AWS launches AWS Data Lab in India, a program that offers customers AWS technical and strategic resources to help accelerate their data, analytics, and machine learning, and application modernization projects

Today, Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company, released findings from a new research report, which shows that organisations in India that harness the power of data can grow their annual business revenue by 13.6% on average. For large organisations, this is equivalent to ₹7,451 million in additional annual revenue.

The Demystifying Data 2022 report, commissioned by AWS and prepared by Deloitte Access Economics, surveyed 521 senior business decision-makers in Indian organisations. The report measured their data maturity – the extent by which an organisation uses the data they produce – using a five-point scale, which ranges from Basic and Beginner (limited or no data strategy, not effectively capturing or analysing data), to Intermediate (emerging data strategy, data is analysed on an ad-hoc basis), to Advanced and Mastery (firmwide data strategy, analytics embedded frequently into decision-making).

More than half (63%) of organisations surveyed in India shared that effectively capturing and analysing data can lead to improved productivity, followed by increased sales and revenue (60%), and improved customer experiences (56%). However, the report found that despite the growing importance of data capabilities in an increasingly digital world, 93% of organisations in India are still in the Basic and Beginner stages of data maturity.

Surveyed organisations in the retail trade sector ranked the highest on the data maturity scale, with 78% of these organisations achieving Advanced or Master levels, followed by information, media, and telecommunications (68%), and finance and insurance (67%). Conversely, organisations in education and training have the lowest levels of data maturity, with less than 30% of surveyed organisations in that industry achieving Advanced or Master levels of data maturity.

While there are advantages to businesses in improving data maturity, organisations in India still face challenges in climbing the data maturity ladder. The main barrier cited by organisations to using data and analytics was data quality (64%), data security and risk (60%), and the lack of a data and analytics strategy (59%).

“As organisations invest more in digital transformation, it has created an opportunity for greater use of data to improve productivity, generate financial returns for their business, and create a positive impact on the economy. Yet from our research, only 6% of organisations in India have invested in the necessary technology, talent, and processes needed to unlock the full potential of their data,” said Monojit Mazumdar, partner at Deloitte. “Investing in cloud solutions will help businesses to accelerate their data maturity levels and achieve data driven insights. In fact, businesses that already use cloud are 94% more likely to have invested in artificial intelligence or machine learning capabilities compared with businesses who have not adopted cloud. To effectively turn data into a business advantage, organisations should have a clear and practical roadmap for advancing on the data maturity ladder, invest in attracting and retaining talent, and leverage the right technology to reap the full benefits.”

AWS launches AWS Data Lab in India to help organisations accelerate data maturity

According to the report, more than half of organisations in India (55%) reported lack of access to skilled resources as a barrier to developing their data and analytics capabilities. However, almost two in five (38%) of surveyed organisations prefer to buy skills by hiring talent to grow their data and analytics capabilities. A further 29% of surveyed organisations are looking to upskill their current employees.

AWS is focused on breaking down barriers to help organisations bridge the data maturity gap and upskill their employees in data analytics. To help more organisations accelerate their data maturity journey, AWS today announced the launch of AWS Data Lab in India. AWS Data Lab is a complimentary program that brings customers and AWS data specialists together to solve complex data challenges in tangible ways, using AWS. During the engagement, AWS Data Lab Solutions Architects and AWS service experts support customers by providing guidance, sharing best practices, and removing technical roadblocks. Customers leave the engagement with a prototype that is custom fit to their needs, a path to production, and deeper knowledge of AWS services. The AWS Data Lab in India joins a network of labs across the world including Australia, ASEAN, New Zealand, Brazil, Korea, United Kingdom, and United States.

“As one of the largest digital credit platforms in India, having world-class security and governance protocols in place to safeguard consumer data is a key priority for us,” said Piyush Gupta, chief data scientist at PayU Finance. “Our ambitious business vision demanded us to move away from legacy infrastructure and build an all-new highly scalable data platform in collaboration with AWS Data Lab that can deliver industry-leading consumer experience. This strong foundation will enable us to scale our business on-demand to support our rapidly growing customer base in the years ahead. We are confident that we now have the right platform and data policies in place to serve over 100 million customers.”

AWS is deeply invested in helping India address the digital and cloud skills shortage through digital education. AWS has trained over three million individuals in India with cloud skills since 2017. AWS offers a range of self-paced digital courses such as AWS Data Analytics Fundamentals as well as industry-recognized certification such as the AWS Certified Data Analytics credential, which is intended for individuals with experience and expertise working with AWS services to design, build, secure, and maintain analytics solutions.

“Data can be an invaluable source of growth for organisations in India. The key is to put data to use by analyzing it effectively, and creating a data-driven culture. No matter what stage organisations are in their data maturity journey, AWS is committed to helping customers in India to leverage the scalability, cost efficiency, and security of the cloud to scale their data projects and unify their data to drive productivity and innovate on behalf of their customers,” said Puneet Chandok, President of Commercial Business, AWS India & South Asia (Amazon Web Services India Pvt. Ltd.). “Organisations will also benefit from building internal data analytics skills, which may involve upskilling current staff through on-the-job training and training courses or partnering with organisations. We are pleased to expand the launch of AWS Data Lab in India to help customers in India bridge the data maturity gap and accelerate their data journey on AWS. As organisations in India increase their data maturity, it will transform how they go about solving problems and building customer experiences, which will lead to breakthroughs in all fields including healthcare, e-commerce, and manufacturing operations.”