VIDEO | Absa Bank Kenya CDO: CDOs Will Stop Deploying Centralized Analytics Capabilities

(Middle East and Africa) Hartnell Ndungi, Chief Data Officer of Absa Bank Kenya PLC, speaks with Robert Lutton, Vice President, Sandhill Consultants and Editorial Board Vice Chair at CDO Magazine, in a video interview about the ideal approach for developing the AI models, the future of data analytics, and advice for fellow data leaders.

Speaking on the approach to developing AI models for business predictions, Ndungi mentions the following two aspects:

• A use-case-driven approach to take use cases like building a model for finding ways to sell more loans

• Exploratory data analytics for data experts to create patterns and use cases that can create value

When asked about the ways data analytics change the way that people live in Kenya, Africa, and around the world Ndungi suggests the following possibilities:

• Data is going to be a required skill for everyone, the same way everyone is learning how to use Excel

• Data visualization is going to be very important for any person who is in business to visualize trends and the future outlook

• Chief Data Officers will stop having centralized deployment of analytics capabilities. As business counterparts understand the value of data, they will want to learn more, which will lead to a federated environment.

• Data people will have to learn more so that they can not only deliver a specialized data value item to a business but can also explore what else they can do to enable the full scale of digital transformation

Further, Ndungi puts forth the following key advice points for data leaders:

• Do not buy if you can reuse technology. Most vendors showcase good servers and solutions but try to see what is available and reuse it before spending money

• Most people usually are afraid of failing. However, the faster you can experiment, the faster you can showcase value

• Do not keep data management and privacy at bay. They give you the guardrails and the controls for using data

• Do not assume that everyone knows about data and its related matters. Train people first

CDO Magazine appreciates Hartnell Ndungi for sharing his insights and data success stories with our global community.

See more from Hartnell Ndungi

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