At Xcede, we host a monthly Talent Acquisition Breakfast Networking Series, bringing together TA leaders to discuss the latest trends and challenges in hiring. These events provide a platform for industry professionals to exchange insights, explore innovative recruitment strategies, and stay informed about evolving market dynamics.
Each session covers key topics such as AI in recruitment, employer branding, candidate experience, and the shifting talent landscape. With a focus on open discussions and peer-to-peer learning, our breakfast networking series helps TA leaders connect, share best practices, and gain fresh perspectives on hiring.
These events are part of our commitment to fostering a collaborative TA community and supporting talent acquisition professionals in navigating the ever-changing recruitment space.

TA Breakfast Networking Event

<h2>Your essential salary &amp; market insights for the year ahead</h2>
The tech industry continues to evolve rapidly, and staying ahead of market trends is key to making informed hiring and career decisions. Our 2025 UK Salary Guide provides the latest salary insights to help you confidently navigate 2025.
<h3>What&rsquo;s Inside?</h3>
✅ Comprehensive Salary Benchmarks &ndash; See how salaries have shifted across Data, AI &amp; ML, Product, Software, Cloud, and Cyber.
✅ Market Trends &amp; Hiring Insights &ndash; Get a deep dive into the latest industry trends shaping demand for top talent.
✅ Expert Analysis &ndash; Our specialists share their perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for employers and professionals for the year ahead.
Filled with data from over 3600 vacancies across 25 industries, our guide is the ultimate resource for navigating the UK tech job market in 2025. Whether you're an organisation strategising your next hire or a candidate contemplating your next career move, this guide is your key to understanding the current landscape and the future.
🔽 Download your copy today by filling in this form! We are currently experiencing issues with downloads when using the LinkedIn app and browser on iPhone. Please note: If you download the guide via an iPhone browser, it will automatically open in a new tab instead of saving it as a file. For the best experience, we recommend using a desktop or an alternative device. Thank you for your patience!

Xcede 2025 UK Salary Guide

We are excited to announce that Xcede has retained its Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for the 4th consecutive year!
This recognition is awarded only to companies that consistently deliver exceptional experiences and earn outstanding feedback from clients and candidates. Over the years, our team has worked tirelessly to ensure that every interaction reflects our dedication to service excellence, and this award validates those efforts.
The Platinum Trusted Service Award is a reflection of the trust and loyalty that our clients and candidates place in us. We remain committed to upholding these high standards in everything we do.
Global Managing Director Adam Blaney noted:
"Retaining the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for the 4th year is an achievement we&rsquo;re incredibly proud of. This recognition is driven by the trust and feedback of our clients and candidates, and it&rsquo;s a reminder of the standards we aim to uphold in every interaction. I want to thank our team for their continued efforts in making this possible.&rdquo;
Thank you to everyone who made this possible &ndash; from our talented team to the clients and candidates who shared their experiences. Here&rsquo;s to another year of success!

Xcede Retains Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for the 4th Year

The tech job market is slowly beginning to pick up again, with the <a href="https://www.verifiedmarketresearch.com/product/cloud-engineering-market/#:~:text=Cloud%20Engineering%20Market%20size%20was,14.11%25%20from%202024%20to%202031.">Cloud engineering market</a> expected to grow by 14% by 2031 and the <a href="https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/engineering-software-market#:~:text=The%20global%20engineering%20software%20market,the%20engineering%20software%20industry%20growth.">Software engineering market</a> to grow by 20% in the same time period. Whether you're considering your tech career path or looking to make a switch, this guide will help you navigate the nuances between these roles.
<h4>The Essential Difference: A Quick Overview</h4>
In reality, Software engineering is about crafting the applications we use daily, while Cloud engineering creates and maintains the digital infrastructure these applications call home.
Software Engineer Primary Focus and Day-to-Day Responsibilities
&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Writing and testing code for applications &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Collaborating with product teams &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Debugging and maintaining existing Software &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Implementing new features
Cloud Engineers, the infrastructure maestros, focus on
&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Designing and implementing Cloud infrastructure &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Managing Cloud services (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Ensuring system security and reliability &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Optimising Cloud costs and performance
Skills Comparison: What You Need to Succeed
Skill Category&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Software Engineer&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Cloud Engineer
Programming Languages&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Java, Python, C++, JavaScript (Deep expertise)&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Python, Shell scripting, PowerShell (Working knowledge)
Core Knowledge&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Data structures, Algorithms, Software architecture&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Cloud platforms, Networking, Security
Tools &amp; Frameworks&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Git, Docker, Development frameworks&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Terraform, Kubernetes, CloudFormation
Soft Skills&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Problem-solving, Teamwork&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;System thinking, Project management
<h4>Career Paths and Progression</h4>
Software Engineer Career Path
1. &nbsp; &nbsp;Junior Developer 2. &nbsp; &nbsp;Mid-level Engineer 3. &nbsp; &nbsp;Senior Engineer 4. &nbsp; &nbsp;Lead Engineer/Architect 5. &nbsp; &nbsp;Technical Director
Cloud Engineer Career Path
1. &nbsp; &nbsp;Junior Cloud Engineer 2. &nbsp; &nbsp;Cloud Administrator 3. &nbsp; &nbsp;Senior Cloud Engineer 4. &nbsp; &nbsp;Cloud Architect 5. &nbsp; &nbsp;Cloud Strategy Director
Salary Expectations in the UK
Based on current market data, here's what you can expect:
Experience Level&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Software Engineer&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Cloud Engineer
Entry-level&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &pound;30,000 - &pound;40,000&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&pound;35,000 - &pound;45,000 Mid-level&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&pound;45,000 - &pound;65,000&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&pound;50,000 - &pound;70,000 Senior&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&pound;65,000 - &pound;95,000&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &pound;70,000 - &pound;100,000
<h4>Making the Transition: Software to Cloud Engineering</h4>
Considering making the switch from Software to Cloud engineering? Here's what I recommend:
1. &nbsp; &nbsp;Start with Cloud certifications (AWS, Azure, or GCP) 2. &nbsp; &nbsp;Develop practical experience through own initiatives 3. &nbsp; &nbsp;Learn infrastructure as code 4. &nbsp; &nbsp;Focus on networking and security fundamentals
<h4>Which Role is Right for You?</h4>
Choose Software engineering if you:
&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Love creating new applications from scratch &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Enjoy solving complex coding challenges &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Want to focus on application development &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Prefer working on product features
Choose Cloud engineering if you:
&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Have a passion for infrastructure and systems &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Enjoy optimising and scaling solutions &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Like working with multiple technologies &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Are interested in security and reliability
<h4>Frequently Asked Questions</h4>
How does remote work differ between these roles?
Software engineers typically require minimal infrastructure setup for remote work, needing mainly a development environment and version control access. Cloud engineers often need additional security measures and access protocols since they manage critical infrastructure remotely.
What are the on-call responsibilities like?
Cloud engineers usually have more frequent on-call rotations due to infrastructure monitoring needs. Software engineers might be on-call during deployments or for critical bug fixes, but generally have more predictable hours.
How do team structures differ?
Software engineers often work in product-focused teams with other developers, designers, and product managers. Cloud engineers typically work in infrastructure or platform teams, collaborating with security specialists and system administrators.
What's the impact of AI tools on these roles?
AI coding assistants are transforming Software engineering workflows, while Cloud engineers are increasingly using AI for infrastructure optimisation and predictive maintenance. Both roles are evolving to incorporate AI tools rather than being replaced by them.
How does the interview process differ?
Software engineering interviews typically focus on:
&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Algorithm challenges &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;System design &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Code reviews &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Technical problem-solving
Cloud engineering interviews emphasise:
&bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Infrastructure design &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Disaster recovery scenarios &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Security knowledge &bull; &nbsp; &nbsp;Cost optimisation strategies
What is the work-life balance like?
Both roles have peak stress periods, but Cloud engineers often deal with more urgent infrastructure issues affecting entire systems. Software engineers typically face more project deadline pressures but have more flexible work hours.
Future Outlook
Both roles are experiencing tremendous growth in the UK tech sector. The rise of remote work and digital transformation has particularly boosted demand for Cloud engineers, while Software engineers remain the backbone of the tech industry.
Whether you choose to become a Software or Cloud engineer, both paths offer rewarding careers with excellent growth potential. The key is aligning your interests and strengths with the role's requirements.
If either of these fields interest you, consider exploring entry-level positions or certification courses in your chosen path. If you are an experienced professional in either Software or Cloud, browse our live roles today!
&nbsp;

