Big Data Analytics Conference

The demand for information management specialists has been one of the fastest growing occupations in the world in recent times. Software corporations such as Software AG, Oracle, IBM,Microsoft, SAP, EMC, HP and Dell have spent more than $15 billion on software firms and jobs; thanks to the exabytes of data that might have lain idle had somebody not paused to take a second look and ventured into the process of analysing how all this information could beneficial to organisations. The challenge of big data has been with us for as long as man started collecting information. As data accumulated – whether in physical or digital form – questions soon arose as to the storage, analysis, curation, search, sharing, transfer, visualization, querying, updating and privacy.

Corporations, government organisations, media organisations;among several institutions; possess large amounts of information on the people and other organisations they conduct business with. The internet and mobile phone boom has ushered in the Information Age, where organisations have found themselves saddled with humongous amounts of data, which a few years ago they would have no idea what to do with. But by the turn of the millennium, software – Hadoop, Spark, Pig and Hive among the popular ones – was engineered which could simplify the data into meaningful text that could be manipulated to influence policy formulation in organisations. Businesses realised that they could analyse the data they had gathered over the years to determine client behaviour and hence make business decisions that were in line with their clients’ desires.

That is because the importance of big data doesn’t revolve around how much data an organisation has, but what it does with it. Data can be analysed to find answers that enable cost and time reductions, new product development and optimised offerings, and smart decision making. Besides, when big data is combined with high-powered analytics, organisations can accomplish
business-related tasks such as:

  • Determining root causes of failures, issues and defects in near-real time.
  • Generating coupons at the point of sale based on the customer’s buying habits.
  • Recalculating entire risk portfolios in minutes.
  • Detecting fraudulent behaviour before it affects organisations.

 

First world nations like the USA have set up government departments to look at big data because they value how the information gleaned would help them better serve their citizens in spheres of life that include health, social security, demographics,finance, education and general service delivery. It would be prudent for our own South African local government, corporates and business organisations to take advantage of the data sets they have at the disposal to serve the people better.
Equipping the data analytics personnel with the right skills would be paramount in achieving this goal.

It was for this cause that the Big Data Analytics Conference was organised. Set for the 3rd and 4th of August 2017 at the Emperors Palace Convention Centre in Johannesburg, the conference seeks to pool together data experts, decision makers, data scientists, data engineers and policy makers; to discuss trends in data mining, analysis and processing for the benefit of a business.

At the conference, attendees will undergo a hands-on experience on the approaches to data capture, analysis and processing and conversion into information that would help organisations make informed decisions about policy, future direction and product development.

The conference will run under the theme, Transforming the World through intelligent, Data-driven Operations.

Target audience

  • Chief Information Officers
  • Chief Data Officers
  • Data Architects
  • Data Analysts
  • Data Scientists
  • Data Steward
  • Database Administrators
  • Information Architects
  • Metadata Modeler
  • Chief Data Officer
  • Data Modelers
  • Researchers and Students
  • Information Security Specialists
  • IT Directors and Managers
  • Database Administrators
  • Cloud Technology Experts
  • Application Developers
  • Software Engineers
  • Technology Specialists
  • Project Managers
  • Business Directors and Managers
  • Software developers
  • Business Development Executives
  • Business Intelligence Professionals
  • Advertising executives
  • Health Practitioners
  • Education professionals
  • Media Practitioners
  • Retail professionals
  • Telecommunications Specialists
  • Real Estate Managers
  • Banking and Finance Executives
  • Data Governance Managers
  • Key Account Managers
  • Account Managers

Target Sectors

  • Government Organisations
  • Municipalities
  • Universities
  • Finance and Banking
  • Telecommunications and Media
  • Manufacturing
  • Insurance
  • Utilities
  • Information Technology
  • Aviation
  • Transport and Logistics
  • Telematics
  • Advertising and Marketing
  • Non-Government Organisations
  • Wholesale and Retail
  • Health and Medicine