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Day: April 13, 2020

AI in the FinTech Industry: What Will 2020 to 2025 Look Like?

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

The financial industry has, for long, been keen followers of technological advancements for their own benefit. Many big names in the industry have been early adopters of disruptive technologies in a bid to streamline processes, reduce manual labour and negate the chances of error.

Artificial intelligence is a paradigm-shifting field that the financial industry has forayed into very recently, sitting still at the tip of the iceberg. Here is a breakdown of the trends, growth, and scope of Artificial intelligence in the FinTech industry during the years to come.

AI in FinTech: Global Market Share, Size and Investment Analysis

In 2019, the AI in the FinTech market was estimated at USD7.2 billion. By 2025, this figure is expected to reach a staggering USD35.40 billion, according to a Mordor Intelligence report. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) has been put at 31.5% for the years between 2020 and 2025.

This double-digit surge is no doubt a result of exponential technological advancements and deeper penetration of the internet. Software tools are expected to receive the largest market share because the need of the hour, and the foundation of all further processes, is the extraction of data.

When it comes to deployment, cloud-based AI developments are expected to rake in the highest CAGR in the following years when compared to on-premise deployments. This goes hand in hand with the shift in data storage and management from on-site servers to remote, centrally-controlled cloud silos to facilitate better access and higher security.

Regionally, AI in FinTech is gaining traction across many geographical splits. The current largest market is North America; however, Asia Pacific is expected to see the fastest growth in the coming years. This comes off the back of massive research and development investments in developed economies in the United States and Canada. Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East will also see a surge in AI adoption and advancements, though perhaps not at the scale of Asia Pacific as yet.

AI in FinTech: Trends and Growth

Fraud prevention: AI is expected to be deployed the most to ensure fraud detection and prevention. Naturally, this segment will drive most of the IT expenditure in companies of varying sizes. This trend appears in a bid to keep up with the changing face of fraud in the FinTech industry as well as the greater proliferation of digital channels and the need to secure them all.

Transactional bots: As financial entities solidify their online presence, transactional bots and digital assistants will increase to keep up with remote demands. Apart from managing customer relationships, these assistants will also be equipped to deal with term life renewals, cheque or balance notifications, withdrawal limit warnings and more.

Risk profiling: AI will become a massive driving force in evaluating client credit risk and creating profiles. Using historical client data and outliers, logical algorithms can segregate risks by range, allowing advisors and risk managers to make more accurate mitigation decisions.

AI in FinTech: Challenges

Cultural changes: With changing landscapes and evolving customer demands, cultural shifts within the company are inevitable. Employees at all levels must be reoriented so that the introduction of AI becomes helpful rather than disruptive.

Security: Increased exposure to digital forums, ironically, also means being laid bare to cyber-threats. While adopting artificial intelligence in any form, financial entities must strengthen security systems at the same time.

In light of the changes to come, it is imperative that new-age students enrol in a FinTech online course that encourages deeper thinking. With every shift in the level of computational power, FinTech industry leaders will be seen integrating beyond-human technologies into nearly every critical stage of their operations. The leaders of tomorrow, then, will benefit from a FinTech online course that preps them to make and implement these changes with minimum disruption and maximum confidence.

A Day In The Life Of A Data Scientist!

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

The data science field holds immense career potential, yet you must be thinking, what actually do data scientists do the entire day?

To provide you deep insights into data scientists’ usual tasks so you can imagine yourself in that role and decide if the time is ripe to get trained for it, we have gathered some insights for you.

No Such Typical Day

If you ask somebody working as a data scientist about their typical working day, he/she may burst into laughter after listening “typical”. For those who are adaptable and flexible, and love to do various responsibilities, then a typical day of data scientists should fit them just fine. While these workdays are subject to changes, some essence of the day stays as it is – working with people, working with data, and working to stay abreast of the field.

Data is Everywhere

Given the job role, it is no surprise that data scientists’ regular tasks hover around data. A major portion of their time is consumed in collecting data, analyzing data, processing data, yet in several ways and for several reasons. Data-centric responsibilities that data scientists may come across include:

  • Pulling, merging and assessing data
  • Searching for trends or patterns
  • Leveraging numerous tools such as Hadoop, R, MATLAB, Hive, PySpark, Python, Excel, and/or SQL
  • Developing predictive models
  • Striving to streamline data issues
  • Developing and testing new algorithms
  • Creating data visualizations
  • Gathering proofs of concepts
  • Noting down outcomes to share with colleagues

Interacting With a Broad Range of Shareholders

This may appear as if it has a minor role in data scientists’ day, yet the otherwise is true as eventually, your job is to ward off issues, not create models.

