Today, we encounter tremendous amounts of data all around us. From activities on social media sites, smart phone usage, Online shopping behaviors, surfing the internet, to biometric details, and much more, businesses are now grappling with information like never before. No wonder, the ‘data scientist’ is emerging as a high-ranking professional who is curious to analyze and draw meaningful insights from this goldmine of information.
Experts believe the data science and analytics (DSA) market is growing at a rapid pace in India with the adoption of analytics across industries. By 2020, the demand for data professionals is expected to increase by 28%, according to a 2017 IBM report. A joint study by the Analytics India Magazine and Edvancer, a leading data science training institute reports a 76% growth in DSA jobs in India, during 2017 and 2018. Interestingly, the sector which leads in such recruitments is the banking and financial services industry (BFSI).
Almost 41% of the jobs advertised for data science and analytics (DSA) professionals were from the BFSI. In fact, studies show these positions remain open an average of 45 days, five days longer than the market average. All of this confirms that the BFSI is betting large on big data and analytics. And there is enough reason for that. The industry is overloaded with customer data, the volume of which just keeps on growing. In such a situation, data scientists can explore newer opportunities in key areas such as payments and fraud protection.
4 reasons why the BFSI is becoming the job hub for DSA specialists
- Customer spending patterns are getting increasingly diverse: Data scientists and analysts study customer spending patterns to understand their financial health and offer customized services. Based on collection analytics, banks offer instant loans and insurances to their customers.
- Customer segmentation helps in identifying lucrative customers: Classifying customers based on their age, gender, spending patterns and transaction habits helps in categorizing them into categories like easy spender or cautious investor. This also facilitates cross-selling of financial products.
- Fraud is rampant across the banking sector: This is one of the biggest threats being faced by the BFSI today. To fight this, banks and financial services companies are using big data technology to understand the spending patterns of customers.
- Risk management remains a high priority task: Companies need to know when their investments are at risk and how they can mitigate losses. This is where risk analytics comes handy. It can reduce credit loss and make the overdue payment recovery process more efficient.
Big Data is here to stay
The scope of big data and analytics in the BFSI is growing and is set to transform every single facet of this sector over the next few years. Big data is expected to boost its performance, profitability and risk management – the three most important things that matter in this sector. As big data becomes the new valuable currency, it’s no wonder that the best talent pool of data scientists and analysts are becoming the most treasured resources of this industry.
