Understanding market industries with Data Analytics

Episode summary

In this episode we are joined by the Chief Data and Analytics Officer at FirstRand, Christoph Nieuwoudt.

The Group has an extraordinary amount of in-depth insights and data available that clients wouldn’t necessarily have access to anywhere else. Whether you’re serving a client from a transactional point of view or doing investment banking deals for clients from a credit point of view, Christoph feels that they should now be able to ask clients a lot less questions and give them more valuable insights into their business. From retailers to any consumer-facing organisation, he believes that even big tech brands don’t have the kind of in-depth understanding of customer profiles that the FirstRand Group has readily available.

Christoph believes that data played a critical part with the onset of COVID-19. It gave them incredible insights into the economy over the lockdown period. From the April data evaluated, it was projected that there could be a R1-trillion hole in the R5-trillion economy. On the FNB base alone, they ascertained that spend dropped by 60% and income dropped by 26% in the same month. October was the first month that they were actually up in nominal terms.

Will the Fourth Industrial Revolution affect the need for human interaction in organisations? Christoph says that if one considers the two leading proponents of technology in the world, China and the US, it is clear that their use of technology makes them significantly more efficient than other markets, reporting fewer unemployed rates.

If you are a poor adopter of technology and have lagging practices, as a country you are going to suffer the consequences. Technology has allowed FirstRand to be more productive — enabling them to hire more employees. Far from being the problem, Christoph feels that technology is actually an essential part of the solution.