It is paramount to remember that even though data scientists are playing with data and figures, the reason for this is fueled by a business requirement. Having the ability to view the larger picture from a department’s perspective is vital. So is being able to comprehend the tactic behind the requirement, and to assist people comprehend the consequences of their decisions.

Data scientists dedicate their time in meetings and replying to emails, just like most people do in the corporate sphere. Yet, communication skills may carry greater importance for data scientists. While attending those meetings and responding to those emails, as a data scientist, you should be able to elucidate the science behind the data in layman terms, as well as able to comprehend their issues as they view them, not from data scientists’ viewpoint.

Staying Updated with Changes

Both, working with data as well as with others will account for a notable portion of the day if you decide to pursue a career in the field of data science. The remaining of your day will be captured staying updated with the data science industry. New insights arrive on a daily basis as other data scientists craft a solution to fix an issue, and then extend their new finding.

Data scientists, thus, normally dedicate a portion of the day going through industry-centric articles, newsletters, blogs, and discussion boards. They may attend conferences or connect online with various data scientists. Moreover, occasionally, they may be the ones to extend new insights.

As data scientists, you do not wish to waste time starting from scratch. If anyone else has a better solution to fix an issue, you would like to know. Staying updated with changes is the sole way you will have the ability to do that.

Now the question arises, how to become a data scientist? Well, the good news is you do not have to worry much about it. There are loads of resources available at your doorstep in the form of online courses and e-books. So, if you want to pursue a career as a data scientist, grab these resources and get yourselves enlightened.

Credit Risk – Building On a Foundation of Quality Data

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

As larger and increasingly complex stores of information are being gathered and maintained, Data Quality (DQ) often tends to slip. This is indicative of the fact that, while data collection and storing is crucial, it’s only the first step. For data to yield any benefit to an interested party, it must be turned into insightful information that is meaningful and understandable to the right set of people. When it comes to credit risk analysis, the stakes are even higher.

What is Credit Risk?

Credit risk is defined as the risks of loss that have the potential to occur if any party fails to function by the terms and conditions of a financial contract. Primarily, this focuses on the failure to pay off loans due to any lending entity. Any credit risk course worth its salt would attest to the fact that quality data is the foundation of credit risk analysis and mitigation.

Why Does Quality Data Matter?

When it comes to evaluating credit risk, the most critical task is to gather the necessary information for credit risk analysis and reporting in order to correctly. This is necessary to perform the appropriate assessment and review and to use this information efficiently to determine credit risk in order to prevent future losses.

To most industry players, the consistency of data forms the base of the systems dealing with credit risk analysis. It may come from an in-house database or from online outlets, such as websites for businesses. Alternatively, a company may buy performance ratings from a third-party provider for different markets or areas and can offer a detailed review based on fixed criteria.

Quality issues be eradicated at the earliest stage of the credit risk operation. Errors implemented during the credit risk appraisal stage, either due to input errors or a flawed compilation mechanism, will affect the organization on multiple levels– a risk no entity can afford.

Regulators, too, have become much stricter in their scrutiny, forcing risk management companies to pull up their socks and pay closer attention to data quality. Particularly, according to Moody’s, a greater emphasis is sought on data accuracy, traceability and granularity. Their scrutiny will also extend to the maintenance of central stores of data that is auditable.

Hiccups in the Quality Process

New data is continuously emerging, so quality checks must evolve with them. Data quality is not a one-off, open-shut process. It requires continuous tweaks to accommodate new data of differing kinds. With the advancements in technology and more interconnected cities, we might well see new platforms of data emerging, which ideally should mean new vetting processes.

Secondly, data will continue to diversify on many levels, from economic to geographic. Even existing data can be enriched by newly-found information, bringing in perspectives that could make or break credit risk management plans. While this does offer a much clearer picture of credit risk outlooks, it adds a further level of complexity to the system, which will need to be accounted for during quality assurance processes.

Operational Flows to Improve Data Quality

Checks must begin right from the data extraction stage, by verifying the authenticity of platforms used. Logical algorithms can be leveraged to profile these data dumps and create a picture of the overall data quality.

This is also the right stage to identify inaccuracies and define what to do with them. Erroneous data can be removed or modified as the analysts see fit. It’s also vital to identify duplicate data and remove them; allowing such data to pass through the sieve will likely create skewed results at a later stage.

