Data: These are the skills of tomorrow

By: Asbjørn Mølgaard Sørensen

In the last twenty years, the amount of digital data produced by human beings has been multiplied a thousand times over.

However, even though the amount of data continues to rise, our ability to analyse the data has not been able to keep up. In fact, it is only 10 per cent of all companies that are able to analyse the data generated by themselves and their customers.

“Many companies don’t have the skills required to utilise their data effectively, but they want to. They are highly motivated in terms of finding out what their customers are looking for, what they like and what they will buy. If they can use that knowledge, they can increase their growth. Those who fail to learn how to utilise their data will be overtaken by their competitors,” says Raghava Mukkamala, Associate Professor at the Department of Digitalization (DIGI) at Copenhagen Business School.

And so, he predicts that the demand for data skills will rise and more and more students across a wide variety of study programmes will learn these required data analytical skills.

This is something he has also experienced in his own department, both as a researcher and as a teacher. In 2018, he had started the Masters in Data Science programme at CBS with 24 students, today, the yearly intake into the programme is more than 130.

However, to be more precise, which specific data skills will be required in the future?

According to Raghava Mukkamala, there are three main areas in his discipline that will become really big in the future.

1. Data science

First and foremost, there will be a greater demand for skills that can find, analyse and predict data in the future. This not only requires a fundamental understanding of machine learning and the development of algorithms, but also a business understanding of data, because the data analysis must be converted into something useful for companies.

“In data science, they are very interested in being able to predict with great precision. However, in the real world, company managers are much more interested in how this knowledge can be converted into a competitive advantage that will lead to a higher growth. Which is why, in the future, there will be a great demand for the combination of both these understandings,” says Raghava Mukkamala.

2. Cybersecurity

In the good old days, companies had complete control over their data, as the data they used to produce was mainly in non-digital forms. However, once trade on the internet became more widespread, it increased the amount of digital data produced by the companies. In addition, only limited amounts of data were stored locally and protected by a firewall and other security mechanisms. Today, however, companies produce much more digital data and make it available online. Therefore, the number of cyber-attacks and cyber threats on companies has also increased significantly. And that increases the need for protection.

“The more digital data you produce and the more different storage locations you use, the weaker your security will be. Which is why we will see a great increase in the need for cyber security graduates in the future,” says Raghava Mukkamala.

3. Blockchain

Blockchain is a distributed ledger similar to an electronic bookkeeping system distributed across many participants to record transactions/data from different stakeholders in chronological order. Blockchain is an innovative technology that can create trust, transparency, and verifiability in decentralized applications. This technology also ensures that the data written on the blockchain is immutable, i.e., it cannot be tampered with.

“This technology has been very popular in recent years. As a result, many companies tried to develop applications using this technology without a specific purpose. However, over time, we will understand how to use this technology and how it can benefit companies for their competitive advantage. Among other things, banks and Fintech will be the first movers to use this technology to increase trust and transparency in their applications and to involve their customers in a more collaborative way. Moreover, this technology is more suitable when you have multiple participants who want to collaborate in a transparent and trustworthy manner.”

At the Digital Tech Summit, 2022, Raghava Mukkamala and Kim Normann Andersen, Professor at the Department of Digitalization (DIGI) at Copenhagen Business School, will talk more about which skills will be in demand in the future.