DataOps Report Breakdown: DataOps Outlook

Welcome to the 2017 Definitive Data Operations Report mini-series!

In this series of blog posts, we will break down key parts of the Definitive Data Operations Report, and go into more detail of each finding and how it has affected the world of DataOps.

This week, we’ll begin with the predicted Data Operations outlook.

As we previously explained, 70% of all companies surveyed have plans to hire in the Data Operations function in the next 12 months. That includes companies across 40 different industries! If we exclude those industries that are not traditionally considered “tech,” the percentage only decreases to 63%. Every industry is investing heavily in DataOps.

But for now, data operations is a function split across an organization. Most DataOps professionals currently reside in either IT (36%) or engineering (28%). Only 12% of respondents reported into an operations function, suggesting DataOps is still not a centralized function within companies.

Business Trend: Hiring in DataOps

The decentralized nature of DataOps in 2017 is reinforced when we examine plans to hire in DataOps by function.

The chart above examines which functional areas within an organization plan to hire in DataOps. Unsurprisingly, 79% of those respondents in IT said they will hire in DataOps. The majority of Data Science, Engineering, and Analytics respondents also have plans to hire, which should come as no surprise.

What is surprising however, is that 53% of those who work in other functions also have plans to hire in DataOps. This “Other” category includes Product Management, Marketing, and even areas like Finance. This suggests business owners in almost all functional areas have the need to integrate, process, and derive value from data.

DataOps is Not a Tech Trend, It’s a Business Trend

Overall, the data operations field is flourishing. The largest takeaway of these statistics is that data operations is no longer just a tech trend, it’s a business trend. Any business in any industry is now generating, ingesting, and processing some amount of data. It’s an exciting time to be in the data space, and Nexla is ready to help fuel the growth even more.

Download the full version of the report here.

Read the recap of conclusions here.