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Today, data drives the modern marketplace. Every company who wants to grow is using data for customer acquisition, gaining marketing insights, managing risks, and more. This multidisciplinary field has grown so much and a report published in the Economic Times states the demand for data science professionals has risen over 400 per cent in the last one year in India. Also, there are around 1.5 million jobs spread across the country for individuals who know the ins and outs of this domain. Now that the scope of data science is apparent let's look at what is it all about and how it drives business growth.

What is Data Science?
Data science is an indepth study which involves developing methods of recording, storing, and analysing data to draw valuable insights effectively. A few ways of data collection include questionnaires with closed ended questions, methods of correlation and regression, surveys, experiments or direct observations. Along with this, technologies such as biometrics, remote sensors, and satellite imagery, provide additional tools for data collection.

How is Data Processed?
Once all the raw data is collected, the next step is to process this information. To do this, data scientists often implement the three stage process, which includes Input, Process and Output. Input is the collection, followed by the Process which includes constructing a data set from one or more data sources. This data set is used for further exploration and processing. In this stage, the information needs to be analysed carefully to avoid any misleading results. After using machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms, it is time for Output. This is where the processed data is displayed to the audience using graphical reports, audio, video and more.

What do Businesses do with all the Data?
Now that the meaning and process is understood, let's look at how businesses utilise this valuable information. To help you get a better understanding of this, here's a realworld example.

Netflix is now the world's leading entertainment hub with over 100 million customers and just a

9 percent churn rate (by far the lowest). This streaming service has managed to emerge as the undisputed king by using big data. This service not only keeps track of what you are watching, but also, when the device used, and whether the show/movie was paused, skipped, or re-watched. With these details, Netflix aims to understand what every viewer wants and the fastest way to deliver it. Next, this data is put through an algorithm that personalises suggestions for every subscriber. Since subscribers watch 80 percent content based on Netflix's recommendations, gathering this behavioural data has proved to be crucial.

Data helps businesses improve customer retention, target the right audience, create effective strategies, forecast outcomes, and evaluate the health of the company

This is just one example which illustrates why data matters and how it is used to personalise user experience, improve customer satisfaction and help the company grow. There are a few other ways in which data can add value to a business.

How Data Science Powers Business Value
Make Better Decisions – A data scientist has expertise in different domains and knows how to use
a specific set of data to generate business


value. Considering the Netflix example, the analysis of user behaviour helped the brand decide on how to personalise unique recommendations.

Boost business growth - A business can continue adding new services or products to target a broader market and generate more revenue. While doing this, how does one decide which is the best service to choose, and when should it be launched? Your answer is data. With thorough data analysis, business owners can identify how to target the right product at the right time, which helps increase sales.

Recruiting the Right Talent - A business is only as good as its employees. Without the best resources, it is not possible to secure the position of the market leader. For instance, businesses use an array of recruitment channels, including newspapers, headhunters, social media campaigns, online job sites and LinkedIn searches. Instead of increasing the number of channels, focus on which one offer is giving the highest return on investment. This will help you invest your time, energy and budget accordingly. Data allows you to test your recruitment channels and measure their success rate accurately. Once you know the right channel, you can get closer to hiring the right talent.

Along with this, data helps businesses improve customer retention, target the right audience, create effective strategies, forecast outcomes, and evaluate the health of the company. The pointers mentioned above explain why data science matters. Considering the importance of this field for every business, individuals have realised that data science offers a promising future and is a viable career option. Also, institutes have started offering an MBA programme in Data Science and Data Analytics to help you and other individuals lead a career in this field.