models - but rather about
understanding business and its strategic
problems, asking the right questions, and using
technology along with data science to solve
those problems creatively. Failure in clearly
understanding the business and its problems
can doom data science/analytics projects and
ultimately the entire business strategy. Typical
analytics teams consist of business/data
analysts (who know business, define business
problems, and interpret the data science results
from business point of view), data scientists (who
are data science experts) and data engineers
(who are technology experts, developers,
testers and administrators).
Though these 3 types of experts are on the
same team, there might be a gap in correctly
understanding the problem or interpreting the
results after integrating their expertise. So, a
true DSA champion is the one who knows all 3
areas and helps the team to better
understand business and its problems, to find
innovative solutions and interpret results in
correct way to add value to the business.
There simply aren't enough of these to meet
the rising demand for data science talent.
However, a successful DSA team does not
need to be an all UNICORN team either.
Also, the bigger problem is that many
companies view data science and machine
learning hires as check boxes on their
operational to-do lists. Hiring a data scientist
checks the box, and they're done. Businesses
that haven't really teased out the connection
between that type of role and the return on
investment they're expecting from it won't ever
have the right tools to hire appropriately.
GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 28
An evaluative exercise can also help you avoid clearer once it has been assessed as to how
both overpaying and underpaying data much – and what kind of - value that person is
scientists. How much they're worth is a lot expected to bring to the business.
DATA SCIENTIST AVERAGE
SALARY IN INDIA (INR Lakhs)
www.analyticsvidhya.com/blog/2016/02/an
alytics-big-data-salary-report-2016/
13
12.19
10.48 10.40
9.81
9.75 9.45
9.42 9.35
6.5
3.25
0
Mumbai Bengaluru Delhi Pune Chennai Hyderabad Kolkata
Also, a CXO can't just throw a bunch of smart outputs and to translate them into actionable
people in a room and expect to get actionable strategies. Doing better means integrating these
data science. Statisticians, coders, experts all emerging technologies and skilled team as
speak different languages. To turn that team into strategic solutions to clearly defined business
an analytics powerhouse, each member must problems. It means more executive oversight for
gain at least some fluency in the other team these roles and sticking to a clear schedule of
members' languages. The statistician and coder deliverables. And yes, it also means less sexy,
have to understand the business well enough to over-the-top job listings - which will be much
ask the right questions of the businessperson. easier to fill. We believe companies who
approach data science as a team sport rather than
And while the business executive doesn't
the work of a lone genius and probably find some
necessarily need to know the nuts and bolts of
the key players—coders, database administrators,
the models, it helps to have a big-picture
and business domain experts (externally and
understanding of the data science methods that
within their own organization) and retrain them
produce the results, both to make sense of
constantly – will become the dream DSA team.
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THE REAL PROBLEM - BEYOND THE HYPE GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 30

THE TOP PROGRAMMING

FIVE SKILLS
This as the “most fundamental of a data
scientist's skill set,” noting it adds value to data

FOR DATA
science skills. Programming improves your
statistics skills, helps you “analyze large

SCIENTISTS datasets” and gives you the ability to create your

own tools.
I N C L U D E A M I X O F
H A R D A N D S O F T S K I L L S
QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

An important skill for analyzing large data sets,

quantitative analysis will ensure your ability to run
experimental analysis, scale your data strategy
and help you implement machine learning.

PRODUCT INTUITION

Understanding products will help you perform

quantitative analysis. It will also help you predict
system behavior, establish metrics and improve
debugging skills.

COMMUNICATION

Possibly the most important soft skill across

every industry, strong communication skills
helps one leverage all the other skills, according
to experts.

TEAMWORK

Much like communication, teamwork is vital to a

successful data science career. It requires being
selfless, embracing feedback and sharing your
knowledge with your team.

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THE REAL PROBLEM - BEYOND THE HYPE GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 32

INCONSISTENT SKILL
VALIDATION PROCESS
Research shows that interviewing alone is not
reliable to validate the skills of candidates.
Instead, employers should develop a data
science challenge that all applicants are
expected to complete. The challenge should
represent a real business problem that simulates could potentially be to work at your company.
a-day-in-the-life of the job as much as possible.
from diverse background, and a data-driven tool HIRING MANAGERS
for funneling only the highest performing
IN THE AREA OF DSA
candidates to interview. These types of
challenges also demonstrate your unique
company culture and how exciting/rewarding it
Hiring managers in India have a serious 01 COMPUTER
SCIENCE

