More than 40% of data science tasks will be automated by 2020, resulting in increased productivity and broader usage of data and analytics by citizen data scientists, according to a new report from Gartner Inc.
The firm defines a citizen data scientist as someone who creates or generates models that use advanced diagnostic analytics or predictive and prescriptive capabilities, but whose primary job function is outside the field of statistics and analytics.
These citizen data scientists can bridge the gap between mainstream self-service analytics by business users and the advanced analytics techniques of data scientists, the firm said. They are now able to perform sophisticated analysis that would previously have required more expertise. This allows them to provide advanced analytics without having data science skills.
With data science emerging as a powerful differentiator for businesses, nearly every data and analytics software platform vendor is focusing on making simplification a top priority through the automation of various tasks, such as data integration and model building, the report said.
"Making data science products easier for citizen data scientists to use will increase vendors' reach across the enterprise as well as help overcome the skills gap," said Alexander Linden, research vice president at Gartner. "The key to simplicity is the automation of tasks that are repetitive, manual intensive and don't require deep data science expertise."
Ironically, job site Glassdoor just released its list of the 50 Best Jobs in America yesterday, singling out the data scientist as job number one.
