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Technology is an inseparable part of all of us today. We are dependent on one or the other gadget for almost everything we do. Ever wondered how much data do we create every day? As per media reports, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data were created each day in 2018, and the pace is only accelerating with the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). A significant amount of growth in data creation has been added post the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic which, helped us explore the virtual style of living, communication, working and more. Accelerating it further, the increasing focus towards improving customer life cycle, growing need for early fraud detection are some of the factors that continue to drive the growth of data generation worldwide.

Technology front-runners leading their way through Data Analytics:

Banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), an industry that is always known for its enthusiastic use of technology and its deployment, holds as well as generates abundant data. And, it is important to note that analysing this data can help generate business insights for customer experience transformation and help ensure the identification of monetisation opportunities. Besides, data analytics can also assist financial institutions with insights-driven businesses apart from leveling up the business value and operational efficiency. Deployment of insights-driven operations will enable BFSI organisation in expand their innovation quotient and help serve changing customer needs.

Vinod G, Head- Data Science & Analytics, South Indian Bank, Today without data and optimal use of it, businesses run a great risk of stalling totally. It is no more about a different way of doing things or a mechanism by which one ensures incremental business or saves cost. (Not that it doesnt. Well come to that in a minute). Data has a power of its own that, if channelised well, can open up new, lucrative and relatively risk-free lines of business. Or, data analytics can bring down the cost to significantly low levels. So, in todays world, if one wants to move, one needs data and the right skills of analytics to tap it.

Moving Ahead: What will drive data analytics usage in BFSI Cyber Security and Risk Management: Increasing cyber risk and urgent need for combat mechanism is driving BFSI organisations in leveraging different sources of Big Data, for extracting insightful information on organisational risk, which enables assessment and further minimising threats.

Experts suggest that Data Analytics to Risk Management can help BFSI institutions in generating detailed pictures that can help them improve the source of financial revenue flow and apply predictive indicators to gain organisational efficiency.

Balancing Supply Side: Being technology enthusiast financial Institutions are proactive in their investments pertaining to data collection and processing technologies. Analytics is helping them to have a close watch on sales performance analysis, help improve branch and online channel sales analysis and more

Handling of Demand Side and associated challenges: For financial institutions, one of the biggest challenges is managing the demand side. Experts are on the view that financial institutions can be heavily benefitted from a system that can help them assess clients and related information. Analytics can be helpful in ensuring personalised marketing, predicting customer lifetime value and acquisition of new customers.Dr. Amitabh Rajan, Chairman, Reserve Bank of India Service Board said, The surge in online interactions in banking has created a demand for delivery through personalised interactions, so much so that any imperfection / default in seamless communication affects the revenue stream of the service provider significantly. This trend shall get accelerated in the future in which financial services shall be claimed as the ethic of rights-based morality. Tech research on analytics has already taken cognisance of this need.

Why financial institutions are opting for Business IntelligenceAt the beginning of the article, we discussed how data generation is growing by multiple folds, and not only that it is likely to grow further in the near future. Making use of this data is getting a clear view on decision-making and strategising the future is somethingevery industry is interested in. However, when it comes to making use of the data abundance available to the BFSI sector, manual intervention is not a favourable decision, for obvious reasons such a time consumption and labour involvement.

Balakrishnan Narayan, Head of Analytics, EarlySalary stated, In the era where technology has been driving the financial sector to soar high, Data Analytics has significantly been helping financial institutions to know their customers and deliver whats best in their interest. Not only this, big as well as small financial institutions have been using analytics to ensure better risk management, profitable growth and performance for their ultimate success. He added, The increasing interest in the use of Data Analytics in the banking sector is also due to the rapid changes occurring in this sector. This includes changes in technology, peoples expectations, and their behavior and market structure. Companies are leveraging data to optimise themselves to become more efficient. Organisations today can manage the supply side of the equation as well as the demand side through a good monitoring system.

