Data Transformers Podcast

Fiona Browne is the head of Artificial Intelligence at Datactics. Her journey from an all-female school into computer science, a Ph. D. in BioInformatics, lecturer, and corporate experience in software engineering / development prepared her for her current position. The rigor/discipline in Ph.D., experience of dealing with large and incomplete datasets both in protein development Ph.D. projects and later in virtual telescopy was ideal for data science. As head of AI at Datactics, Fiona focuses on financial/banking/government sectors in dealing with data profiling/matching and self-service analytics.

A fascinating journey as the head of Artificial Intelligence with Fiona Browne

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A fascinating journey as the head of Artificial Intelligence with Fiona Browne

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https://youtu.be/3RnJbdJu5KI

Episode Title : A fascinating journey as the head of Artificial Intelligence with Fiona Browne

Topics discussed in this episode:

Fiona Browne’s journey into AI (03:17): Fiona Browne started in an all female school for primary/secondary education and one of her teachers Mrs. Coyne encouraged the class to excel in computing. Fiona never thought of computing & AI as a field where only men excelled.

Journey in the corporate world (08:00): Started with Intel as an intern and got a lot of well rounded skills. After graduating in 2004 in the middle of dotcom burst, Fiona started with a small company where she had to build her own computer. That experience taught her a different set of skills.

Entry into data science with a Ph. D. (13:02): Fiona got her first taste of statistical/machine learning with a Ph. D. in Bioinformatics and project on predictions on protein interactions. The rigor and discipline that Fiona learnt during her interactions with her professors trained her for her later corporate success.

Second foray into the corporate world (17:00): After Ph. D., Fiona started her second foray in the corporate world in software engineering with a virtual telescopy company. Even though she had a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Fiona started as a SW developer. This different experience built on top of her previous experience.

AI in Datactics (23:18): Fiona started in AI in Datactics after a stint as a Lecturer at Ulster University. The experience of dealing with large sets of messy data in Ph. D. and her previous jobs prepared Fiona to lead her team at Datactics in working with incomplete data.

Focus on Financial/Banking/Government (26:13): Datactics focuses on Financial, Banking, and Government sectors and helps clients focus on profiling and matching data. Another focus is on self-service analytics where they are helping clients assess their data quality, establish rules, and deploy by themselves.

Podcast website: https://DataTransformersPodcast.Com

Data Transformers Podcast

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Join Peggy and Ramesh as they explore the exciting world of Data Management, Data Analytics, Data Governance, Data Privacy, Data Security, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Internet Of Things.

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Key topics covered in this episode are (1) how to build and scale a data advisory business (2) Key influences for data management & data strategy (3) Key trends in the data management area. The episode goes into significant details on the external and internal drivers for data governance.

Any digital transformation requires a strong focus on data strategy and data management. Jay lays out a blueprint on how to engage in a data management initiative starting with a data maturity assessment. The episode covers key success factors for a data management initiative and goes over why most data initiatives fail.

How to build and scale a data advisory business with Jay Zaidi

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How to build and scale a data advisory business with Jay Zaidi

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https://youtu.be/xqNGWaNoxL0

Episode Title : How to build and scale a data advisory business with Jay Zaidi

Topics discussed in this episode:

Building and scaling a data advisory business (02:04): Very first step is to tap into your professional network for the first slice of business. Next step would be to build credibility and identify differentiating factors. And there are 3 different ways to scale the business. One is hire a sales rep, second is to keep tapping into the network by deepening relationships, and the third is to get referrals from past clients and additional work.

Key influences for data management & data strategy (10:13): Increased focus on AIML has brought a lot of data governance issues to the fore. Regulatory compliances like GDPR, CCPA also raised the awareness of data quality, data privacy, and data security. Lastly, there is additional emphasis on chief data officers to be the change agents in organizations driving business goals.

Key trends in data management area (19:15): (1) Increased desire by organizations to leverage data for better predictions and in turn better decisions (2) Increased focus on data privacy/security for regulatory compliance (3) Availability of tools and data is making self-service analytics a reality.

Data Transformers Podcast

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Join Peggy and Ramesh as they explore the exciting world of Data Management, Data Analytics, Data Governance, Data Privacy, Data Security, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Internet Of Things.

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Deep Dive on Data strategy, Data management, Data Governance with Jay Zaidi

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Deep Dive on Data strategy, Data management, Data Governance with Jay Zaidi

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https://youtu.be/xdEjJanX6ew

Episode Title : Deep Dive on Data strategy, Data management, Data Governance with Jay Zaidi

Topics discussed in this episode:

AlyData overview (01:32): AlyData is a boutique strategic data management and advisory services company with focus data management, data governance & analytics. Most of the advisory work is in maturity assessment for data strategy, setting up data governance of excellence, and ensuring compliance.

How data initiatives start in organizations? (03:15): Organizations engage in data-driven initiatives when (1) they have a pressing challenge or a mandate to meet (2) they have a complex data ecosystem/data debt in the form of data quality, lack of master/reference data/data governance etc. (3) they have a major digital organization that relies on data.

Main causes of failures of data initiatives (10:52): (1) Lack of a change management in parallel with the digital transformation (2) Lack of clear alignment with stakeholders (business & technical) with respect to ROI (3) Lack of a data culture starting at the top (4) Lack of a strong execution focus.

