Where should one look for a Data Science/ Analytics vendor? Learn the pros and cons of engaging a vendor from emerging geographies especially with the changed dynamics of the post-pandemic world.

The world in which we live today has been impacted and possibly changed forever due to the pandemic. Businesses and organizations are embracing change and are looking at exploring newer ways of driving profits as well as finding partners for their business. The data analytics market is no different as organizations have become open to engaging service providers from new markets. With the pandemic affecting Asia the most, specifically India, the obvious choice of the outsourcing industry is reeling in the pandemic recovery.

Newer geographies are opening up and emerging markets like Poland, Israel and South Africa, to name a few, are competing with the veterans when it comes to providing data analytics services.

If you are looking to engage a vendor for your data analytics needs, then here are some factors to consider for vendor selection:

  • Domain Knowledge: Business benefits if the vendor comes with significant knowledge of the industry and can customize it to fit the needs of the client.
  • Performance: The success of the implementation process and the reputation of the vendor in the marketplace are important parameters to tick before engaging a vendor for your data analytics needs. An online marketplace like Analytics Genie is the right partner for you when it comes to checking this factor for vendor selection.
  • Capability and Flexibility: It is worthwhile to check the models of scaling, examples of successful projects that involved scaling and working in different geographies, etc. This is important to check from a long term perspective.
  • Customer service and support: In the service industry, the service level is the game-changer. It is important to check the reputation of the vendor in this regard.
  • Timely delivery of new technologies: A vendor who is updated about the latest technologies in the domain, passes on that information to the client. Time advantage also becomes important here for early adoption of the same.

Keeping in mind the above-mentioned parameters, here are some emerging markets that enterprises can explore.

Eastern Europe  

In Eastern European countries like Poland and Ukraine are emerging as competitive markets for data analytics. Cloud computing is one of the fastest-growing segments in the IT services market in Poland and

Analytics services growth is bound to follow. When we talk about the key factors attracting investments in these markets, it turns out that the SaaS (Software as a Service) segment contributed around 60% to the cloud computing market in 2018 and the IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) and PaaS (Platform as a Service) segments are expected to grow at a CAGR of 30% between 2020 to 2025. If you are looking to engage a vendor in Eastern Europe, here are some of the pros and cons to consider:

Pros: 

  • Value for money: Kiev(Ukraine) and Ljubljana(Slovenia) are named as the top two European hubs providing value for money. Eastern Europe traditionally requires less spend to deliver tech solutions and hence the hourly rates are in the range of $25 to $49 per hour.
  • Availability of skilled talent pool: Coursera’s recent report states that Russians, Belarussians and Ukrainians have the highest skill proficiency in technology and data science. This means that the employee base of data scientists and data engineers are sound in their domain knowledge which is one of the key factors for vendor selection.
  • Favorable laws: With the implementation of the Data Sovereignty Law in Russia, there is greater safety of data. As such enterprises can be more assured that there will be no misuse of the data shared with a vendor located in Eastern Europe.

Cons:

  • Lack of network: Since countries in Eastern Europe are still in the early stages when it comes to data analytics, chances are high that they may not be able to capitalize on the latest technological developments happening around the world and may not be the most up to date at all times.
  • Political and legal concerns: Under the wake of Brexit, the political and legal aspects of deals are still a grey area. If you are engaging a vendor in Eastern Europe, it is worthwhile to check the exit clauses and document it through a legal binding.
  • Churning of talent pool: Since skilled professionals are in high demand, it becomes difficult for service providers to keep talent engaged and motivated to remain with the organization. It is common for human resources to shift organizations within short periods for better prospects. This can be a deterrent when you pay for specific experienced talent as a client.

