Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023.  Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.

Data and Analytics Predictions for 2023

By Dong Li, Founding Member and VP of Growth at Kyligence

Good data has always been the key to good decision making, and in the age of analytics the experts all agree that data will soon play a big role in the future success of businesses of all types and sizes. For example, McKinsey says that "by 2025, smart workflows and seamless interactions among humans and machines will likely be as standard as the corporate balance sheet, and most employees will use data to optimize nearly every aspect of their work." Meanwhile, Gartner believes that AI-driven analytics models will replace 60% of legacy data models in that same timeframe, and the global business consulting firm EY found that 97% of companies plan to increase spending on their data and analytics capabilities.

Given the near universal confidence in the power and future of analytics, Kyligence would like to get in on the fun and offer some data and analytics predictions of our own. Our vision is based on more of a ground-level perspective on the topic, informed by conversations with our customers and partners; and we think that perspective will add depth and context to these broader forecasts. Here are three areas of importance and some of what we see happening in data and analytics for the coming year.

Quantification is Key

As more organizations look to make investments in data and analytics, and especially with economic uncertainty on the horizon, there will be an emphasis in the coming year on measuring the results, and especially delivering a return on investments (ROI) in new technologies. Purchases in support of data and analytics programs will no longer be viewed as proofs of concept. Instead, a measurable path to results that make both business and financial sense will be required.

This emphasis on ROI will apply to organizations for which data and analytics programs are part of a new digital transformation, as well as those already well down the analytics road. Leadership will expect to see the results of their investments in the form of better business intelligence, broader adoption (democratization) of tools within the organization, and quantifiable results from decisions aided by analytics.

As a result, we will also see a return of key performance indicators (KPIs) taking priority over the more recently in vogue objectives and key results (OKRs) as a means of measuring progress for and evaluating performance at the operations level. That means plans conceived in support of achieving program goals must include the means for managers to track progress based on established KPIs.

AI Will Support Citizen Analytics

One vital aspect contributing to the success of data and analytics programs is putting the power of analytics in the hands of more employees through data democratization to create citizen analysts. But for employees to embrace the role of citizen analyst requires an experience that is easy to understand and that delivers good results. That is why in 2023 artificial intelligence will be the key to delivering that positive experience, helping front-line employees discover new insights without needing to acquire new skills in data science or engineering.

But making things easier for citizen analysts should not come at the expense of the IT staff who work behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly. By augmenting the analytics experience with AI-and also using AI to support the infrastructure on which the systems operate-organizations can make analytics accessible to all while also improving overall infrastructure performance.

The Rise of Analytics as a Service

In 2023 we will see SaaS analytics applications begin to grow as a popular option for smaller and mid-sized organizations, as well as at the departmental level in larger organizations. Analytics as a service will afford these organizations ready access to powerful tools without the need to make capital investments in new systems and infrastructure.

Whether using public data resources, or a bring-your-own-data approach, cloud-based services will accelerate the democratization of analytics by making it easier and faster for everyone to maximize the use of data to benefit innovation and decision making.

That's How We See It

The realm of data and analytics is fast-moving, and a hotbed of innovation; and while there are unknown factors that could influence the speed and direction of change, that is how we see things happening for our industry in the new year. Quantification of ROI and progress, adoption of AI in a vital supporting role, and the emergence of analytics as a service will be critical components no matter what transpires.

Those are our thoughts and predictions for data and analytics in 2023. We'd love to hear your thoughts in response.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dong Li is the Founding Member and VP of Growth at Kyligence, an Apache Kylin Core Developer (Committer) and member of the Project Management Committee (PMC) where he focuses on big data technology development. Previously, he was a Senior Engineer in eBay's Global Analytics Infrastructure Department, a Software Development Engineer for Microsoft Cloud Computing and Enterprise Products, and a core member of the Microsoft Business Products Dynamics Asia Pacific team where he participated in the development of a new generation of cloud-based ERP solutions.