Automated software and tracking algorithms can be created to execute this process over new data, weeding out incorrect occurrences and enriching existing data with new findings.

Conclusion

Accurate credit risk assessments and consequential plans are hinged on the quality of raw data. Therefore, it is imperative that risk-prone organizations collect data from authentic sources and service the right kind of information from the data dumps.

19 Online Work from Home Jobs Without Investment to Make Money from Home!

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

We are living in a world where the transition has become the new normal. The on-going trends face major and minor changes on an everyday basis. The world is now moving from physical to a PHY-digital platform where a mix of physical features is brought together with digital features which makes the best use of physical resources in hand and technology.

The gig economy is no longer a vague and fancy concept as most of the jobs are going online. This is the time when you can sit at home and brush up your skills and then make money out of it from the convenience of sitting at home with a personal computer or laptop and an internet connection.

19 trending online work from home jobs to look for in 2020

 People make a lot of money online. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the physical job market has been affected to a major extent where people are either losing their jobs or are getting demoted or are made to face heavy pay cuts. But the work volume for people who were already working from the convenience of their homes has not been much affected. Given below is a list of online work from home jobs without investment:

  1. Online Surveys: Earning money by filling up surveys is the easiest way to earn money by working from home. You can take up to websites like Survey Junkie, Survey Monkey, Swagbucks, etc. and fill up various surveys available. Depending on your profile, you can earn from anywhere between $2 to $5 per hour by completing up various surveys. Online surveys are not only restricted to form filling. One can also review videos, various online games, etc. and earn money. The earnings would depend on the number of surveys you are willing to fill up in a day or a month.
  2. Meal Planning: Meal Planning has evolved as a new form of work from home where you can curate meals for people and charge them in return. Various factors come into play such as information related to various allergens, calorie counts of various food products, etc. A little research and you are good to go. This work from home option is best suited for people who are largely or even remotely associated with the fitness industry. Gym trainers and other professionals can earn additional income from meal planning but a normal person can also try their hands on it by suggesting various recipes along with the grocery needed.
  3. Blogging: You can make money via blogging. It takes some time to build the required audience base but if you have a knack towards writing then you can make your blog and share your writings and creations and also your point of view on different concepts and on-going issues. Building an audience is the key to monetize your blogs. Once you have built the base, you can monetize your blogs. Various blogging websites include Bluehost, WordPress, SiteGround, etc.
  4. Voiceover: The voiceover business is growing due to an abnormal increase in the volume of global content. Various videos have narrators explaining the events or scenes going on in the video. You can try your hands on this if you have a good voice and are good with voice modulations. You can refer to openings listed on the Back-Stage’s website or can search for relevant openings online.
  5. Online Tutoring: This time is the best time for all the online and home tutors out there. Also, if you are confident enough to teach a particular subject or multiple subjects for those cases, any other relevant skills or so, online tutoring is the best way to go about it. Education is the only industry that can survive all kinds of recessions as it never goes out of demand. Teaching online can make you a lot of money. You can either go ahead with private one-on-one tuitions using applications like Skype, Google Hangouts, etc. or can also conduct group classes using applications like Zoom, etc. Online tutoring is the best way to go if you want to make easy money.
  6. Tax-filing: The tax filing season is here and there is one thing we know for sure – People hate filing their taxes. You can take a basic online training on how to file taxes and then pitch to people charging a nominal cost for the same. This work from home option is seasonal and you will have to register yourself for the same but it can be a good option to earn an additional income when the season comes.
  7. Graphic Designing: The demand for graphic designers has increased drastically in recent times. People need graphic designers for their posters, business, and digital collaterals, websites, etc. Also, logo designing is one of the aspects of graphic design that pays well. You can charge anything between Rs.5000 to Rs.15000 for designing and customizing logos for various businesses and projects. You can train yourself in using popular Adobe Software like Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. and then pitch to various businesses. You can also use websites like Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, etc. to look for leads that can turn into potential clients. You can also work in a team where you can pitch clients who have graphic designing needs and then delegate the work within the team. Graphic Designers make a lot of money as the demand for work is quite high.
  8. Bookkeeping: Bookkeeping is a good option for people who have an accounting background be it relevant work experience or experience on the academic front. You don’t need to be a certified accountant to become a bookkeeper. One can also learn basic bookkeeping from various courses which are easily available online. People who run small businesses generally are not looking for experts in the field but for someone who can keep track of the transactions with modesty and simplicity. Many businesses cannot afford a full-time bookkeeper so they go ahead with someone who can do this from their homes. This also saves them money and you also get a gateway to some extra money.
  9. Copywriting: Copywriting has become one of the most popular forms of working from home. Businesses generally don’t hire full-time content writers but prefer to outsource and delegate their content needs. They generally get their promotional material prepared by any content writing agency or individual writers.