Candidate submissions should be scored challenge in doing skill validation due to a

consistently and quantitatively. The result is an
apple-to-apple comparison across candidates
variety of factors. 02 ENGINEERING
DISCIPLINE

IMPRECISE JOB TITLE

03 COMPUTER
ENGINEERING

A GENERAL JOB TITLE MAY RESULT IN MORE

RESPONSES BUT BEING MORE SPECIFIC IN
04 DATA
STATISTICS

YOUR JOB TITLE WILL IN THE END SAVE YOU

TIME WHEN SORTING OUT THOSE THAT DO
NOT FIT YOUR NEEDS AND HELP YOU
05 OPERATIONS
RESEARCH

CONCENTRATE ON FINDING THE EXACT TYPE

OF TALENT THAT YOU NEED.
06ECONOMETRICS
MATHEMATICS

A good job post begins with the right job title.

Employers and Hiring Managers often use “Data
O F T E N N E E D T O B E E D U C A T E D
Scientist” as a catch-all title, but what are you
I N O R D E R T O R U N A N E F F E C T I V E
really looking for? Is it someone to build analytics
dashboards and track key metrics? Someone to H I R I N G P R O G R A M .
create prediction algorithms? Someone to
develop your data ingestion workflow? There is a
world of difference between a Machine Learning
Engineer, a Big Data Developer, a Business
Intelligence Analyst, a Quantitative Researcher, a
Predictions Algorithm Developer, a Customer
Success Manager, a Data Engineer, and so on.

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KEY REQUIREMENT CONDUCT UNDIRECTED RESEARCH

OF EMPLOYERS 01
FROM A DATA SCIENTIST
EXTRACT LARGE VOLUME OF DATA
02
RESEARCH SHOWS THAT
CLEAN AND SORT DATA
INTERVIEWING ALONE IS NOT 03
RELIABLE TO VALIDATE THE
SKILLS OF CANDIDATES. EMPLOY ANALYTICS PROGRAMS
04
INSTEAD, EMPLOYERS
SHOULD DEVELOP A DATA
EXPLORE AND EXAMINE DATA
SCIENCE CHALLENGE THAT 05
ALL APPLICANTS ARE
EXPECTED TO COMPLETE. DEVISE DATA-DRIVEN SOLUTIONS
06
The challenge should represent
a real business problem that TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS
07
simulates a-day-in-the-life of the
job as much as possible.
Candidate submissions should
COMMUNICATE PREDICTIONS
be scored consistently and
08
quantitatively. The result is an
apple - to - apple comparison
RECOMMEND COST - EFFECTIVE CHANGES
across candidates. 09

A D A T A S C I E N T I S T I S S O M E O N E W H O I S
B E T T E R A T S T A T I S T I C S T H A N A N Y
S O F T W A R E E N G I N E E R A N D B E T T E R
A T S O F T W A R E E N G I N E E R I N G
T H A N A N Y S T A T I S T I C I A N .

