Data science: What does it mean and how is it best applied?

While data science (along with its associated tools, utilities and applications) is a hot topic in the tech world across innumerable facets of industry, there’s still a large degree of uncertainty as to just what data science means, and how it can best be applied.

At the Chief Data Scientist, USA event in San Francisco, CA, Assad M. Shaik, head of Enterprise Data Science for Cuna Mutual, joined Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), co-host of theCUBE*, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, to talk about data science as it’s commonly seen and as it really is.

As Shaik explained, his focus at the event was to clarify understanding of what data science actually is. Noting “a lot of confusion” about whether it’s a new name for analytics, advanced analytics or something else entirely, his goal is to speak frankly and clearly enough for attendees to his panels to gain a better understanding of the challenges and goals encountered by data scientists on a daily basis.

As part of this examination, he’s looking at both the experiences encountered by customers and the revenue growth that can be gained by applying analytics to those customers. He’s also providing some insight into the new skill expectations being encountered by data scientists and the reasons behind those changes.

In Shaik’s estimation, sales skills and a grasp of marketing have become “essential” for a data science group to find success.