Data analytics is ‘no longer a specialist skill’

Giles Richardson: Data analytics is “no longer a specialist skill”

Analytics is no longer a specialist skill and brands should use technology to democratise data and make it accessible to as many people across the organisation as possible, according to Royal Bank of Scotland head of digital analytics, Giles Richardson.

Speaking at the Adobe Summit in Las Vegas, Richardson described how the 300-year-old institution transformed from a “firework culture” in which little was tested before it went live to a customer-focused, data-driven business with journey managers – “superstar DJs” – empowered to use data to truly understand their customers.

He said: “DJs are constantly creating new content and pushing it out. Within milliseconds they know whether it’s working and they pull it back if it’s not. They’re very cognitive of audiences and they constantly reinvent themselves, using the technology in front of them.”