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03
BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE
TO THE TALENT PROBLEM
You can't just hire some data scientists and hope
that they come up with great insights. The data
scientists typically don't know the nuances
business, and conversely, business folks often
don't know the intricacies of data science.
However, it's critical they gel well and work in
sync, which means that they both have to know
what they're trying to answer and why.
GETTING THE LEADERSHIP RIGHT
Doing data science and managing data science –
even if they sound similar at some level – happen
to carry distinctly different connotations. Not very
unlike an engineer and a product manager :
Similar education and beginnings, perhaps, but
starkly different callings when it comes to the
corporate arena. Sure, there are overlaps – but
not 'sameness'.
It all boils down to this: For the most part, data
scientists can afford to immerse themselves in
their world of numbers with single-minded focus –
polishing outcomes, cleaning data sets, testing
algorithms and researching new methods. Data
science leaders, on the other hand, don't quite
have that luxury : They have to juggle several
different asks simultaneously – 'perquisites' that
come with the position of having to run a tight ship.
It's incredibly rare for someone without an
advanced quantitative degree to have the
technical skills necessary to be a data scientist.
In order to enhance the skills of Masters
graduates and scholars, training institutes and
online courses are available for data science
aspirants. Growing at a fast clip, they are
expected to bridge the talent gap in 2 to 3 years'
time at best. Attracting talent continuously will
require more than getting the hiring right.
Specifically, a Data Science Team Leader needs to
focus on a bigger canvas: data governance, MDM,
compliance, legal issues around the use of
algorithms created and ensuring documentation
just in case someone sues for wrongful use. This is
often supplemented with hiring issues, staffing
challenges, budget mandates, funding
requirement, business cases that need attention,
market research, vendor meetings, tech life-cycle
management, evangelizing of projects (both
internal and external) and, perhaps most centrally,
converting the science of hard numbers into a
'marketable' product that fills a specific need for
demanding audiences - all the while keeping one
eye firmly on the P&L statement.
THIS NUANCED BLEND OF
TECHNICAL ACUMEN AND
BUSINESS STEWARDSHIP
IS THE DEMANDING PROFILE A
DATA SCIENCE LEADER OF THE
FUTURE MUST FILL.
GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 36
BIG DATA EXPERTS IN US
– ESTIMATED SUPPLY AND DEMAND IN 2018
ESTIMATED DEMAND 440
IN 2018
ESTIMATED SUPPLY
IN 2018 300
0 110 220 330 440
Source: Mckinsey NO. OF SKILLED EMPLOYEES IN THOUSANDS
SETTING UP THE DSA AGENDA
AND TEAM OBJECTIVES CORRECTLY
Many fail to focus on the data science program, work, and help them connect with others in the
or they put data scientists in the wrong spots in organization. There are far too few good data
the organization; others view the data science as scientists out there, and they command high
a technical, not business, initiative; and still others salaries. They may very well be the key to more-
underestimate how resistant their organizations efficient operations, new customer insights, and
are to change, and do not fully equip data revenue growth. Invest time into getting them in
scientists to change their hearts and minds when the right spots and managing them properly.The
the situation demands it. According to Linkedin, bonus? Doing it right automatically attracts talent
the top 10 skills for a data scientist include who are interested in doing some meaningful
machine learning, R, Python, data mining, data work on real problems.
analysis, data science, SQL, MatLab, big data, and
A data science leader needs to drive the team's
statistical modeling. The focus is on skills, and
hiring process, from writing compelling job
many data scientists are perfectly content to
descriptions to efficiently sourcing candidates
apply those skills while sitting at their computers
and effectively interviewing them. It's helpful for
and plowing through ever-increasing amounts of
a leader to have a strong personal brand and a
data in the hopes of finding something
big network, but it far more important to have a
interesting. But it is not enough to put data
principled and rigorous approach to the overall
scientists in the right spots and let them work.
hiring process.
Leadership needs to fully engage and align them
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BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE TALENT PROBLEM GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 38

DATA SCIENCE + AI (PROBLEM & SOLUTION)

The problem with the traditional approach to For that reason, artificial intelligence will
data science is that there's so much data to be become more- not less- connected as the field
DATA SCIENTISTS -
analyzed and so few data scientists to do it. matures.In the short term, AI technologies are AT LEAST THE SUCCESSFUL
Non-intelligent methods are very talent- and creating a real need for data scientists with ONES – WILL EVOLVE FROM
time-intensive. They can take too long to demand far ahead of the supply of qualified THEIR CURRENT ROLES
produce results when answers are time- talent. In the long run, as AI advances to TO BECOMING MACHINE
sensitive. Artificial intelligence does require data establish and analyze causations as well as LEARNING EXPERTS OR SOME
OTHER NEW CATEGORY OF
scientists to set up and monitor, but the correlations, software rather than humans will
EXPERTISE, YET TO BE GIVEN
algorithms can power real-time analytics usable perform these analyses. A NAME.
by non-technicians. That shortens the gap
between when data is produced and when it's
interpreted into actionable insights.

DEFINING DATA SCIENCE TRAINING & TEAM DEVELOPMENT AGENDA Source: Gartner

“Investment in data science will enhance superior data and predict future costs”
50
45
40 38%
34% 34%
35 32%
30 27%
24%
25 22% 23%
20% 20% 20%
20
15
10
05
00
ENHANCED PRODUCT M-COMMERCE SUPPLY ENTERPRISE BIG DATA CLOUD BUSINESS CUSTOMER E-COMMERCE DIGITAL
BUSINESS COST CHAIN & MOBILITY AND DATA BUSINESS ANALYTICS EXPERIENCE MARKETING
REPORTING ANALYSIS TRACABILITY SCIENCE MANAGEMENT