Cloud Engineer vs Software Engineer: Making the Right Career Choice in 2025

We&rsquo;ve been made aware of a growing number of scams where individuals are impersonating our recruiters to target unsuspecting job seekers. These fraudulent messages seem to be appearing predominantly on WhatsApp. However, it may not only be limited to this app. We are currently unsure of the purpose of these attacks, but it is widely believed within the industry that they are intended to collect personal information.
At Xcede, we take privacy and GDPR compliance very seriously. We are committed to maintaining your trust and ensuring a secure recruitment experience. It's important to note:
<ul style="margin-top: 0cm;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list 36.0pt;">While our recruiters do use WhatsApp for candidate communication, they will not do so initially or without your permission.</li>
</ul>
How to identify a scam
To safeguard yourself from falling victim to these scams, keep the following tips in mind:
<ol>
<li>Recruiter is not on our website: If the person contacting you does not have a profile on our &lsquo;Meet the Team&rsquo; page, please contact us to confirm their association with us.</li>
<li>Unrealistic promises: If the job offer seems too good to be true, think about high salaries with minimal effort. It probably is.</li>
<li>Unsolicited messages: Be cautious if you receive a job offer without prior contact or from an unknown number.</li>
<li>Vague information: Scammers often fail to provide specific details about the job or the company. Verify company credentials before engaging.</li>
<li>Requests for sensitive data: Legitimate recruiters will never ask for personal details like bank accounts or IDs upfront.</li>
<li>Unprofessional communication: Look out for poor grammar, unprofessional language, or an email address that doesn&rsquo;t match our official company domain, which all end in either @xcede.com, @xcede.de, or @xcedegroup.com.</li>
<li>Fake websites: Verify the company&rsquo;s website and cross-check details. Be cautious of websites that seem incomplete or poorly designed.</li>
<li>Urgency or pressure: Scammers often create a sense of urgency to push you into quick decisions. Take your time to validate the offer.</li>
<li>Money requests: Legitimate recruiters will never ask for fees to process applications or secure job placements.</li>
<li>No interviews: A legitimate hiring process will usually involve at least one face-to-face or video interview.</li>
<li>Gut feeling: If it doesn&rsquo;t feel right, trust your instincts.</li>
</ol>
What to do if you&rsquo;re unsure
If you suspect you&rsquo;ve received a fraudulent message or job offer claiming to be from Xcede, do not engage. Instead please contact us at info@xcede.com.

Beware of Recruitment Scams

We are excited to announce that we&rsquo;ve been Highly Commended in the <a href="https://newpossible.io/british-recruitment-awards">British Recruitment Awards 2024</a>.
The British Recruitment Awards is an annual campaign that sets out to discover and celebrate the individuals and teams that are truly passionate about recruitment&rsquo;s role in building a thriving organisation.
This year, over 300 entries were received from organisations across the UK, providing a very competitive landscape. Firms taking part range from start-up pioneers to large public sector companies.
The British Recruitment Awards is powered by <a href="https://newpossible.io/">New Possible, a next-generation employee insight platform</a>. New Possible helps leaders build healthier organisations by providing meaningful insight that can drive real change.
Winners and Highly Commended were revealed at a celebration event in London. Nate Harwood, Founder of <a href="https://newpossible.io/">New Possible</a> and British Recruitment Awards judge said: &ldquo;The British Recruitment Awards celebrates the UK&rsquo;s incredible talent community, recognising the outstanding agencies, in-house teams, and individuals powering thriving workplaces both at home and beyond. Congratulations to all the Winners, Highly Commended and Finalists.&rdquo;
&nbsp;

Highly Commended at the British Recruitment Awards

We are excited to announce that we have been awarded the SourceWhale Client Service Award at this year's TIARA Awards! This award acknowledges excellence and collaboration in the delivery of a talent acquisition project, campaign or ongoing client partnership. We continually strive to deliver top-tier service to our clients, ensuring the highest levels of support and expertise.
The TIARAs are highly respected in the recruitment industry, exclusively recognising the highest levels of Employee Excellence, Innovation, Client &amp; Candidate Service, Business Growth, and Purpose &amp; Values.
Our CEO, Adam Marsh, shared his excitement about the win: "This award is a reflection of the hard work and dedication that our team puts into every client relationship. We are incredibly proud to receive this award for our efforts and look forward to continuing to deliver the outstanding service that our clients deserve."
Thank you to the TIARA judges for this incredible honour, and to our clients for their continued trust and partnership. This achievement encourages us to keep pushing the boundaries of what excellent client service means in our industry.
&nbsp;

Xcede Group Win at the TIARA Awards!

