In a recent interview with AIM Research, Shashank Garg, CEO & Co-founder at InfoCepts shared valuable perspectives on the ever-changing realm of data and analytics. He highlighted that despite technological advances, there remains a significant discrepancy between data teams’ and business users’ assessment of analytics value.

Garg observed a shift from IT-centric to business-centric approaches to data & analytics, reflecting changes in buying patterns. He noted the swift adoption of modern data stack in the last 3 years, pointing out that this rush to modernize has led to complexity and overspending. Garg emphasized the critical need for simplifying data ecosystems and improving architecture, governance, security, and algorithm fairness to maximize AI benefits.

Addressing challenges in the industry, Garg noted the difficulty in building effective data and AI teams, the struggle to quantify ROI in data and AI investments, and the perpetual cycle of modernization. He emphasized the potential of generative AI in transforming data analytics, particularly in content generation and consumption, accelerating tech-enabled innovation, and improving user experience.

Garg advised CDOs to adopt an AI-first mindset, focus on end-to-end solutions, and retrain data analysts as storywriters to contextualize data effectively. For aspiring data professionals, he recommended focusing on understanding business contexts, cross-skilling, and becoming AI-fluent.

In conclusion, the transition to Data and Analytics 2.0 represents a significant shift in how data is viewed and utilized in decision-making processes. Despite advancements, fundamental challenges persist, necessitating a focus on leadership, culture, and innovative approaches to leverage data effectively.

In a recent video interview at the Big Data & AI World Asia Summit in Singapore, Shashank Garg, CEO of Infocepts, discussed the company’s presence in the Asia Pacific and its ongoing data and AI initiatives in Singapore. The conversation also delved into the future of generative AI and its impact on data and analytics. Shashank highlighted Singapore’s role as an innovation hub, particularly in the public sector and with government agencies, as a crucial area for Infocepts’ initiatives aimed at enhancing governance and public services.

Shashank emphasized that generative AI has the potential to serve as both an assistive and disruptive force, transforming data and analytics in various industries. He stressed the importance of leaders worldwide prioritizing user-friendly data interaction to ensure the success of their data analytics initiatives.

Welcome to our latest interview series on: “Bridging the Story Gap between Business and Data.” In this enlightening series, Randy Bean from CDO Magazine, engages in candid conversations with Scott Taylor, The Data Whisperer and Infocepts partner. Together, they discuss strategies to effectively bridge the divide between the world of business and the realm of data, offering invaluable insights into the power of telling your data story.

Episode 1: Bridging the Story Gap Between the Business and Data

In the opening episode, Scott Taylor talks about the vital role of data storytelling in bridging the story gap between technical data leaders and business executives. Taylor highlights the need for simplifying complex technical concepts and active listening to engage executives and secure support for data-driven initiatives in organizations.

Episode 2: Crafting Effective Data Narratives with the Three V’s: Vocabulary, Voice, and Vision

In part two of the CDO Magazine interview, data expert Scott Taylor explores the art of building impactful data narratives by leveraging what he calls “The Three V’s: Vocabulary, Voice, and Vision.” He emphasizes using a business-centric vocabulary, a unified team voice, and a vision aligned with the enterprise’s strategic goals. He stresses that effective data storytelling is the key to bridging the gap between tech-savvy professionals and business leaders, fostering support for data-driven projects.

Episode 3: The Future of Data Management and the Enduring Significance of Foundational Data Accuracy

In the final segment, Scott Taylor explores the future of data management. He underscores the enduring importance of foundational data accuracy and envisions a stronger role for Chief Data Officers as they bridge the story gap between data and business strategy, emphasizing the significance of storytelling in data leadership.

We enjoyed partnering with Scott Taylor – The Data Whisperer, to deliver an insightful session at the Big Data and Analytics Summit, Canada on why Data is the New Bullsh*t and how the way we talk about data is holding the industry back.

Scott Taylor opened his keynote by challenging the prevailing perception that data is the ultimate solution to every business problem. He highlighted the tendency for companies to focus on data-related initiatives such as data productization, data-as-a-product, data mesh, data interoperability, and more without understanding the underlying purpose.

Partnering with Infocepts, Scott is helping bridge the story gap between the worlds of business and analytics. In the keynote, he talks about the detrimental impact of buzzwords and jargon on effective communication around data and AI. He advocates pursuing “Truth before Meaning – Determine the truth in your data before you start to derive the meaning from it.”