Banks today are experimenting with conversational AI platforms, which allow them to successfully service their customers using NLP and Voice BOTs. These BOTs are able to understand the context behind customer requests, resulting in requests being handled without any human intervention.

Jaykumar Soni, Machine Learning Specialist, Rapyder Cloud Solutions said ,Leadership today needs data driven insights to make changes the ever changing business dynamics. They are all veterans in their space but all of them loves to take a scientific approach in business decisions that will pay them great dividends and cloud analytics should ease the stress mounting on business decisions. Data analytics assists firms in analysing past and current data, forecasting future scenarios with possibilities. Data analytics paired with interactive visualisations aid in creating a unified story from data insights and as a consequence, BFSI companies may improve their goods, boost up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, optimise client retention strategies, streamline documentation, detect fraudulent insurance claims, and much more.

How analytics is helping sales processesGrowing Significance of Analytics, Opening New Vistas for Learning A piece of technology that is increasingly becoming an important part of business operations, is also positively influencing its popularity in the education segment. BSE Institute Ltd. In its website, it mentions that A career in the finance domain ensures a bright future as this field never runs out of fuel. Banking and Finance is one of the sectors which is said to be most stable and flourishing. Post pandemic there hhaveas been a lot of changes in the banking industry and the emergence of data analytics in the banking sector has totally changed the way banks work. The application of data analytics has helped the banking industry optimise processes and streamline its operations, thus improving efficiency and competitiveness. Many banks are working on improving their data analytics, mainly to give them an edge against competition or to predict emerging trends that can affect their businesses.The institute like several other popular contenders are offering BBA in Banking and Financial Analytics graduate degree.

ConclusionTo summarise, Analytics is offering financial institutions with the able to strengthen their marketing capabilities. In addition, it is also leveling-up functional areas namely Risk Management, Compliance, Fraud, Non-Performing Asset control and monitoring, and Calculating Value at Risk. In one of our recent conversations, Amol Godha, Strategy & Data Analytics Head, Reliance Nippon Life Insurance stated that , Most of the leading players in India have already set up or are in the process of setting up centres of excellence for data analytics within the company. These COEs have seen success in pockets. The biggest shift we will witness is analytics playing a lead role for business than a support . Three big areas where players have adopted analytics are predictive science, fact-based decision making and lastly enhancing UW and actual use of data.

Expert opinions suggest that Analytics can help ensure optimal performance, offer assistance in making crucial decisions making to financial institutions.

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Analytics Augmenting the Game for BFSI - Elets BFSI - Elets

Last year, University of Oregon researchers studied one aspect of the COVID-19 pandemics disproportionately high impact on Latinx people: participation in testing. They found that combining culturally informed outreach with well-located community testing sites tripled turnout.

The projects success was driven by a university-wide collaboration that included data scientists from the UOs Presidential Initiative in Data Science.

Data science is the sophisticated analysis of massive, complicated data sets. The fieldwhich draws from mathematics, statistics, computer science, and moreis increasingly essential across industry, from auto production to medicine to banking.

In 2018, the UO officially prioritized data science with the launch of the Data Science Initiative, driving improvement and expansion of data science efforts in support of undergraduate and graduate education and university research.

Then came the pandemicand the UO responded by tapping its data science expertise to serve the general public, as well.

In spring 2020, the university launched the COVID-19 Monitoring and Assessment Program (MAP), expanding the UOs testing capacity for the coronavirus and making testing available to anyone in Lane County. More than 260,000 tests were provided through August 2022.

Parts of the program rely on UO experts in genomics, prevention science, and other areas. Data scientists solve the information challengesthat is, processing each patients information and lab results, reporting this info to patients and health agencies across Oregon, and analyzing virus trends to inform response.

The creation of information systems for such a sweeping program could reasonably take months, say Emily Beck and Jake Searcy, assistant research professors of data science. But due to the urgency of the pandemic, the public service was successfully launched through the university in just weeks.

