Data analytics and their proper implementation in day-to-day operations play an essential role in the global energy industry. Whether you operate as a large energy sector conglomerate or a startup dedicated to breakthroughs in energy management, 2020 is about to incite changes in your business model and approach to data analytics.

According to Tech Jury, 97.2% of organizations are investing heavily in big data and AI. Given the changes in data management looming on the horizon and with 90% of all data worldwide created in the past two years alone, trends in data science are bound to change alongside these developments. A study done by Finances Online showcased similar patterns, with 91% of companies agreeing that poor data analytics can harm your brand and 27% of executives unsure of the accuracy or viability of their business’ data.

Whether in energy management or another industry entirely, generated data requires proper storage, analysis and implementation for it to be deemed worthy of processing and resource investment. However, adopting any of these trends for your own energy sector data management operations and business-related decisions should be done carefully given their disruptive nature. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the ways in which trends can indeed be helpful to your brand before we dive deeper into what awaits us in data science trends of 2020.

The Advantages of Keeping up With Data Science Trends

It’s important to understand the “why” behind data science trends before moving on to possible changes and predictions for its global market. While you may not be ready to change a business model or strategy which simply works at the moment, the competitive nature of the energy industry means that cutting edge innovations will always be brought to market by agile competitors somewhere in the sector.

Boris Tistan, Group Manager Powel.AI at Powel AS spoke on the topic recently: “The velocity, complexity and the amount of data available to utilities is increasing, making it impossible to process by humans alone.”

Being prepared to change how you perceive data and use it on a daily basis will objectively make your energy business more appealing to third-party stakeholders than others which may offer similar services. Thus, staying in touch with the latest developments in the data science industry will effectively bring several noteworthy advantages to your brand as opposed to your competition, including but not limited to:

• Higher networking appeal for business-to-business (B2B) stakeholders
• Lower energy consumption and subsequent related costs
• More efficient business-to-consumer energy management, targeting and segmentation
• Predictive energy outage management and lowered margin for error
• Higher client trust and energy industry authority

Data Science Trends for 2020

1. Culture Driven by Data
There is no denying that data plays a huge role in decision-making when it comes to business management and project development. Integrating a data-driven mindset into the business model of an entire company, however, is something we can look forward to in 2020 and beyond.

Adopting a data-driven mindset and coaching employees into thinking with “data first” will allow them to make informed decisions on a moment-to-moment basis. In the energy industry, this can be highly beneficial due to the aforementioned necessity for manual power flow monitoring, data analysis, stakeholder targeting and other related activities.

In turn, this will ensure that an energy business’s workforce is agile, proactive and driven by data regardless of individual employee’s job description or department. It would also facilitate the creation of more advanced and predictive data analytics models for efficient energy management and resource allocation going forward, making data culture a worthwhile 2020 trend to keep track of.

2. Dedicated Analytics Management
In terms of grid infrastructure and software packages, analytics will experience new breakthroughs and innovation in the coming year. Augmented analytics is poised to become more relevant in the energy sector and beyond due to their flexible and user-friendly nature.

According to Data Science Central, 40% of certified data scientists are employed by Fortune 500 companies and with 74% holding academic degrees, hiring and retaining these specialists can be taxing without lowering the proverbial bar. Expanded analytical platforms will allow more workers to familiarize themselves with data science and to use it efficiently to the benefit of their own professional development as well as their company’s wellbeing in 2020.

3. Specialized AI Roles
Artificial Intelligence (AI) utilization in the energy industry is a useful tool for bridging the gap between data management and analytics due to the sheer volume of generated information. However, AI can also be implemented in otherwise manual operations such as risk management, power flow monitoring and to minimize the failure rate of active projects going forward.

This is where specialized AI roles will come into play as a dedicated means to manage otherwise taxing and resource-heavy tasks in the energy sector in 2020. In turn, it will lead to more machine-learning specialists being hired by companies of various backgrounds due to their ability to efficiently utilize AI to streamline the business’ workflow and minimize resource output through smart coding and AI monitoring.

Failing to comply with the increasing speed and efficiency of other energy sector representatives will likely put any business without active AI implementation at a disadvantage. With increasingly complex data management tasks and the sensitive nature of data analytics, applying specialized AI algorithms to data processing tasks in your business is a surefire trend to implement in 2020.

4. Native Blockchain Integration
Given the increasing reliance on cloud-computing, blockchain technology aims to continue its digital integration across all industries. In the energy sector, companies can look forward to new ways of sharing data and developing new analytics with their corporate partners, regardless of borders or infrastructure.

Due to the secure nature of blockchain, any generated data will effectively be viable for further experimentation, analysis and extrapolation without fear of tampering or mismanagement. Faulty data blocks and those which are unfit for further use will be detected more easily due to blockchain technology’s data storage patterns, ensuring minimal resource loss in 2020 and beyond.

This ledger-based data storage and analysis approach will make data science even more approachable to professionals without explicit data science training to back them up. These and other changes brought on by blockchain will offer fundamental upgrades to current data science processes in the energy sector and its related industries, making the trend interesting to look forward to.

5. Expansion of Business Intelligence
Business Intelligence (BI) already represents one of the pillars of data management but aims to expand its presence in the industry in the coming year. Given the corporate nature of energy sector businesses and the need to generate profits, maximize efficiency and find new opportunities for market growth, BI will help brands solidify their footing in 2020.

New trends such as data discovery, competitive data research and AI-backed data analysis will allow businesses to develop new products and services in more efficient and disruptive ways than ever before.

With its ever-growing plethora of development possibilities, BI can ensure that business standards are tested and changed more efficiently and for the betterment of your energy industry positioning at minimal risk margins. Augmented by its ability to automate risk assessment and data analytics at any scale, business intelligence ideology and tools should find their way into your business model as 2020 grows closer.

The Value of Data (Conclusion)
Adopting a data-first approach with your energy sector business in 2020 is bound to increase your chances of success and competitive industry positioning in the disruptive energy market. As we’ve mentioned before however, the changes we’ve discussed should only find their way into your business model in meaningful and groundbreaking ways – not merely as passing trends. Look for digital transformation and growth opportunities in whichever data processing methodology or platform you seek to implement – only then will you reap the benefits of data science trends in their fullest.

About the Guest Writer:
Dorian Martin is a professional writer with years of experience in business-related topics. He likes to attend conferences and keep himself updated with every new release in terms of marketing, business management, and entrepreneurship. He is a senior writer and content editor at BestEssayEducation and Supreme Dissertations, as well as a contributor writer to various websites, such as WowGrade and Grab My Essay.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of Greenbird Integration Technology.