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Dr. J. Michael Hardin discusses the high demand for workers in the field of big data

Harnessing the Power of Big Data Analytics: The Sexiest Job of the 21st Century

By IGI Global on Jun 25, 2015
Encyclopedia of Business Analytics and OptimizationSubmitted by: J. Michael Hardin, Ph.D.
Dean, Culverhouse College of Commerce
Russell Professor of Business and Professor of Statistics
The University of Alabama

When Billie Anderson and I wrote “Harnessing the Power of Big Data Analytics” for the Encyclopedia of Business Analytics and Optimization, we knew expertise in this field would be in high demand. What we never imagined was that Harvard Business Review would become so enamored with the topic that the publication would term data analytics “the sexiest job of the 21st Century.”

It seems every industry and government is recognizing its need to extract new insights and create new forms of value from unanalyzed information. That information, collectively known as Big Data, is now constantly streamed via an ever-growing number of electronic sources – from websites to cash registers and cell phones to Radio-Frequency Identification systems.

Just this month, Fortune Magazine ranked a Ph.D. in Statistics at first place within its tally of the “Top 15 Graduate Degrees of 2015.” That follows McKinsey and Company’s projections that by 2018, the U.S. could face a 35 percent shortfall of people with advanced training in statistics and other disciplines. Those workers are vital to helping companies realize the potential of digital-generated data gleaned from their own operations as well as their suppliers and customers.

Such a shortfall in workers could prove costly. McKinsey Global Institute estimates a potential $325 billion incremental annual U.S. GDP from Big Data analytics by 2020 – and that’s just in the retail and manufacturing sectors. McKinsey ranks Big Data among its game-changing economic catalysts that provide the potential of boosting the entire trajectory of the U.S. economy.

Such potential also comes at a crucial time. As the U.S. labor force declines due to its aging population, a smaller workforce is most likely to enhance productivity if they can exploit breakthrough technologies.

That’s where Big Data analytics enters the equation. Analytics offers new insights and new forms of value, changing markets, organizations and the relationship between citizens and government. What makes Big Data analytics valuable is often characterized by four V’s: Volume, Velocity, Variety and Veracity. By analyzing the growing Volume of digital information, sent at an ever-increasing Velocity and in Varied formats, decision makers can confirm the Veracity of its sources. One in three business leaders say they don’t trust the information they use to make decisions. Through proper data analytics, leaders can access the real-time, reliable information they need.

Such information is available because of new software, database systems and analytical tools developed by mathematicians, computer scientists, statisticians and other specialists. Their methods are already in wide use in the U.S. retail sector. Analytic techniques are used to anticipate inventory needs, labor scheduling and shipping routes, among other forecasts.

Manufacturing demands similar services. That’s why Lockheed-Martin became one of the primary partners in the upcoming Culverhouse College of Commerce Data Analytics Lab, where professors and students will work with companies to tackle real world problems, streamlining research and development, production and supply chain management techniques. As advanced simulation techniques are used to create 3D pre-construction models of new processes, factory floors and even entire plants, Big Data benefits could generate up to $270 billion in the manufacturing sector’s productivity gains, benefitting small, medium and large-scale manufacturing firms.

However, nowhere is the need for Big Data analytics more personal than in health care. The same aging demographic that will decrease the U.S. workforce will increase demands on an already-strained health care delivery system. Culverhouse College of Commerce researchers at our Center for Business and Economic Research produced a report just last week projecting an aging population increase in Alabama that mirrors increases nationwide. The report listed some of what will happen as the population of adults ages 65 and older outnumbers populations under age 18. Throughout the country, federal, state and local economies can expect dramatic challenges in providing accessible housing, transportation, and most especially, health care services.

Big Data tools have the potential to support innovation in health care delivery in much of the same way it is already utilized in retail and manufacturing. Big Data can aid scheduling and communications, support clinical decision-making through drug interaction warnings, streamline clinical trials through simulation testing, enhance public health surveillance, and response to epidemic threats and provide detailed cost analyses among other benefits.

It is estimated that analytics could generate up to $190 billion annually in U.S. health care cost savings by 2020. Imagine how that money might be allocated to further research and extended clinical services throughout the country.

However, none of those potential Big Data benefits can happen without trained talent. That’s why colleges like Culverhouse are so intent on preparing next-generation leaders equipped as business-centric data scientists. An effective business analytics professional not only has real business acumen and the ability to communicate findings to business and IT leaders, but depth of insight to pick the right problems. It isn’t enough to simply sift through interesting information. To warrant the salaries they earn in these well-compensated careers, business analytics leaders must know how to use collected data to most positively impact an organization.

For governments, the resulting data analysis might determine how to allocate security resources according to anticipated risks. For industry, that data analysis might provide entirely new service delivery models. For health care, data analysis might lead to better patient outcomes – and even saved lives.

Statisticians like me aren’t so sure our expertise qualifies as “the sexiest job of the 21st Century.” However, we are sure that demand for this expertise is outpacing supply, driving leaders in industry, government and education into partnerships promoting what we now know as truly-vital Big Data analytics education.


The Encyclopedia of Business Analytics and Optimization confronts the challenges of information retrieval in the age of Big Data by exploring recent advances in the areas of knowledge management, data visualization, interdisciplinary communication, and others. Through its critical approach and practical application, this book will be a must-have reference for any professional, leader, analyst, or manager interested in making the most of the knowledge resources at their disposal. For more information on this comprehensive reference source, visit the Encyclopedia of Business Analytics and Optimization web site.



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