We live in what’s been called the Age of Big Data. From financial transactions to social media interactions, data is everywhere and, when analyzed properly, has the ability to reveal trends that can guide businesses into the future.
USF St. Petersburg’s Kate Tiedemann College of Business (KTCOB) and the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership will host a panel discussion about the emerging power of data in the world of business. The event, titled Re-Imagine Data, will feature Candy Mitchell, Director of Data Science & Artificial Intelligence at Jabil, and Tara Bonnell, Senior VP of Data Solutions Group at FIS, who will discuss how data helps their organizations and clients make more informed business decisions. The talk takes place September 25 in Lynn Pippenger Hall Auditorium from 7:30-9 a.m. and is part of the ongoing Sunny Side Up speaker series, which seeks to inspire and educate attendees about new technologies and possibilities for the community.
“There is an abundance of data today and successful companies know how best to extract value from them,” said KTCOB Dean Sridhar Sundaram. “FIS will provide a financial services perspective and Jabil will provide a manufacturer’s perspective on how they reimagine the use of data today, and in the future, to create value.”
Though data seems all-encompassing today, it has historically given insight in hindsight. Companies want more than explanations about why something happened after the fact. They want data to be predictive.
“A lot of today’s analytics tell you what happened,” said Bonnell. “But what everybody now wants is predictive guidance. They don’t want to know what happened, they want to know what’s going to happen.”
As an example, Bonnell pointed to FIS clients that work in the financial sector, where fraud is a perennial concern. It’s useful to know why past fraud occurred but more valuable to anticipate—and mitigate the risk of—future fraud.
Mastering data is a matter of survival for businesses, according to Bonnell. “Data is the purest form of intellectual property around today,” she said. “Businesses that don’t use the data they own will fade away.”
Varol Kayhan, Associate Professor of Information Systems at USF St. Petersburg, agrees. “In today’s competitive environment, survival depends on converting data to action,” he said. “At Re-Imagine Data, we will hear from two great organizations about what they do to tap into their data for decisions and actions.”
During her presentation, Bonnell will explore how the field of financial technology is constantly being disrupted, as companies like Apple and Amazon offer their own financial products. She will also discuss how FIS clients can use data to customize the way they engage with customers and help them be more resilient to disruption in the future.