Predict Conference– Journey From Data To Predictive Analytics
07 Oct 2016
Katie Hughes
Brightwater were delighted to come on board as a partner of this year’s Predict Conference. Predict 2016 took place in the RDS from the 4- 5th October.
Brightwater were delighted to come on board as a partner of this year’s Predict Conference. Predict 2016 took place in the RDS from the 4- 5th October. The venue was transformed into an era of possibility and progress. The vision of the Predict Conference 2016 was that of a future-facing vision: to mobilise an international community to solve important human challenges through the power of data and predictive analytics. The conference itself is an interactive discussion featuring leading international thinkers in the areas of data, predictive modelling, technology and decisions of the future.
The conference comprised of talks, keynote presentations, case-studies, social activities and hands on workshops from leading entrepreneurs, data scientists, technologists, investors, and decision-makers from business and government.
Over the two days the latest progress in predictive modelling and the future was discussed. It was evident from the various examples given from speakers that it is not just high tech companies that are using predictive analytics to their advantage. Paul Pierotti from Accenture spoke of intelligent patient services by developing a cardiovascular service to detect if a person is likely to have a second heart attack. Paul emphasised the importance of analytics to transform healthcare. In contrast to using data analytics for human wellbeing, Bernard Marr, best-selling author, spoke about using big data all around us. Bernard provided an everyday example where data analytics were useful. In this instance a butcher shop in London installed tracking devices to measure footfall to measure the amount of people who stopped outside the shop and how many walked inside. The results showed that 9-11pm were the busiest times for passers-by due to the surrounding bars. The owner decided to capitalise on this and apply for a late licence, he then used google trends to determine the most popular food trends, choosing in vogue pulled pork sandwiches during those two hours which resulted in a 50% increase of profits.
Anne–Marie Walsh of Brightwater Executive participated in a discussion around the current shortages and challenges associated with IT recruitment. Anne-Marie spoke about the wide array of new roles and skill sets required around Data Science and Analytics, such as positions for Data Scientists with heavy Machine Learning/Predictive Analytics backgrounds and Data Engineers with experience in Hadoop, Pentaho, Cassandra etc. In addition Software Engineers who support the building of these tools and then skills required around Data Governance and Protection. It is a discipline that is getting bigger and the roles surrounding data analytics more diverse.
As partners of the conference the IT team had a stall for the two days where the IT team were on hand to provide information and advice about careers. With over 400 professionals in attendance the exhibition floor was lively and fun and it provided a wonderful opportunity to network with people involved in the IT sector.
Congratulations to our prize winners – Philip Graydon who won a hamper of wine and Fergus Quilligan who won a €150 Brown Thomas voucher.
Brightwater’s IT recruitment team would be delighted to assist anyone with their career moves and offer advice. For further information and a confidential discussion about your career please contact Hugh McCarthy, Manager, Brightwater on 01 662 1000 or email [email protected]