We are thrilled to announce that we have been shortlisted for Technology Recruitment Agency of the Year for the 2nd year in a row at the British Recruitment Awards!
With over 300 entries submitted by organisations across the UK, the British Recruitment Awards aim to recognise and celebrate the organisations that are deeply committed to the key role recruitment plays in shaping successful and thriving businesses.&nbsp;
Global Managing Director Adam Blaney had this to say:
&ldquo;Being shortlisted for Technology Recruitment Agency of the Year is a great achievement for Xcede. It highlights the dedication of our team and our commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation in tech recruitment."&nbsp;
This nomination demonstrates our ability to deliver excellent talent solutions across Data, AI &amp; Machine Learning, Product, Software, Cloud, and Cyber.&nbsp;
We look forward to the final ceremony in November!

Xcede Nominated at the British Recruitment Awards

Download our latest report from our Around the Product Table Networking Event!
Discover key insights on the opportunities and challenges faced by Senior Product Leaders.
Since 2019, we have been hosting engaging Product networking events. We recently put a speed-dating twist on our usual format, enabling focused debates among a larger group of industry leaders. Our latest report delves into the key insights and takeaways from the evening. The discussions centred on three critical pain points identified by our expert chairs and participants:
<ol>
<li>
AI within Product: How to Create ROI
Our report explores the potential of AI to streamline processes and boost productivity while emphasising the importance of human oversight to ensure quality and maintain a customer-centric approach.
</li>
<li>
Career Progression for Senior Product Leaders
Becoming a Senior Product Leader demands a blend of soft and technical skills. It requires understanding the value of both Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) and generalists, mastering prioritisation to balance competing demands, and honing mentorship abilities to guide and develop teams.
</li>
<li>
Building Leaner Product Teams
The key to building leaner Product teams involves leveraging singular expertise, upskilling team members, and optimising processes rather than increasing team size. Discover best practices for solving impactful problems, balancing leadership pressures and empowering teams for enhanced efficiency and collaboration.
</li>
</ol>
Get your copy today!
&nbsp;

Around the Product Table Networking Event Report

We are thrilled to announce that Xcede will be supporting <a href="https://www.esuregroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">esure Group</a> with a hugely exciting AI recruitment initiative. As a trusted talent partner, Xcede will collaborate closely with esure to continue hiring the best talent in the field, focusing on several exciting roles within the Data and Technology space. This partnership will support esure&rsquo;s continued delivery of AI across their business. Following completion of their multi-year transformation journey and migration to a new scalable and flexible cloud native platform, esure is moving into optimisation and unlocking the full potential of their new digital capabilities.
&nbsp;
esure Group is one of the UK&rsquo;s leading providers of Motor and Home insurance products through the esure and Sheilas&rsquo; Wheels brands. Founded in 2000, esure Group have the scale, heritage and expertise capable of inspiring the trust and confidence of their 2.1m customers,&nbsp;combined with the entrepreneurial mindset and agility of an insurtech. The company is on a mission to Fix Insurance for Good and become the UK&rsquo;s leading digital insurer; using industry beating technology, insights and data, alongside fantastic customer service to deliver more personalised experiences that meet the evolving needs and expectations of customers.
&nbsp;
Our UK Sales Director,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/consultants/matthew-jones" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matthew Jones</a>, had this to say about the partnership:
&nbsp;
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re excited to partner with esure Group on this project and successfully execute their hiring strategy. We will be tapping into our extensive candidate database to bring them top-tier talent that will help them on their continuous journey to becoming a leading digital company.&rdquo;
&nbsp;
esure Group strongly believe their employees are their strength and have built a diverse group of colleagues with proven track records in some of the most technologically advanced and customer focused industries. They are looking for individuals who are passionate about harnessing the power of AI technology and exploring innovative ways to utilise it for now and for the future.&nbsp;
&nbsp;
If you are interested in working at esure Group, please contact Matthew Jones at&nbsp;<a style="color: #cb0666;" href="mailto:matthew.jones@xcede.com">matthew.jones@xcede.com</a>
&nbsp;
Stay tuned for more updates, and join us on this exciting journey as we combine the best talent and cutting-edge technology to drive esure's vision forward.

Xcede Partners with esure Group to Support an Exciting AI Recruitment Initiative

DOWNLOAD OUR LATEST REPORT FROM OUR FIRST-EVER SPEED DATA-ING NETWORKING EVENT!
Discover key insights on the opportunities and challenges faced by Senior Data Leaders.
Since 2014, we have been at the forefront of hosting engaging Data networking events. We recently put a speed-dating twist on our usual format, enabling focused debates among a larger group of industry leaders. Our latest report delves into the key insights and takeaways from the evening. The discussions centred on three critical pain points identified by our expert chairs and participants:
<ol>
<li>Demonstrating Value and ROI from Data and AI Initiatives</li>
<li>Career Progression for Senior Data Leaders</li>
<li>Ethical and Regulatory Compliance in AI Initiatives</li>
</ol>
Get your copy today!
&nbsp;

Speed Data-ing Networking Event Report

We are thrilled to announce that we have made it onto Recruiter Magazine's Fast 50 list for the 2nd consecutive year! This list recognises the fastest-growing recruitment companies in the UK. We pride ourselves on our &lsquo;People-First&rsquo; approach, which extends to our clients, candidates, and team. We believe that the emphasis we place on improving our service offering is why we continue to grow as a business.
Over the last year, we have made the following updates to help us on our growth journey:
<ol>
<li>Innovative Technology and Processes
<ul>
<li>We have invested heavily in our website and CRM providers to help streamline our processes to enhance efficiency.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Hosted industry-leading networking events
<ul>
<li>We have hosted several exciting networking events, tapping into our expansive talent pool to connect clients and candidates and improving our industry knowledge.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Focus on Employee Development and Culture
<ul>
<li>Our people are our greatest asset, and we have strongly emphasised employee development and maintaining a positive company culture. To increase the sense of community in our work environment, we have hosted several company events and CSR Days across our global offices.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ol>
"Our inclusion in the Fast 50 list for the second year in a row is a great achievement and a clear reflection of our team's commitment to excellence," said CEO Adam Marsh, "I couldn't be prouder of our team. Together, we will continue to push the boundaries and constantly improve our business."
&nbsp;

