by Angela Guess
Ari Amster recently wrote in Smart Data Collective, “By now, most businesses are aware of the benefits that can be gained by employing big data analytics in their organizations… Whatever the goal, big data seems to be the best way to reach it. Utilizing big data, however, isn’t always easy, especially when it comes to small businesses that have to work with limited resources and budgets. Smaller companies have one of three options to consider when looking to make the most of big data. They can hire a big data scientist, try to perform analytics themselves through special apps and big data analytics tools, or bring on a freelance big data expert to handle their data needs. While each choice carries its own advantages, small businesses would be best served by hiring freelance big data experts.”
Amster goes on, “This most straightforward way to tackle this problem is by hiring a data scientist for the organization, but this isn’t always the best option. Data scientists are in high demand, and at the same time they are in short supply. Data science is a relatively new field, and universities are only just starting their own programs to train up a new generation of big data experts. That means that the number of qualified data scientists is low while companies all over the world are out trying to hire the best. The result, as can be assumed, is that good data scientists command high salaries. Bringing a full time data scientist on at a small business with a low budget simply isn’t a reasonable choice. Perhaps some time in the future, as a small business expands, they’ll be able to afford having a data scientist on staff, but for now, they’ll have to look at the freelance pool.”
photo credit: Flickr/ Marco Raaphorst