Big data remains on an upward trend throughout the world. More and more businesses are realizing the benefits that big data analytics provides and doing their best to get the right talent to oversee future big data operations. Some of the most impressive growth is actually happening in India, which is why a recent announcement from Coursera is just the latest indication of the prevalence of big data in that region.
Coursera, an online learning platform, announced it will be introducing hundreds of new courses designed around topics like business, technology, and, most importantly, data science. With this big announcement, its clear that many companies see educating Indian students about big data as a high priority as more organizations rely upon the insights that data science reveals.
The recent rise in data science training in India has not come about by happenstance. India has been a major player in the technological field for some time now, and its influence is only beginning to be felt. Not only is India one of the most heavily populated countries in the world, it also has a high concentration of people who have or are interested in acquiring advanced technical skills. India has a lot of people eager to learn more about data science and related topics, while at the same time, those learners are younger than average. This combination of youthful energy and large numbers makes India an ideal target for introducing new big data courses.
Coursera is certainly no stranger to the region. India is already the companys third largest market, right behind the U.S. and China, and Coursera appears to be intent on increasing their share. The company will be setting up an office in the country, but perhaps most importantly, they will be looking to build partnerships with Indian businesses. These types of partnerships play a crucial role in how classes are taught, with emphasis being placed on unique problems and issues found in India. Students who do well in these online data science courses also have a better chance of transitioning into a job with one of the companies Coursera is partnering with.
This is a mutually beneficial relationship between Coursera, which wants to enroll as many students as possible, the students, who want to learn about this increasingly important technology, and the businesses, which are always looking for new big data experts to make sense of all the information theyre collecting.
In fact, it is this increasing demand for big data talent that has lead to the explosion of big data training courses all over the country, many of which can be found online. Some of these institutes include Blue Ocean Learning, Jigsaw Academy, SimpliLearn, and BigDataTraining.In. The courses teach students many of the skills theyll need as they master big data analytics. Those skills include a deeper knowledge of big data tools such as Apache Spark and Hadoop, along with the ability to navigate database languages like Hive and NoSQL and gaining better understanding of the cloud and flash storage. With these skills in hand, students are well prepared to offer big data solutions at whatever companies they end up working for.
Facilitating the increase in data science courses is the fact that India is one of the worlds largest emerging economies. The growth of big data has played a big part in helping the Indian economy expand, which in turn contributes to even more big data growth. Also of note is the increase in use of the cloud in India, with big data playing a large role in that trend as well. All of these factors have lead to more startups, small businesses, and mid-size businesses gaining traction in what has previously been a volatile economic landscape. Big data provides these benefits, and businesses want the best people to use this big data, so greater investment is placed in the courses that will provide that talent pool.
Courseras announcement of more data sciences courses is only one sign of a much larger movement surrounding big data. As businesses and governments place more emphasis on getting people trained in data science, more courses will be introduced to supply that demand. India may not be the first country most people think of when they consider big datas impact, but that mindset may have to change soon.