Xcede Group Makes the Fast 50 List Again

We are excited to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Best IT/Tech Recruitment Agency at this year's Recruiter Awards! This nomination is a great achievement, reflecting our industry expertise, innovative approaches, and commitment to excellence in recruitment. Let&rsquo;s delve into what set us apart and how we've earned this recognition.
We showcase our industry expertise in several ways, most notably through our:
<ul>
<li>Annual Salary Survey: These white paper reports provide clients and candidates with salary benchmarks, expert industry analysis, and market predictions for the year ahead.</li>
<li>Xcede Sofa Series podcast: The Xcede Sofa Series podcast has become a source of industry knowledge and insights, with guests from exciting companies such as The Guardian, Expedia, and New Era Global Sports Management. Through engaging conversations with industry leaders, experts, and innovators, we explore the latest trends, challenges, and opportunities in the tech world.</li>
<li>Insightful networking events: Our networking events, hosted at all levels, create opportunities for professionals to meet, share ideas, and build valuable relationships. These events range from smaller roundtable discussions to larger events with guest speakers and panels, each designed to foster collaboration and drive industry advancement and knowledge.</li>
</ul>
Another aspect that we pride ourselves on is our commitment to delivering excellent service to both clients and candidates. We take the time to understand the unique needs of each client and candidate, ensuring a personalised approach that leads to successful outcomes. We also partner with Feefo, which allows us to use verified reviews and feedback to constantly improve our offering.
Adam Blaney, Xcede Global Managing Director, says:
"Our nomination for Best IT/Tech Recruitment Agency is a testament to our team's in-depth expertise. We are committed to delivering exceptional service and innovative recruitment solutions, and this recognition only further encourages us to continue our journey of being industry leaders."
Stay tuned for the results later this year!
&nbsp;