TALENT SUPPLY MARKET DEMAND

strategy I execution I capital

BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE TALENT PROBLEM
THROWING MONEY
AT THE HIRING CRISIS
IS NOT WORKING EITHER
While corporations and startups are keen to
onboard data & analytics talent, excessive
investments on such profiles have increased
budget-lines. On the bright side, they will
ultimately reap the benefit via better growth –
with motivated professionals preparing
themselves for these roles harder and staying
with the same company for longer durations.
“ANALYTICS FIRMS IN INDIA WILL SOON
FACE A SHORTAGE OF NEARLY 200,000
DATA SCIENTISTS”, AS PER HINDU.
While monetary compensation is key for any
employee (and data science, data analytics and
big data professionals are no different), even
employers offering fat packages are struggling to
recruit and retain talent in space. That is because
the current talent gap is a multi-sectoral, multi-
dimensional challenge and just throwing money at
it can be counter-productive. Talent will continue
to pool at top companies and be a barrier to entry
for the vast majority. The hype cycle bears a lot of
blame for this problem. Companies are afraid of
missing out on the benefits of data science and
machine learning. Investors are starting to ask
tough questions about how these emerging
technologies will play into businesses' larger
strategies. And that's all good and well. But very
few are talking about concrete solutions. Hype, it
seems, gets all the likes.
The demand-supply gap is best addressed by
developing more of the right type of talent,
deployed in the right place and at the right time.
Fixing your own Analytics Agenda is key to
landing & retaining Data & Analytics talent. This
means meaningful engagement and fruitful
collaborations between the demand and supply
sides of the talent equation.
THE CHIEF MOTIVATIONS THAT KEEP
DATA SCIENTISTS AT THEIR EXISTING
FIRM APPEAR TO BE:
1. INTERESTING PROBLEMS AND AN
OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
2. CONTINUAL DEVELOPMENT,
OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN NEW SKILLS –
DEVELOP THEMSELVES.
Some are more concerned about keeping up
with technical skills (new machine learning
algorithms), but most also value developing a
wider skill-set. Indeed, I've found a number want
to also develop the kind of softer skills that help
all analysts make a difference in their businesses.
Also it can be a mistake to assume that the only
career path for data scientists is to become
increasingly technical. Recognition of the
different competencies needed within a fully
effective Data Science team should be used to
develop options for career development. Some
will want to focus on a Data Engineer/Architect
skill-set, some on Data Visualization/Artist, others
on business consultancy, and yet others on
Modelling, and so on. Developing a competency
framework to support career development
discussions should be a leadership priority.
INTERNAL JOB HIRING
End-users or clients of talent acquisition firms
look for both internal and external talent.
Internal hiring is a key asset for a company that
is in the space of technology services. Training
and personal skill development provided
internally to an employee drives significant
IN-HOUSE TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
In-house training and certificate courses are
always a big help for MNCs trying to trump the
talent challenge as well. Some of the leading
training providers are EMC, SAS and IBM.
Training and team development in the Data
Sciences depends on a company's specific vision,
business focus areas and mandates. The
noticeable limitation of vendor-sponsored
credentials is their tendency to be specific to the
certifying company's product line. One stand-out
in this area is EMC's Data Science Proven
Professional certification, as it covers a range of
vendor-neutral big data tools, techniques & best
practices. About 63% of companies surveyed by
Forbes are now providing in-house data analytics
training, which will help employees to get the
most out of AI technologies — even if they do not
know how to develop the systems themselves.
Paysa estimates that 35% of available AI-related
positions require a PhD, but businesses should
also focus on hiring mathematics or physics
GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 40
competitive edge for most firms and will be a
key strategy for them going forward. In addition
to that, developing internal expertise with
fresher and enhancing skill battery (via exposure
to senior professionals) will be a beneficial
strategy for companies.
graduates with a bachelor's degree to fill these
positions, as they can be more readily trained in
AI specialisms. Before establishing a data science
talent and development program, it is worth
ascertaining where such an effort will pay the
most dividends. Because data science blends
analytics with business decisions, much can be
gained by targeting employees with domain
expertise, in addition to technical promise. For
many organizations, the best use case for data
science to add business value remains marketing
and technology platforms with high activity
levels. For some organizations, data science
development is an across-the-organization,
cultural affair. When spreadsheet software was
invented, did anyone imagine that non-
accountants would use it?
For data science, the day may come when
improved tools and widespread education
give everyone data scientist capabilities.
strategy I execution I capital
BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE TALENT PROBLEM GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 42