Beck and Searcy exemplify the applicability of data science across fields. Beck, who has expertise in evolutionary genomics and a PhD from the University of Iowa, works with researchers to apply data science to biological problems. Searcy, who graduated from the UO in 2012 with a PhD in high-energy particle physics, worked in artificial intelligence for Ford Motor Company before returning to the UO to expand the ability of researchers to use AI. Both realized quickly that their ability to manage data would help provide the very backbone of a countywide coronavirus testing system run through the university.

Says Beck: Everything from data organization to file structure to building reproducible information-gathering processesthe types of things you dont even think of as skills because youre so used to doing them as a data scientist were desperately needed.

To study ways to increase testing by Latinx groups, researchers developed a grant proposal that won support from the National Institutes of Health RADx UP program, which supports response to the pandemic in underrepresented populations.

The team was led by Dave DeGarmo, research professor of prevention science; Leslie Leve, Lorry Lokey Chair in Education and professor of prevention science; and Bill Cresko, Lorry Lokey Chair in Science and professor of biology. Working with community partners, researchers set up testing at sites across Oregon and developed ways to ensure patient data gathered onsite was transferred to the testing lab on campus.

In assessing the impact of culturally informed outreach efforts, data scientists integrated testing results with surveys on patient participation and residence. They also tabulated statistics for the Latinx patient group as a whole and subpopulations across the nine counties in the study.

Data scientists created a computer algorithm to recommend locations for testing sites based on the number of Latinx people in the area. But the project was ultimately successful, Searcy says, because researchers also listened to community input on important parts of the study, including the location of testing sites.

It wasnt Heres this algorithm with the right answer, Searcy says. It was, Heres an interesting idea that came from this algorithm. Whats the right thing for your community?

By Matt Cooper, managing editor,Oregon Quarterly

Photo by Eliza Loera

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Crunching the Numbers with Data Science | Around the O - AroundtheO

An Industry Leader in Data Science, AI, and Engineering, Ya Xu's Appointment Furthers GoGuardian's Mission to Build Effective and Equitable Learning Solutions

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- GoGuardian, the leading education technology company providing simple, proven solutions to create effective, engaging, and safer learning environments, today announced the addition of Ya Xu, an industry-leading expert on data science, to its board of directors. Ya currently serves as Vice President of Engineering and Head of Data and AI at LinkedIn, the world's largest professional network.

The use of data in education has opened up new frontiers for personalized learning, adaptive instruction, and intelligent systems that support and accelerate education outcomes. Ya brings deep expertise in data science to the board of directors, helping GoGuardian better deliver ethical, data-driven educational technologies that benefit students, educators, and society as a whole.

"Education is at a critical inflection point. Schools have returned to normalcy, yet many students are struggling to catch up with pandemic-related unfinished learning," said Advait Shinde, co-founder and CEO, GoGuardian. "Data science is integral to delivering personalized, scalable solutions to help educators meet students where they are. We're thrilled to have Ya, one of the world's leading data science experts, join our board of directors at such an important time."

GoGuardian's solutions that utilize data-driven machine learning include GoGuardian Admin, which blocks harmful, inappropriate, or distracting content on school-issued devices; GoGuardian Beacon, a student safety solution that analyzes online activity for signs that students may need mental health resources; and TutorMe, an on-demand online education platform that uses data science to match students with the best online tutors in under 30 seconds. The company's data-centric research and development will continue to grow as GoGuardian pursues its mission to build the ultimate learning platform.

"GoGuardian is a profoundly mission-driven and innovative company that aligns with my passion for technology as well as my desire to create true, positive impact in our world," said Ya. "We're only beginning to realize the potential for data science in education, and I'm excited to work with GoGuardian to continue delivering ethically designed, outcome-oriented, and equitable innovation in the classroom."

Ya currently leads a global team of approximately 1,000 data scientists and engineers focused on delivering economic opportunity to LinkedIn's members and customers. Since joining the company in 2013, her leadership has been a driving force in transforming LinkedIn into a data-first company.