Xcede: Showcasing Excellence in IT/Tech Recruitment

Several factors will influence the product design industry&rsquo;s future in the years to come, including the integration of AI and Machine Learning, adapting designs for multimodal interfaces such as Voice User Interfaces (VUI) and gesture-based interfaces, and integrating Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR).
LinkedIn reports that this industry will see an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ui-ux-design-software-market-size-2024-business-growth-ieyof/">expected annual growth rate of 22.25% CAGR, in the next 7 years.</a>&nbsp;With this optimistic projected growth, it is essential that designers are aware of what these developments entail.
Key insights:
<ul>
<li>Projected Industry Growth:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ui-ux-design-software-market-size-2024-business-growth-ieyof/">expected annual growth rate of 22.25% CAGR, reaching USD 3918.48 million by 2031.</a></li>
<li>Integration of AI will assist Product designers through personalisation, predictive design, automation, and usability testing.</li>
<li>In 2023, there were a reported number of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yaguara.co/voice-search-statistics/">125.2 million voice search users.</a></li>
<li>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/ar-vr/worldwide">AR &amp; VR market</a>&nbsp;is estimated to produce US&nbsp;$38.6bn in revenue in 2024.</li>
</ul>
Several experts attended our <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJwSzXg0-3A&amp;t=34s">Product &amp; Design: A HealthTech Perspective</a> networking event, offering their insights into the future of the Product industry. The overall takeaway from this event was the emphasis on relying on the mass availability of data available to designers currently and the integration of AI. Follow our <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@xcederecruitment?_t=8mLRVZRHGr2&amp;_r=1">TikTok account</a> to see these exclusive event interviews.
An interesting quote from our conversation with Kathryn Ganz, VP of Product at Holland &amp; Barrett, was:
&ldquo;With the level of data and sort of the level of maturity that health tech is now gaining, you see two different sorts of business models emerging. So the first is a type of business that goes really niche and deep on a specific health issue. The other model we now see emerging, I think, because of the opportunity size is these broader businesses that are trying to sort of become your wellness companion or manage the full ambit of someone's health.&rdquo;
Integration of AI and Machine Learning:
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) can't replace human designers, they are revolutionising how users interact with digital platforms and, in turn, assisting Product Designers in their roles. Improvements will be seen in the upcoming years as AI algorithms continue to analyse user preferences and behaviours to help create a more personalised experience.
Additionally, user interaction will become more intuitive and efficient&nbsp;through predictive design, offering proactive suggestions based on previous data on users' actions.&nbsp;Moreover, AI will impact Product design&nbsp;in the automation of&nbsp;repetitive tasks, giving designers more time to focus on their creative efforts. Finally, by leveraging Artificial Intelligence in usability testing, designers will have access to data and insights into user behaviour that traditional testing methods may not&nbsp;be able to&nbsp;offer.
How AI in Product Design will impact different industries:
<ul>
<li>Healthcare Industry:
<ul>
<li>Medical Device Design: AI aids in designing medical devices such as prosthetics, implants, and other equipment, ensuring optimal performance and patient safety.</li>
<li>Drug Discovery: AI accelerates the drug discovery process by analysing large amounts of biological data to identify potential drug candidates and predict their efficacy.</li>
<li>Early diagnosis: Computer vision technology and AI are integrated into the design of wearable devices for continuous monitoring of vital signs and can help detect irregularities and diseases for early diagnosis, further enhancing patients&rsquo; ability to treat conditions before they become life-threatening.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Architecture and Construction:
<ul>
<li>Generative Design: AI generates and analyses several design options based on specified parameters, helping architects and engineers explore all the possible solutions available to them.</li>
<li>Energy Efficiency: AI algorithms optimise building designs for energy efficiency, considering factors like orientation, insulation, and natural lighting. Society has placed an emphasis on energy conservation, and this can aid in its promotion.</li>
<li>Construction Automation: AI-enabled robots and drones help with many construction tasks, including site surveying, material transportation, and bricklaying, improving efficiency and safety.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>E-commerce:
<ul>
<li>Recommendation Systems: AI analyses user behaviour, preferences, and past purchases to give customers personalised product recommendations, ensuring the best possible user experience and driving sales.</li>
<li>Inventory Management: AI enhances inventory management by predicting demand, identifying slow-moving items, and automating restocking processes, ensuring fewer instances of understocking or overstocking.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Designing for Multimodal Interfaces:
Users&nbsp;are increasingly interacting&nbsp;with devices through multiple modalities such as voice (Voice User Interfaces - VUI) and gesture.&nbsp;In 2023, there were&nbsp;a reported number of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.yaguara.co/voice-search-statistics/">125.2 million voice search users.</a>&nbsp;Product designers will need to adapt&nbsp;their design principles to accommodate these diverse interaction modes, ensuring consistency and usability across different platforms.&nbsp;Examples of designing for multimodal interfaces include creating conversational interfaces with a strong understanding of context cues and delivering concise voice prompts for VUI and interfaces that respond naturally to the user's touch.
How multimodal interfaces in Product Design will impact different industries:
<ul>
<li>Healthcare:
<ul>
<li>VUI: Voice-controlled interfaces assist healthcare professionals in accessing patient records, scheduling appointments, or transcribing notes, improving efficiency and allowing for hands-free operations, promoting clean environments.</li>
<li>Gesture Interfaces: Gesture-based systems enable surgeons to navigate medical images or control surgical tools without physical contact, minimising the risk of contamination and streamlining procedures.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Education:
<ul>
<li>VUI: Voice-activated learning platforms provide students with interactive tutorials, quizzes, or language practice exercises, facilitating personalised learning experiences and accommodating diverse learning styles.</li>
<li>Gesture Interfaces: Gesture-controlled educational tools allow students to interact with digital content, simulate experiments, or participate in virtual classrooms through intuitive gestures, encouraging active engagement and teamwork.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>E-commerce Industry:
<ul>
<li>VUI: Voice shopping assistants let users search, buy, and receive personalised recommendations through voice commands. They streamline tasks like tracking orders and managing returns, creating greater convenience and customer satisfaction.</li>
<li>Gesture Interfaces: Gesture recognition tech enables interactive browsing, zooming on product images, and virtual try-on experiences.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
Integration of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR):
The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/ar-vr/worldwide">AR &amp; VR market</a>&nbsp;is projected&nbsp;to generate&nbsp;revenue of&nbsp;US$38.6bn in 2024. Product designers&nbsp;will need to&nbsp;harness AR and VR's immersive capabilities to create compelling experiences across various domains, from gaming and entertainment to education and enterprise. Designing for AR and VR requires a deep understanding of spatial interactions, user perception, narrative storytelling, and the technical constraints and opportunities inherent in these emerging mediums.
How AR and VR in Product Design will impact different industries:
<ul>
<li>Entertainment:
<ul>
<li>Immersive Experiences: AR and VR create fully immersive environments for gaming, movies, and interactive storytelling. Designers must ensure they are creating as life-like as possible environments.</li>
<li>Live Events: AR enables users to attend live events virtually, such as concerts, sports events, or conferences. VR can provide a front-row seat experience, complete with 360-degree views and interactive elements.</li>
<li>Interactive Merchandising: In the entertainment industry, AR is used for interactive merchandise experiences. Fans can use AR to see 3D models of their favourite characters or scan movie posters to unlock exclusive content.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Healthcare:
<ul>
<li>Training Simulations: Medical professionals can use VR simulations to practice surgical procedures or patient diagnosis in a risk-free environment. This helps in enhancing skills and reducing errors in real-life scenarios.</li>
<li>Therapeutic Applications: VR is utilised for pain management, phobia treatment, and rehabilitation therapies. Patients can be immersed in calming environments or guided through exposure therapy sessions, enhancing the effectiveness of treatments.</li>
<li>Patient Education: AR is employed to provide patients with interactive educational materials about their conditions or treatments. For instance, patients can use AR apps to visualise how medications work in their bodies or to understand complex medical procedures.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>E-commerce:
<ul>
<li>Virtual Try-On: AR enables virtual try-on experiences for clothing, accessories, and cosmetics. Users can see how products look on themselves in real-time, enhancing their confidence in making purchase decisions.</li>
<li>Interactive Product Visualisation: VR is used to create virtual showrooms or product galleries where users can explore items in a realistic environment. This helps to provide a more engaging shopping experience, especially for products like furniture or home decor.</li>
<li>Augmented Shopping Assistants: AR-powered shopping assistants guide users through the shopping journey by providing product recommendations, reviews, and personalized suggestions based on their preferences and browsing history.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;

What Does the Future Hold for Product Designers?

In the ever-advancing world of technology, staying ahead of the latest trends and insights is key for both job seekers and employers. As we step into 2024, the state of the UK tech job market continues to change. Recovering from the post-COVID hiring boom, the market continues to adjust and stabilise. Navigating this landscape can be difficult. To guide you, we are excited to launch our much-anticipated 2024 UK Salary Guide. Encompassing the data taken from roughly 3600 hires across 25 industries in 2023, we have created this comprehensive guide filled with market insights and our experts&rsquo; predictions across our specialisms of Data, AI &amp; Machine Learning, Product, Software, Cloud, and Cyber. As well as a spotlight on the C-Suite level.
<h3>Analysing Salary Benchmarks:</h3>
Our 2024 Salary Guide provides the average salaries for different roles at all levels across our key specialisms. From Data Engineering to Golang Developers, End-User Computing to IAM Architects, and everything in between, we dive into all the compensation trends. Whether you're a newcomer to the UK tech scene or a seasoned professional eyeing executive positions, our guide offers an overview of salary benchmarks tailored to your level of expertise.
<h3>Market Insights and Trend Forecasts:</h3>
Beyond salaries, our guide offers invaluable market insights from industry leaders and our experts. We dissect the trends that shaped the tech job market in 2023, emphasising key drivers and challenges across both the permanent and contract sectors. From emerging technologies to shifts in hiring trends, we anticipate the developments that will influence wages and roles high in demand. Whether it's the increasing importance of cybersecurity or the growing demand for AI integration, our guide provides you with the knowledge to navigate the UK tech job market effectively.
See below some key highlights from this year&rsquo;s Salary Guide:
<img src="https://cdn.sourceflow.co.uk/d48r4jbfu6jhvyh5715u9ma8k1gz" alt="" width="800" height="419">

<h3>Highlighting our Specialisms:</h3>
Diving deeper, our guide shines a spotlight on each of our specialisms, offering an expert understanding of nuances within the roles across Data, AI &amp; Machine Learning, Product, Software, Cloud, Cyber, and C-Suite levels. Whether you're curious about the latest trends in data analytics or seeking to understand the evolving responsibilities of CDOs and CIOs, our guide covers it all.
Fill out the form and download your copy today!
&nbsp;

Our 2024 UK Salary Guide is Here!