    You can get yourself registered with any agency which specializes in content writing and delegates the work to various freelancers or you can directly pitch various businesses via e-mails or platforms like LinkedIn. Also, copywriting or ghost-writing can help you with earning a lot of money. It becomes quite convenient for you to manage your expenses if you are working with multiple small clients or writing in bulk for a single client.

  10. Virtual Assistant: Visual Assistants are those who take care of small activities related to businesses. This includes lead generation, answering e-mails, scheduling meetings and conferences, booking hotels and travel tickets, preparing itinerary for various employees of the company, basic data entry using Excel. Some people hire visual assistants for shopping too! Anybody with good organization skills can become a visual assistant. Various job portals have job listings for virtual assistants. You can apply to these openings.
  11. Translations: Jobs involving translations are a good option for those who know a second or third language. The world has indeed become a global village. This has led to multiple opportunities for people who are well-versed with more than one language. You can translate various documents, texts, videos and also e-books. Various translation software has proved to be faulty in the past. Therefore, the best way to go about it is the human way. No one can understand the linguistic nuance of various dialects better than humans. Translators can make decent money by translating documents.
  12. Video Production: The world has become all about videos. Digital content has become quite popular in modern times. If you are good at making videos, this can be your next money-making idea. Video content has gained a lot of popularity and is the next big digital game-changer. YouTube is the best place to make your videos go viral. You can also produce and edit various videos for different businesses and concerns. Different genres have different rates and you will be paid accordingly.
  13. Call center representatives: The BPO industry is slowly transitioning towards the online platform where various contractors can take up calls from customers from the convenience of their homes. BPOs and customer service departments are hiring contractual call center representatives who can easily work from home. Both voice processes and chat processes can be taken care of from home. This is bringing the next big change in ways a company functions.
  14. Online Product Selling: Selling is no longer a physical process. Selling does require persuasion but that can be done online too. You can take up a product from anywhere and sell it to anyone sitting in any corner of the world. Also, you can acquire some trending products from your local manufacturers and suppliers and sell them out to your target audience. Some people also drop-ship various products using websites like AliExpress via their websites. Dropshipping is a good way to earn money as you just have to manage the website and every other component of the shopping experience like the deliveries, logistics, etc. is taken care of by the supplier himself.
  15. Social Media Marketing: Social media marketing is one of the most popular jobs which you can do from home. Managing SEO, creating content and making various ads viral is just a small part of social media marketing. It is a very broad concept. You can use your huge follower base to get paid by advertising various products, services, content, and videos. You can also earn from sharing various posts, commenting on various posts, creating ads, etc. You can also take various online courses on social media marketing and then make the best use of it to earn money.
  16. Website Development: Website designing has become an easy task with the help of applications like Wix and Shopify. Coding is no longer necessary for building websites as websites with a simple user interface can be easily made using these applications. But businesses have to run operations and they don’t have the time to design their websites all by themselves. They choose to outsource the development process. Website developers who use coding languages are paid more compared to the ones who design it using an app but both of these techniques are highly rewarding.
  17. Data Analysis: If you have a significant understanding of languages like R, Python, etc. you can make money but data analysis. Companies have to analyze huge sets of data regularly and they generally outsource it to consultants and contractors which reduces their burden and efforts. Data Analysts are well paid and are in demand in the current situation. Data Analysis is a highly rewarding job and can be also learned online.
  18. Copy Typing: One of the simplest ways to earn money by working online is copy typing. The agency you are enrolled in will provide you with images or PDF files which have to be typed and recreated. It is one of the easiest ways of earning online.
  19. Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate Marketing has emerged as one of the best and most influential sources of marketing in recent times. Here, your networking skills come into play. Your earnings would depend on how good you are with building a well-knit network which will ultimately turn out to be profitable. In the case of affiliate marketing, you can earn a certain amount of money by publicizing or promoting other company’s products or services. Your amount of commission would either depend on the traffic your promotional post is bringing in or the number of conversions or sales done from your promotion. This has become a very popular means of working from home.

Conclusion

Working from home has a whole new meaning in the current scenario. There are other ways through which you can earn money sitting at home and the options are increasing with every passing day.

