What springs to mind when you hear the word Data? If you are a child of the 80’s like me, your first thought a couple of years ago may well have been the quirky little tech kid from one of the decades favourite movies, Goonies. A couple of years ago maybe, but there are few today that will not be aware of the intrinsic role that data plays in the digital economy agenda and the reshaping of the industries for which it represents the greatest value.
Only last month the Harvard Business Review ran a piece which hailed ‘A New Data World Order’, ranking the UK No2 and drew on a study by McKinsey which projected that data-fuelled applications of artificial Intelligence could generate $13trillion in new global economic activity by 2030.
It is without doubt that data will drive our next economic revolution – one that represents a £20billion opportunity for Scotland over the next five years. As a nation, we already produce globally successful data-driven businesses, but we need to be more ambitious, focused on talent and entrepreneurship. For industry, collaborating more with our world-class academic capability and utilising the unique digital support ecosystem we have in this country, will accelerate their own data driven innovation.
With billions of barrels of oil equivalent still to be recovered from the UK North Sea, data analytics, AI, digital skills and capabilities increasing play a pivotal role in ensuring that extraction of subsea oilfield reserves is maximised. The technologies, skills and capabilities already being harnessed in the North East today, many with cross sectoral application, represent significant exportable value to the UK and Scotland.
So, our role is to enable companies in Scotland to develop a culture which promotes business growth through data driven innovation. Our commitment to developing Scottish skills and talent is creating a pipeline of world-beating data scientists and engineers, that is helping driving business success here.
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