Welcome to a special Xcede Sofa Series episode in honour of International Women's Day and Women's History Month! Join Angela Evans, Senior Consultant at Xcede, as she explores the remarkable journey of Aly Abel, Head of Research at Storio Group.
In this insightful conversation, Aly shares her profound experiences and invaluable insights as a leader in UX research and design. From her career trajectory to pivotal moments, challenges faced as a woman in the industry, and the significance of mentorship, Aly offers a wealth of knowledge and inspiration. Discover the importance of self-reflection, mentorship, and diversity in the workplace, all while gaining practical advice for women aspiring to excel in the UX research field.
➡️ Connect with <a style="color: rgb(203, 6, 102);" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/alyabelresearcher/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Aly on LinkedIn here</a>
🔔 Subscribe to Xcede's Sofa Series, hit the notification button and join us!
&nbsp;
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&nbsp;

XCEDE SOFA SERIES S1 E06: ALY ABEL, HEAD OF RESEARCH AT STORIO GROUP

Welcome to a special Xcede Sofa Series episode in honour of International Women's Day and Women's History Month! In this episode, Ailish Kelly, Senior Consultant at Xcede, delves into the journey of Laura Palmer, Head of Infrastructure 'Project Management' at Fidessa.&nbsp;
Join us as we explore various aspects of Laura's career, including her sources of inspiration to pursue a career in IT, the importance of IT education and pivotal moments in her career progression. We also discuss challenges in a predominantly male-dominated industry, what she encounters as a woman in a leadership role and why you must advocate for yourself. Tune in for an enlightening discussion with Ailish and Laura as we aim to encourage and inspire the next generation of women in IT! 
➡️ For more about Laura, connect on <a style="color: rgb(203, 6, 102);" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-palmer-0223011/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn here</a>
🔔 Subscribe to Xcede's Sofa Series, hit the notification button, and join us in this exciting journey of knowledge and inspiration. Available now on the following platforms:&nbsp;
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XCEDE SOFA SERIES S1 E05: LAURA PALMER, HEAD OF INFRASTRUCTURE 'PROJECT MANAGEMENT' AT FIDESSA

Dive into the latest trends, salary insights, and future predictions with our comprehensive 2024 UK Salary Guide.
After the post-pandemic employment boom, the UK tech sector is now recalibrating, focusing more on project reassessment and cost-efficiency. Despite a general stabilisation in salaries, with a return to pre-COVID-19 levels, experts foresee a demand spike for specialist roles in Data, Software, and Design due to the rapid advancements in Generative AI.
Our Guide dissects the impact that 2023 had on each of our specialisms: Data, AI &amp; Machine Learning, Product, Software, Cloud, and Cyber. Here is what you&rsquo;ll find inside:
<ul>
<li>A look at the benchmark salaries across all levels in 2023.</li>
<li>Analysis of high-demand roles and sectors reveals where specialised skills command premium salaries.</li>
<li>Insight into the contracting and permanent job markets, where they are and where our specialists anticipate they will be.</li>
<li>Expert predictions for developments that will play a key role in 2024.</li>
<li>Exclusive insights into how AI is shaping hiring trends.</li>
<li>A breakdown of the trends and compensation packages of the C-Suite.</li>
</ul>
Filled with data from over 3600 vacancies across 25 industries, our guide is the ultimate resource for navigating the evolving UK tech job market in 2024. Whether you're an organisation strategising your next hire or a candidate contemplating your next career move, this guide is your key to understanding the current landscape and the future.
Download your copy of The Xcede 2024 UK Salary Guide today by completing the form.

Xcede 2024 UK Salary Guide

Highlights from our industry-leading Product &amp; Design: A HealthTech Perspective networking event co-hosted with Accurx, which took place on Thursday, 7th March.
This event included this incredible lineup:
<ul>
<li>Host: Alison Paul - Senior Product Manager at Flo</li>
<li>Speaker &amp; panellist: Brigitte West - Executive Director of Product at DrDoctor&nbsp;</li>
<li>Panellist: Ivor Williams - Lead Product Designer at Accurx</li>
<li>Panellist: Dustin Peteves - Senior Product Manager at Accurx&nbsp;</li>
<li>Panellist: Tulsi Patel - Head of Product at Hertility&nbsp;</li>
<li>Panellist: Laura Mahy - VP of Product at Zoe</li>
</ul>
Be sure to follow us on social media to stay up to date on all future networking events!
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HIGHLIGHTS: PRODUCT & DESIGN: A HEALTHTECH PERSPECTIVE 

Bridging the Skill and Talent Gap in the Automotive Industry

We are proud to announce that we have received the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for the third consecutive year. This incredible achievement not only recognises our unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional service to clients and candidates but is also an excellent way to celebrate our five-year partnership with Feefo.
Feefo is a renowned customer review platform that allows companies to collect genuine insights based solely on interactions with real, verified customers. Our journey with Feefo began with Gold Trusted Service Awards in the initial two years, setting the stage for the consecutive Platinum accomplishments that followed.
"At Xcede, we are always striving to provide unmatched quality service to our clients and candidates. Receiving the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for the third year in a row is a great acknowledgement of the hard work and dedication of our entire team," says Adam Blaney, Chief Operating Officer.
Over the last five years, we have utilised the Feefo platform to gather valuable feedback from clients and candidates, enabling us to constantly improve our overall services and processes to ensure a seamless and unparalleled experience for all involved.
In the competitive landscape of recruitment, where reliability and trust are vital, Xcede's consistent recognition by Feefo only highlights the emphasis that we place on delivering top-tier service. We look forward to continuing to provide our customers with excellent service moving forward.

