Interview with senior data scientist
Educated in New Hampshire and spending the first part of his career in the Northeast, Senior Data Scientist Terry Bandy now lives and works in California. Alongside creating his own company specializing in Data Science the Tufts University graduate has partnered with Elliot Massa to create the Data Science Summit which met regularly to discuss the latest developments in big data from 2002 to 2010. Currently working as a freelancer, Terry Bandy is a husband and father who is an experienced freelancer now based in San Francisco.
How will data science change the marketing world as we know it?
I was talking with a marketing executive the other day and he was saying he expects big data to become the major trend for the future of the industry in the coming years. However, data has driven marketing for decades in many ways, it's just now that we can pinpoint with accuracy the needs and requirements of individuals to tailor marketing trends directly to the individual. Recently, I've been working with retailers looking to use beacon technology in their physical store locations which will talk directly to the smartphone of a shopper as they are approaching a store in a mall or on Main Street to deliver coupons, special offers, and details of the latest products arriving in store. I believe this will be the next step for data science to deliver materials directly to a customer instead of the focus being on major national and international campaigns.
When did you start working on business intelligence?
I've always been interested in technology and the possibilities of the Internet for business and personal use which is why I switched my focus at the college from pre-med to computer sciences. In the early days, like most people in the industry, I focused on Web design but found myself drawn to business intelligence around the turn of the century when I moved to California and established the Data Science Summit. It's amazing to think I've been working with big data for almost two decades because this is a lifetime in the fast-moving technology industry.
How do your interests in mathematics, data analysis and interpretation, and business help you in this career?
To use big data properly you really have to have some understanding of math to assist in creating the algorithms needed to track each piece of information needed to assist my clients with their marketing needs. Analyzing data in the way my clients require means having an understanding of their business needs and how the business can be shaped by the use of big data. In terms of my own business intelligence, I'm an entrepreneur and former executive with a number of companies so I think I can give some solid feedback for my clients about how data can have an effect on marketing decisions but I wouldn't attempt to tell anybody how to run their business. I can only recommend and advise based on the data and in a smaller sense, my own business experience.
Which current societal problems and issues are you tackling? Which one is the most interesting?
In my opinion, it is important as a father and husband to develop some time with my family which includes picking up my kids and wife and heading out for a hike in the beautiful landscapes of Northern California. I love getting out in nature and have been giving my time and expertise to a number of groups looking to map the impact of changes in the climate on wildlife. As a keen wildlife photographer, I believe the impact of humans on the climate is one of the most important things we need to be concerned with as I have seen the changes taking place in the natural world first hand over the last few years.
What is your advice to businesses who wants to use data science a part of the life sciences sales strategy?
Trust the algorithms technology experts come up with. In the past, there have been times when myself and my team have come up with new ideas and algorithms only to have them ignored by our clients. When clients ask why Terry Bandy has delivered an algorithm or statistics built from data I usually look back to the initial requirements of the client and find what we have delivered is what was asked for in the first place. Speaking for myself, I can say I believe big data is the key to successful marketing in the future.