Drive to start a data advisory company, AlyData (21:36): Jay worked at Fannie Mae for 13 years and the last 5 years from 2008 to 2013 as the point person for Fannie Mae’s data initiatives. After the 2009 crash, Fannie Mae was designated as too big to fail and tasked with fixing 6 key compliance areas. Jay’s experience as the point man helped him gain valuable experience but also identified the need for similar effort within the industry. That led him to start AlyData.

Typical data management journey (23:31):  Typically, the journey starts with a data maturity assessment. The assessment identifies key areas for organizations to focus on with respect to data quality, data governance, data architecture, business intelligence etc. Then the key task is ensuring that key business stakeholders are aligned to business outcomes and putting together a change management structure along with program/project management.

AlyData.Com

Data Transformers Podcast

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Join Peggy and Ramesh as they explore the exciting world of Data Management, Data Analytics, Data Governance, Data Privacy, Data Security, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Internet Of Things.

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Any transformation starts with a solid foundation. For an organization embarking on a digital transformation should lay out a solid foundation with respect to alignment on business objectives and clear strategy about Data. Similarly, individuals passionate about digital transformation should also focus on laying a solid personal foundation by learning about new technologies and connecting with mentors and people with similar interests.

Shefali Sonpar is a data and digitization expert with deep expertise in the insurance industry. The episode lays out a broad overview of the commercial and consumer insurance industry. Shefali discusses the importance of an organization’s vision in driving their digitization programs. The advent of technologies such as the Internet of things has provided the insurance industry with many opportunities to fast forward the digitization initiatives with an added focus on data.

Laying out a solid foundation to facilitate Digital Transformation

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Episode Title : Laying out a solid foundation to facilitate DIgital Transformation

Episode Summary: Any transformation starts with a solid foundation. For an organization embarking on a digital transformation should lay out a solid foundation with respect to alignment on business objectives and clear strategy about Data. Similarly, individuals passionate about digital transformation should also focus on laying a solid personal foundation by learning about new technologies and connecting with mentors and people with similar interests.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Key aspects of Data in Insurance industry (01:40): A great analogy would be to compare with constructing a building. Very first step would be to have a solid foundation. Similarly, any transformation with a focus on data should focus on the integrity of data or truth as it relates to data. Make sure that the data sources are identified and everyone agrees to it.

Shefali’s personal transformation into digital transformation (06:57): Laziness is the source of much automation and Shefali said her laziness pushed her into looking for ways to use technology to automate tasks. Her focus on learning and establishing meaningful relationships helped her expand her influence in India and also facilitate her move abroad. 

Legacy industries versus web-only companies ( 16:32): New technologies like AI are helping expand the market where people who were not traditionally covered are able to get insurance coverage. Examples are the small and medium companies or even individuals can become insurable. Secondly, micro-insurance like coverage for smaller amounts of time or smaller geographies are now possible. 

Advice on expanding influence (22:02): Shefali provided plenty of resources to keep learning. Also shared tips on connecting with people and keep building a personal brand to expand into areas like speaking.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Podcast website: https://DataTransformersPodcast.Com

Ramesh consulting website: https://DigitalTransformationPro,COm

Call To Action:

Connect with Shefali Sonpar:https://www.linkedin.com/in/shefalisonpar/  

Follow Data Transformers on Twitter: @DataTransforme2 

Listen to other Data Transformer episodes and Rate the episodes.

Data Transformers Podcast

Listen Now!

Join Peggy and Ramesh as they explore the exciting world of Data Management, Data Analytics, Data Governance, Data Privacy, Data Security, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Internet Of Things.

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Digital Transformation in the Insurance Industry with Shefali Sonpar

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https://youtu.be/VGRQoeQF2Mo

Episode Title : Digital Transformation in the Insurance Industry with Shefali Sonpar

Episode Summary: Shefali Sonpar is a data and digitization expert with deep expertise in the insurance industry. The episode lays out a broad overview of the commercial and consumer insurance industry. Shefali discusses the importance of an organization’s vision in driving their digitization programs. The advent of technologies such as the Internet of things has provided the insurance industry with many opportunities to fast forward the digitization initiatives with an added focus on data.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Layout of the insurance industry (03:14): Shefali gives an overview of the insurance industry both the consumer and commercial industries. She also goes over how technology is involved in the consumer insurance industry from birth to death of almost every individual. And also how the commercial side is intertwined with the consumer side.

Changing landscape of insurance industry with technologies (08:24): With the advent of IOT and devices like Apple watch, insurance industries can now proactively cover and manage risks. For example, by looking at say BMI data, insurance industries can assess the increasing/decreasing health risks of individuals. This in turn might mean reducing claims processing which is a major part of the costs. 

Key performance indicators in the insurance industry (13:16): KPIs should be driven by the company’s vision. For example, if an organization’s vision is to be the most profitable company then the KPIs should match that vision. On the other hand, an organization with a vision of the most customer centric business will have different metrics.
Vision to practical implementation (21:43): Successful organizations will drive digital transformation by translating the vision (ex: profitability or customer service) into practical actionable steps with focus on data, data management, and data governance. Having visible success with key programs will put the digital transformation on a faster route.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Podcast website: https://DataTransformersPodcast.Com

Call to action:

Connect with Shefali Sonpar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shefalisonpar/  

Follow Data Transformers on Twitter: @DataTransforme2 

Listen to other Data Transformer episodes and Rate the episodes.

Data Transformers Podcast

Listen Now!

Join Peggy and Ramesh as they explore the exciting world of Data Management, Data Analytics, Data Governance, Data Privacy, Data Security, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Internet Of Things.

Apple Podcasts

Google Podcasts

Spotify

Stitcher