Ya is also the co-author of Trustworthy Online Controlled Experiments, a book about how best to accelerate online innovation. She was spotlighted in Fortune's 2020 class of 40 Under 40in Technology and nominated for VentureBeat's 2020 Women in AI Awards. Prior to working at LinkedIn, she worked as an applied researcher at Microsoft and received a Ph.D. in Statistics from Stanford University.

Ya will be GoGuardian's eighth board member, joining Advait Shinde, CEO; George Kadifa, Sanjeet Mitra, and Jack McCabe, Sumeru principals; Elisa Villanueva Beard, CEO of Teach For America; Tony Miller, technology executive and former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education; and Julie Larson-Green, former Microsoft and Qualtrics executive now serving as CTO of augmented reality innovator Magic Leap.

About GoGuardianGoGuardian provides simple, proven solutions to help create effective, engaging, and safer learning environments. Our award-winning system of learning tools is purpose-built for K-12 and trusted by school leaders to promote effective teaching and equitable engagement while empowering educators to help keep students safe. Learn more at goguardian.com.

Contact[emailprotected]

SOURCE GoGuardian

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GoGuardian Adds LinkedIn Executive Ya Xu to Board of Directors - PR Newswire

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Efforts to understand how the Internet and technology are changing the human experience varies widely across the globe, potentially impacting the ability of public and private sector decision makers to develop policies, technologies and solutions that are more human-centered, ethical and inclusive.

A report, issued today by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the non-profit LiiV Center, outlines how the emerging field of Digital Anthropology, which looks to gain a better understanding of people and communities in the digital age, is being applied in various regions of the world.

New Horizons in Digital Anthropology is based on in-depth, qualitative research conducted by digital anthropologists in Asian and Pacific States, Latin America and the Caribbean, African and Arab States and European and North American States.

The report is the first global research effort to lay the groundwork for understanding the current state of digital anthropology as a discipline and to consolidate multiple efforts to create a shared understanding. It also outlines the forces that are helping to move forward as well as hinder the development of this field and provides recommendations to accelerate its growth.

Quantitative and economic data alone struggles to make sense of human needs and behaviors, and yet plays a leading role in public policy and decision-making, says Katie Hillier, President and Chief Digital Anthropologist, of the LiiV Center. Anthropology is the study of people and communities - and in the digital age - digital anthropology plays this role. This new field blends human science and data science to understand people and communities at scale and depth - and it will define the next era of innovative human sciences.

The report maps the landscape of innovation in digital anthropology as an approach to ensure a better understanding of how human communities and societies interact, and are shaped by, technologies, and, as a result, how policies can be made more ethical and inclusive.

The research found that digital innovation in this field is growing globally, but is very different across the global north and south given the influence of the digital divide, with innovation happening in the intersection between anthropology and data science.

The report notes that anthropology started to innovate by simply practicing anthropology online - in the form of anthropologists observing people in virtual worlds or spaces. Anthropologists then began joining technology teams to help make tech better - bringing anthropological thinking into the design of digital spaces and tech. But, the report identifies, future innovations in the field show forward-thinking anthropologists blending the lines between data science and human science to gather insights.

Research found that:

The world needs to invest more in methodologies and tools for anthropologists and data scientists to collaborate to understand people and communities more ethically and effectively, says Hillier. Innovation in the field needs more global awareness and investment in its methods, tools, educational opportunities and social impact value, if its to make real impactful change

For more information about the LiiV Center and to download a copy of the report, please visit https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000382647/PDF/382647eng.pdf.multi?utm_source=pocket_mylist

About The LiiV Center

A nonprofit innovating how the world understands people and communities in the digital age by advancing digital anthropology education, technology and awareness. The LiiV Center is committed to a future where algorithms, technologies and social decisions reflect the needs of everyone, not just the privileged few. https://liivcenter.org/.

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Efforts To Understand People and Communities In The Digital Age Varies Significantly Globally - Business Wire