Israel

The data and AI industry is booming in Israel and it is slated to be the global leader of AI by 2025.With 84% of AI startups based on pure software solutions and 71% of startups being B2B facing, Israel has

already entered the data analytics industry in a big way. Here are the pros and cons of the overall ecosystem if you are looking to engage a vendor from Israel: 

  • Presence of rich talent pool: Israel has 140 scientists and technicians per 10,000 employees which is one of the highest ratios in the world. As per the StartUp Nation Central (SNC)’s State of the Israeli Ecosystem report, Israel has over 3,000 data scientists. 64% of this technically sound workforce is working in the emerging market of AI, ML and data analytics ecosystem.
  • Investor magnet: The Silicon Wadi of Israel boasts of 4,300 startups out of which 2,900 startups are situated in just a 10-mile radius, second only to the Bay Area. Financially, this translates into the fact that Israeli startups have attracted more than $1 billion in seed and venture capital funding, which is up from $56 million in 2015.
  • Range of services: From Artificial Intelligence-based solutions to Machine Learning solutions to the use of programming languages for creating customized solutions to blockchain technology, data providers from Israel are equipped to handle all this and much more.
  • Confidence of existing users: According to the above-mentioned report, nearly 1,500 investors from across 30 different countries have invested in the Israeli companies. The fact that this number is only growing talks about the quality of work offered by Israeli data service providers.

Cons

  • A surge in salary demand: Owing to an increase in investments and no dearth of options, there has been a massive surge in the salary demand by technology experts thereby increasing the service rates offered to the customers.
  • Political instability: There has been political instability in recent years in Israel with three elections in one year. This sparks a feeling of unpredictability owing to the dynamism associated with the change of legislatures and the change of political power.

Africa

Africa is on a growth trajectory when it comes to trade and development. The overall economic transformation of Africa and better governance standards have instilled confidence in investors worldwide regarding the

growth ambitions of the continent. The African data center market by revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% or more between 2019 to 2025. Making a note of all this, here are the pros and cons of engaging a data service provider from Africa.

Pros:

  • Emerging seriousness in business: IMF predicts that between 2018 to 2023, Africa’s growth prospects will be among the highest in the world. This is further strengthened by the fact that six out of the world’s fastest-growing countries are in Africa namely Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Rwanda. In fact, the African market is already witnessing the entry of hyperscale providers such as Microsoft and Amazon AWS with South Africa leading the way.
  • Focus on infrastructure development: With the rise of mobile phone usage and internet connectivity, Africa is investing in the creation of data centers. There is also an increased emphasis on the creation of better PDUs (Professional Development Units). The basic rack PDU is already high in African data centers but the newly constructed ones are being termed as intelligent PDUs which are metered and monitored.
  • Economically viable: Africa not only has very competitive costs for data analysts’ services, but it also has lower production costs as compared to other developed markets for data analytics.
  • Time zone fit: If you are a client located in the US, then the time difference of 5-7 hours with vendors based out of Africa is more suitable than those which are further away like India and Indonesia.

Cons:

  • Lagging in technology: The academic institutions in Africa have only begun modifying their educational courses to suit data science requirements recently. The reforms began in 2018 and thus are lagging behind other countries in a big way. There is a dearth of trained technologists as well as data scientists as compared to other competing countries.
  • Governance and regulation issues: 24 of the 53 African countries have laws and regulations to protect personal data. Others are still not safe especially if you are looking to share confidential and crucial information with your vendor. If you are looking to explore the African marketplace for your vendor, then do check this aspect before deciding.
  • Political instability: Many countries in Africa are facing political instability and poor economic conditions. As per the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020 report, difficult economic conditions could lead to recession in some countries like Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola. The African subcontinent may also face lower capital inflows and FDI and reduced demand and commodity prices owing to deterioration in global growth at an overall level.

The selection of Analytics/ Data Science vendors from new and emerging markets can be challenging. You will have to weigh all pros and cons and choose the partner who fits your requirements the best. In this crucial decision, Analytics Genie can be your trusted partner. At Analytics Genie, we give you insight into data analytics service providers from across the globe, thus helping you make an informed choice. Contact us to know more.