He stressed the importance of understanding your enterprise data story before crafting compelling narratives with data storytelling, transforming it into a powerful tool for driving understanding, engagement, and decision-making. His book on this topic, “Telling Your Data Story,” provides nuggets of wisdom pulled from his experience working with organizations such as Nielsen, D&B, and more.

“The golden rule of data prevails – Do unto your data as you would have it do unto you. Good decisions made on bad data are just bad decisions you don’t know about yet,” commented Scott.

The keynote session drew a large audience eager to learn about his unique perspective on how to master the language of business data. By rethinking the way we talk about data, embracing storytelling, and fostering data literacy, one can break down barriers and unlock the true potential of data-driven decision-making.

In his recent keynote at the AI & Big Data Expo 2023, Shashank Garg, Founder & CEO of Infocepts, shed light on the transformative potential of AI-driven insights in the realms of data and business. He emphasized the criticality of bridging the gap between data and business for achieving favorable outcomes.

Drawing a parallel with Dragonflies, which possess 30,000 lenses in their eyes, Shashank highlighted how overwhelmed business leaders face a similar challenge of processing vast amounts of information. While traditional analytics dashboards offer visually appealing metrics and charts, they often fail to address all user queries. Shashank also discussed the advantages of Search-driven analytics, which enable natural language queries, anomaly detection, and comprehensive analysis. However, he acknowledged that such approaches still rely on predefined data models, leaving room for unmet user needs.

Shashank then delves into Generative AI-driven analytics that enables a truly conversational approach resolving previously stated issues. While this represents a substantial advancement in usability and agility, challenges may arise when dealing with complex datasets, and caution must be exercised when exposing sensitive enterprise data to public Large Language Models (LLMs). Shashank asserts that an optimal solution is one that provides enterprise-grade AI-driven insights, harnessing the power of Generative AI, guaranteeing explainability, and addressing privacy concerns through private LLMs.

Shashank emphasizes the critical importance of embracing an AI-first mindset within organizations. This mindset entails recognizing the vast opportunities presented by AI, fostering a culture of experimentation through initiatives like hackathons, and utilizing tools and methods with built-in explainability to establish trust.

He introduces Infocepts DiscoverYai – a scalable AI-first approach to data analytics designed to help organizations extract business value from their enterprise data. By embracing a fail-fast, succeed-faster approach, users can swiftly identify the most influential drivers behind their key performance indicators (KPIs) and evaluate each action’s potential impact. DiscoverYai enables a deep understanding of the underlying “why” behind the data, fostering trust and driving widespread adoption.

Shashank concludes by stating that DiscoverYai enables organizations to unlock the full potential of their data-driven decision-making process, empowering them to make informed choices and achieve significant business outcomes.

Join us on this engaging interview series where Subhash Kari, Chief Innovation Officer at Infocepts engages in a conversation with Anna Hannem, Vice President of Data Ethics & Risks at Scotiabank, to explore the profound importance of data analytics and AI in the financial sector and discover how diversity, ethics, and innovation are shaping its future.

Part 1: Harnessing the Power of Data, Analytics & AI in the Financial Services Industry

In the opening episode, Anna and Subhash discuss professional journey and the significant role of data analytics and AI in the financial industry. They emphasize the importance of diversity when it comes to data ethics and how it can shape the ethical practices that drive success.

Part 2: Safeguarding Customer Trust: Insights into the Success of Scotiabank’s Data Ethics Program

Anna and Subhash delve into safeguarding customer trust and effective change management as key factors contributing to the Scotiabank’s data ethics program’s remarkable success. Discover the delicate balance required when navigating emerging technologies such as AI.

Part 3: Striking the Balance: Data Ethics and Risk Mitigation in the Financial Sector

Anna and Subhash continue their conversation, exploring the impact of diversity on data ethics and risk mitigation in the financial sector. They address emerging risks and highlight the importance of responsible data usage in today’s rapidly evolving financial services industry.

Part 4: Thriving in the AI Revolution: Embracing Innovation, Overcoming Fear

Anna and Subhash tackle the fears and risks associated with AI innovation. They discuss how organizations can overcome these challenges and harness the transformative power of AI to drive growth and innovation.

Part 5: Data Fluency: The Key to Harnessing AI’s Transformative Potential

In the concluding episode, Anna and Subhash shift the focus to data fluency. They explore the evolving landscape of data, analytics, and AI, highlighting the importance of data fluency in unlocking the transformative potential of AI.

We thank Anna Hannem for sharing practical insights from her experience & CDO Magazine for facilitating this conversation.