For more details about online work or online learning, feel free to visit – https://imarticus.org

Leadership Development Training!

Posted on by Imarticus Learning

When you inspire success, you are a leader who makes a difference and leaves a mark on the world. A strong leader can hold a team together, and on a larger scale, an inspiring leader can even hold an entire organization together.

An organization’s main goal should always be: Having effective leaders who can inspire by setting goals and guide others to achieve success. Leadership development training can help managers, leaders or managers, and middle management. The strongest factors that all leaders need for successful leadership are influence, communication, self-awareness, ability to learn constantly, being resilient, and strategic thinking.

Strong leaders are always on a hunt to find unique and innovative methods to bring together and engage people, resulting in a team that is ready to accept challenges.

Even though there are several leadership programs, not many are as helpful as they aim to be. To design an effective leadership development program, the leaders should be equipped with superior skills, behavior, and tools that they should be able to use confidently to help the team grow and develop, driving the overall performance of the organization.

What should a Leadership Development Training focus on?

Here are five key skills that are needed by every leader of the present and the future.

Communication

Learning to communicate effectively is the pinnacle of a leader’s career. A manager may be highly skilled in a software program, but without communication, he will not be able to inspire his team to grow.

Communication

Watching videos, reading, or going through a presentation on communication skills may be helpful to learn communication skills, but not necessarily develop them. Communication at work happens every second, from text messages, emails, phone calls, to creating and delivering presentations.

The most interesting fact about communication is that it is not a new skill and leaders should find ways to optimize their communication skills to stand out from the rest.

Coaching

A true leader inspires his subordinates to push forward and unleash their potential. Every moment can be a coaching moment. Leaders should be able to recognize those moments and value those moments as learning experiences.

The leaders should be able to encourage development, enhance productivity, and motivate and guide responsibly. The ability to be reliable and at the same time, pushing the team to do better is an art that can be mastered with practice and implementation.

 

Accountability

Leaders who achieve success easily are already aware that their success is not just due to their own but also their team’s performance. Leaders are not individual contributors so, to boost their own productivity and development, leaders need to do the same for their team and organization.

accountabilityThis means that leaders should be accountable and hold the responsibility of their team’s outcomes, whether win or lose. A leader inspires the team to move towards success together rather than doing it alone.

This, ultimately, reflects on the leader’s capabilities to hold on to their commitments and ability to produce the results as expected.

Influence and Negotiation

Good leaders get the job done on time. Great leaders get the job done while inspiring their teams. Exceptional leaders inspire, boost productivity, and encourage everyone to succeed. They do not command with authority but persuade subtly.

Influence and negotiationEffective leaders are strong influences and negotiators, who can readily accept that it is not about their power to dominate, but the power to influence and negotiate that matters more to achieve results.

The art of influencing and negotiation involves a subtle way of building relationships, prioritizing, and finding every opportunity to bring about methods to achieve goals and deliver the desired results.

Change Management

No organization stays the same over some time. It starts with a goal – a mission and a vision – and to achieve it, it goes through tremendous change and development on its way. It is not an easy path, but achievable. The success of an organization is not solely on its founders but the entire line of individuals that follow. From the individual contributors, group of teams, to managers and middle management and upper management, everyone has a role to play.

Change ManagementIt is normal to experience challenges during changes. It is during this time that the leaders should be able to instill confidence in their employees to stay calm through the storm and make them believe that changes are a part of growth and should be considered as lessons.

 

Change management should be essential for effective leadership development training, where the present and future leaders learn to work towards achieving the vision, develop strong leadership skills on the way, and be ready to challenge themselves during change and deliver excellent performance.

The most effective approach to leadership development training is to find a balance between what caused leaders to fail and what calls for a desire to be an excellent leader. The factors to consider for designing the training should include organization-specific challenges, the current and future goals, and inputs from the current and past leaders for training future leaders.

Excellent leadership helps bridge the gap between the front line and the top management and gives them the ability to work together. The development of leadership qualities also helps leaders to learn how to collaborate and solve complicated issues, and take wise decisions in a constantly changing environment.

Leadership development training can help manage stress, develop the ability to manage multiple roles while leading across the organizational or geographical boundaries, and also build a network of leaders, across the globe, who are supportive and helpful in the continuous development of the organization. It begins by taking responsibility for own tasks and finishing them on priority.

Every leadership training program should aim to provide post-training feedback which helps the leaders assess their skills, change their behaviors related to their influencing and negotiating skills, communicate better, work towards more self-awareness for continuous development.