THE STAGNANT DATA DRIVEN HIRING

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTES
AND MUSHROOMING DSA
TRAINING INDUSTRY
Roles in Data Science and Data Engineering (of
which AI is a part) are at the intersection of maths,
statistics and programming. This isn't taught at
Indian colleges as part of formal learning. Only a
handful of academic institutions like the IIT KGP,
IIT Kanpur, IIIT Hyderabad have specialized
disciplines in Statistics and Information Retrieval
A hiring manager should consider looking at One can look at authors of published works (via
mapping the entire ecosystem to first understand Google Scholar/JStor/PubNub) or patents filed
how many people exist in the universe for each of (via Google Patents) in Data Science related
(sub-topics of AI). Less than 2% of professionals
the different skills. Also, since a lot of these people topics. One can also look at Data Science or Data
who call themselves data scientists or data
might not be on traditional job portals, companies Engineering focused public mailing lists such as
engineers have a PhD in DSA-related
should be proactive and look for these folks in the Apache Hadoop/Python Mailing lists (there
technologies. Though a number of Data science
places where they're likely to be present. are more than 10000+ such lists).
programs have been launched in the last 3 years
but is an inadequate response considering the
enormity of the challenge.

The talent GAP has resulted in hundreds of learning boom. Stakeholders in the training KEY MISTAKES
training institutes, bootcamps, certification ecosystem need to understand that learning IN HIRING
programs, and education accelerators springing data science is different from learning its tools. A hiring manager should
OUS
M
up in India and abroad to try and train us out of A certification in SAS or R does not prepare one consider looking at mapping
ONY
N
the shortage. The results are at best inconsistent. for solving real life problems. On the other hand, the entire ecosystem to first SY
S
Rockstars emerge from these programs but if one understands the fundamentals of the understand how many ATE
D
more often than not, the students come out subject and can put frameworks in place, one people exist in the universe N DI RTS
CA XPE
semi-prepared for their first job. This problem will can always learn and apply the tools very easily. for each of the different skills. S E
YTIC QL
S
not be confined to the data science and machine Similarly toy datasets are good to get the hang Also, since a lot of these AL &
of concepts, but they fail to provide people might not be on AN SAS
G SS
K IN ST E
U N
understanding of real life challenges. They fail traditional job portals,
MA H J U SI T ES
I T B A
THE INTERNET OF to make the trainee understand the importance W
I NG D ID
THINGS, MACHINE of hypothesis building and spending time SI
Z
C AN
A S S
cleaning your data. Most importantly, good PH EN IC ERT
LEARNING AT THE EDGE, M
E UM Y T P
analytics companies should train people on the C AL EX
CYBER SECURITY, A A N
G STIC
S
much-needed structured thinking as part of I N I
QUANTUM COMPUTING, ET TAT
their induction - which is often not addressed by R S
AND ADVANCED E RP LY
external training courses. T P
ROBOTICS WILL EACH IN SIM
AS
CREATE THEIR OWN A NT E
V C
UNICORN OBSESSION E LE IEN
R ER
AND TALENT SHORTAGE. ON EXP
K F
T UC S O
S R'
A
YE

strategy I execution I capital

BUILDING AN EFFECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE TALENT PROBLEM GROWING FUTURE OF DATA SCIENCE 44

HOW TO BRIDGE
THIS TALENT GAP ?

KEY TAKEAWAYS
An intuitive analysis of workforce readiness, There is a pressing urgency to re-assess overly CONTRIBUTIONS BY
workflow gaps & organizational requirements is stringent educational and/or experience
imperative to define job profiles & roles requirements to ensure steady influx of new- SOURAV ANUBHAV KSHITIJ HARSHDEEP TONY ANTON DEEPAK
CHATTERJEE SAXENA VARMA SINGH KOHLI JOSEPH SURYANARAYANA
accurately. blood into the talent pool.
Technology Business & Talent Management Market Insights Research Technology
& Strategy Project Management & Search & Development & Consulting Talent Aquisition
Time to go Top Down: Appointing Chief Data New learning pathways (Degree programs,
and/or Analytics Officers will help prioritize and Boot camps, Internal training) will be decisive in
expedite recruiting efforts. preparing candidates for new DSA roles.

Leaders have their task cut out: Create learning Continuous up-skilling and re-skilling will keep IN ASSOCIATION WITH

pipelining programs to support staff the workforce up-to-speed with emerging

progression. technologies.

Encouraging Data & analytics literacy (at both Data Labs have the power to bring together
university and organizational-level) will boost learners, experts and academia under one roof thestrategycouncil.com
decision-making and fuel innovation. to nurture communities, share knowledge,
boost adoption and devise best routes forward.

strategy I execution I capital

 46

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