Xcede Receive the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award 2024

It&rsquo;s an extremely rare thing to watch, listen, or read something that changes not only the way you view yourself, but the way the world around you functions. Susan Cain&rsquo;s &ldquo;Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a world that can't stop talking&rdquo; is a fantastic read that discusses the role of an introvert within a modern era.&nbsp;
<blockquote>
&ldquo;The introvert/extrovert divide is the most fundamental dimension of personality. And at least a third of us are on the introverted side. Some of the world&rsquo;s most talented people are introverts. Without them, we wouldn&rsquo;t have the Apple computer, the theory of relativity, or Van Gogh&rsquo;s sunflowers&rdquo;. -&nbsp;Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a world that can&rsquo;t stop talking, 2013
</blockquote>
Xcede are leaving no stone unturned in helping us all understand ourselves better, primarily with the aim of improving our professional strengths and weaknesses alike. Through the measurements conducted by our Learning and Development Manager, it became clear very quickly that I was quite intensely positioned at the introverted end of the personality spectrum - a &lsquo;theorist&rsquo; and an even stronger &lsquo;reflector&rsquo;.
<h4 align="start">Insights into Cain's Book</h4>
Naturally, I was intrigued to delve into Cain&rsquo;s book further after seeing our results, given that it was said to, &ldquo;show how the brain chemistry of introverts and extroverts differs, and how society misunderstands and undervalues introverts. (Cain) gives introverts the tools to better understand themselves and take full advantage of their strengths.&rdquo;
In a throw away comment, someone had mentioned that these traits in my character were probably caused by the fact that I have recruited within the Data Science field for over three years. Clearly, it was a comment made with tongue firmly in cheek, but actually made me think more deeply about the characteristics of those that I try to help.
<h4 align="start">Different Personality Types</h4>
Data Scientists and Data Engineers (like any other profession) across the globe have a multitude of personality types.&nbsp;One of the most measured and careful people that I know in the industry is a Senior Scientist at one of the most important banks in the world.&nbsp;Likewise, one of the real live-wires who attended our last&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDixMaf3bAU">Data Science Networking Event</a>&nbsp;is a Lead Scientist at a major tech institution.
Within the Data Science recruitment space one of the frequent requests and frustrations we get from hiring managers is centred around their inability to find a Data Scientist who can also engage with clients, stakeholders and an audience. The value placed on these Data Scientists is incredible.
It&rsquo;s also understandable, because Data Scientists are trying to derive insight from businesses. Someone has to be able to get the results across. Within a business context, Cain suggests that,&nbsp;&ldquo;extroverts have taken over. Shyness, sensitivity and seriousness are often seen as being negative. Introverts feel reproached for being the way they are&rdquo;. Hence, there is a common acknowledgement that Data&nbsp;Scientists with this type of ability, personality type, and motivation are in far shorter supply.
<h4 align="start">The Importance of Learnt Activities</h4>
A really useful and insightful piece in&nbsp;Cain's&nbsp;book describes studies that show that there is a strong direct correlation between isolated learning and skill levels in &lsquo;learnt&rsquo; activities (coding and modelling would be prime examples of such &lsquo;learnt&rsquo; skills). Similarly, Cain also explains that proficiency in public speaking is also something that increases with practice as a &lsquo;learnt&rsquo; skill, and is simply not as effective when repeated in isolation&nbsp;(no live audience, etc).
So is the Data Science field an overwhelmingly Quiet one &ndash; and if so, is that a problem?
At this point, we&rsquo;re dealing in opinions rather than fact. Things are starting to change over time &ndash; some units are choosing to share responsibilities (employing a &lsquo;Consulting Data Scientist&rsquo; alongside their &lsquo;Data Scientist&rsquo;), whilst others elect their &lsquo;Lead Data Scientist&rsquo; to shoulder all of these responsibilities.
Whilst there is a lot of weight placed on technical training that can be provided in companies,&nbsp;
<blockquote>
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll teach you Scala!&rdquo;
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll teach you Spark!&rdquo;
&ldquo;We&rsquo;ll teach you how to build deep learning frameworks that can be used for large scale object recognition with whatever tool is hot this week!&rdquo;
</blockquote>
There is a place for internal training at companies that would enable Scientists who may be introverts and not natural &lsquo;Consultant Data Scientists&rsquo; or &lsquo;presenters&rsquo; to improve their skills in this area and thrive&nbsp;in senior roles that have these responsibilities.
I&rsquo;d be interested to hear your thoughts and whether you&rsquo;ve had any training as a Data Scientist in these &lsquo;softer skills&rsquo;. More importantly, would this type of offer even be appealing to you in your&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/data-scientist">Data Scientists job position</a>?
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/what-is-a-senior-data-scientist">What is a Senior Data Scientist?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-evolution-of-the-data-scientist-job-title">The Evolution of the Data Scientist Job Title</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/how-to-hire-a-data-scientist">How to Hire a Data Scientist</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/chief-data-scientist-tracking-the-rise-of-senior-scientists">Chief Data Scientist | Tracking the rise of Senior Data Scientists</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/data-scientist-vs-data-analyst-which-role-is-most-in-demand">Data Scientist Vs Data Analyst | Which Role is Most in Demand?</a>
&nbsp;

The Quiet Truth about Data Science

We are thrilled to announce a momentous achievement for Xcede as we proudly accept the "Technology Recruitment Agency of the Year" award at the British Recruitment Awards 2023!
The British Recruitment Awards celebrate the outstanding contributions of organisations and individuals in the recruitment industry, making Xcede's win in the "Technology Recruitment Agency of the Year" category a significant accomplishment. This prestigious accolade is a testament to Xcede's unwavering commitment to excellence in technology recruitment. It recognises our dedication to connecting top-tier STEM talent with innovation-driven organisations, leveraging our expertise to help businesses build teams that will help them thrive.
Adam Blaney, COO, shared his thoughts on the win: "We are honoured to be named the 'Technology Recruitment Agency of the Year.' This award recognises the passion and dedication of our team in providing cutting-edge recruitment solutions. It motivates us to continue our mission of driving innovation in the technology sector through top-tier talent placement."
Looking ahead, Xcede remains committed to delivering unparalleled recruitment solutions, fostering talent growth, and contributing to our clients' continued success in the ever-evolving technological landscape.
To discuss how Xcede can help you find top talent and remain competitive in what has become a data-driven market, contact our team today.

