The Month in Data – March 2021

This month in data – March 2021

Each month we compile the best stories in data. Get up to speed on this week in data without having to search for it.

 

Gartner’s top technology trends for 2021

We like these lists, if only to see what new trends we couldn’t have guessed would end up on there. Like this: ever heard of Anything as a Service? Or what about Hyperconnected Public Services? All very cool, but our favorite is the “Operationalized Analytics” trend, which is essentially systemic adoption of data tech. Love it. 

THE TAKEAWAY:

“Gartner predicts that by 2024, 60% of government AI and data analytics investments aim to directly impact real-time operational decisions and outcomes.”

 

Australian doctors nervous over data sharing plan

And if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the past year – if doctors get nervous, then maybe we should too. Down under the Australian Medical Association has raised flags over the new data sharing laws. Well, scratch that – the AMA says it’s “impossible to understate” how concerned they are about them. Well, yikes.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“The organisation’s primary concern is that the bill does not include minimum privacy protections, with agencies allowed to determine their own privacy settings for sharing data. The legislation merely requires agencies to be satisfied that the sharing principles are being applied in a way that “risks associated with the sharing are appropriately mitigated””.

 

Let’s re-imagine sharing health data

Speaking of health information. The Scientist has a fascinating article about why we should rethink the entire way we help health researchers collaborate. It’s detailed, but here’s the lowdown: there’s a new open-source framework that lets scientists automates analysis and model training. Pretty cool, but here’s the great bit: it lowers the transaction cost of sharing this information. We like to see that.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“Decentralized analysis frameworks such as COINSTAC complement existing open data initiatives and will propel team science to a new level, unleashing a wealth of research and discovery in human brain imaging that is currently not possible.”

 

Banks are freaking out over data security

Well, they always have. But a new report from Deloitte shows that financial institutions are concerned, and so are their customers. Overall, this isn’t really new information, but it underscores just how much work banks have to do in order to win the public to their side.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“”Cybersecurity and data protection are the top concern areas across all age groups, followed closely by wariness towards third-party access to data and transparency on data usage”.”

 

GDPR is more complex than you think

When GDPR was unveiled and set on the world, companies everywhere had to dive in and make sure they actually knew what they were talking about. Now, this report suggests it may be more complex than you had thought. A partner at DLA Piper points out that fines are now growing in scope – and warns it’s only going to get worse if data controls aren’t put in place.

THE TAKEAWAY:

“Bigg also suggests companies engage the chief privacy officers and data governance teams upfront. “That’s how you’re going to get success because the IT people maybe don’t understand the nuances of what the law allows you to do, what’s more challenging to do, and what the risks are.””

 

That’s our wrap for this month. Thanks for reading – we hope you found it entertaining and informational. We’d love to hear your thoughts on these articles and anything else data related! Email us anytime at enquiries@datarepublic.com!

Until next month,

Team Data Republic

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