Xcede Win Technology Recruitment Agency of the Year at the British Recruitment Awards

The <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2023/cyber-security-breaches-survey-2023#overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cyber Security Breaches Survey</a>, a study conducted by <a href="https://www.gov.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GOV.UK</a> collected data at the outset of 2023, which reported that a substantial 72% of large organisations and 36% of smaller firms had reported security breaches within the past year. This rise of cyber threats and the critical role of safeguarding sensitive data have made cybersecurity one of the most sought-after career paths. This blog will delve into the reasons behind the high demand for cybersecurity jobs, the most in-demand job roles projected for 2024, and emerging specialisations in this ever-evolving field.
<h4>THE SURGE IN DEMAND FOR CYBERSECURITY CAREERS</h4>
The high demand for cybersecurity jobs can be attributed to several key factors. Firstly, as technology advances, cyber threats become increasingly sophisticated and numerous. Malicious actors, including state-sponsored hackers, cybercriminals, and hacktivists, consistently develop new attack strategies, creating an ongoing need for cybersecurity experts to protect against these threats.
Secondly, with the digitisation of critical information and the prevalence of personal data online, organisations prioritise data protection. Safeguarding sensitive information from breaches and unauthorised access has become a top priority, leading to a demand for skilled professionals who can effectively secure these assets.
Finally, the skills gap in the field of cybersecurity is another driving force behind the high demand for these jobs. The rapid evolution of the cybersecurity landscape has resulted in a shortage of skilled professionals. Employers are struggling to find talent with the requisite expertise to fill critical roles, making cybersecurity a competitive and sought-after field.
<h4>THE MOST IN-DEMAND CYBERSECURITY JOB ROLES FOR 2024</h4>
As we look forward to 2024, certain job roles are expected to be in exceptionally high demand within the cybersecurity field. These roles reflect the evolving landscape of cyber threats and the need for specialised skills. Here are some of the most sought-after job roles predicted for 2024:
<ul>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Cybersecurity Analyst: Cybersecurity analysts monitor networks and systems, detect security threats, and swiftly respond to incidents. Their role extends to investigating and assessing vulnerabilities, allowing them to develop and fine-tune security strategies, ensuring the organisation remains resilient in the face of evolving threats.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Security Engineer: Security engineers are the architects and builders of an organisation's digital defence. They design, implement, and maintain security infrastructure, encompassing tasks like configuring firewalls, encryption, and access controls. These professionals play a crucial role in establishing a fortified digital environment where threats are systematically thwarted.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Incident Responder: Incident responders aim to swiftly contain and mitigate the impact of security breaches. They follow well-defined protocols to assess the breach's extent, identify vulnerabilities, and devise a recovery plan. Their rapid and efficient response is pivotal in minimising damage, preventing data leaks, and maintaining the organisation's reputation.</li>
</ul>
EMERGING SPECIALISMS IN CYBERSECURITY
It's important to mention that alongside the expansion of roles within the cybersecurity landscape, there are also new specialised positions emerging to tackle specific threats and challenges. Let's explore some of these emerging specialisations:
<ul>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Cloud Security Specialist: With the rise of cloud computing, the demand for cloud security specialists is skyrocketing. These professionals excel in securing cloud infrastructure, ensuring data confidentiality, access control, and protection against cloud-specific threats. Their expertise is essential in an era where organisations entrust sensitive data to the cloud, making them a top priority in the cybersecurity job market.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; AI and Machine Learning Security: As AI and ML redefine cybersecurity, specialists in this field are in high demand. They develop secure AI and ML algorithms, ensuring the resilience of AI-driven security solutions against adversarial attacks. In a rapidly evolving landscape, these experts play a crucial role in enabling the safe integration of AI and ML into security protocols.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Blockchain Security Expert: As blockchain gains momentum in various sectors, the need for blockchain security experts is growing. These specialists focus on safeguarding data integrity within distributed ledger systems, securing the infrastructure, smart contracts, and cryptographic elements. Their role is pivotal in ensuring the ongoing success and security of blockchain technology as it reshapes industries.</li>
</ul>
WORKING WITH XCEDE
Xcede are global cyber recruitment specialists, who source employees for a range of dynamic positions in this fast-paced sector. We select the top talent for every single one of our clients looking to fill employee gaps in their organisation. Our dedication to finding experienced candidates with the right qualifications allows businesses to foster growth and continue scaling. If you are looking to build your cybersecurity team, <a href="https://www.xcede.com/contact-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get in touch today</a>!
If you work in the cyber space, check out <a href="https://www.xcede.com/jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">our live roles today</a>!

What are the High in Demand Job Roles in Cyber Security?

🗓️ Thursday, 7th March 2024&nbsp;
🕕 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm&nbsp;
📍 Accurx, 7 Curtain Rd, London EC2A 3LT​
Join us for an evening of insightful discussion as we bring together Product and Design leaders from some of the biggest names in healthtech.
We will have a combination of speakers and panellists from industry giants such as&nbsp;Accurx, DrDoctor, Flo Health, Zoe and Hertility, tackling topics such as:
- User engagement &ndash; what does success look like?
- Building trust
- Scaling products and teams.
Don&rsquo;t miss out as we delve into the latest trends, challenges, and developments transforming the healthtech landscape.
See you there!
<h5 align="center">​REGISTER YOUR INTEREST NOW:</h5>
Please be advised that registering does not guarantee event admission, as availability is subject to limited capacity. You will receive an email prior to the event if you are successful in securing a spot.
&nbsp;
<h4 align="center">THIS EVENT HAS NOW REACHED MAXIMUM CAPACITY AND REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. </h4>
<h5 align="center">Please check out other fantastic events throughout the year over on our <a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog" target="_blank" rel="noopener">events page</a>.&nbsp;</h5>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

PRODUCT & DESIGN: A HEALTHTECH PERSPECTIVE

Welcome to another exciting episode of the "Xcede Sofa Series", where we bring you insights and inspiration from industry leaders. In our fourth episode, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Tom Smith, the Senior Director of Design at Cond&eacute; Nast, for a captivating discussion on "Leading with Design Authenticity." 
With a career that spans across prominent organisations like Aviva, Aqueduct, and Underscore, Tom brings a wealth of experience to the table. Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Tom as we explore the essence of design authenticity, its significance in business and brand identity, and the challenges it presents. We'll also dive into a quick-fire round, where Tom shares insights on managing stress, qualities he values in a team, his passions outside of work, and his design bucket list. 
➡️ For more about Tom and his journey, visit his LinkedIn profile: <a class="yt-core-attributed-string__link yt-core-attributed-string__link--display-type yt-core-attributed-string__link--call-to-action-color" tabindex="0" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbW1IVUt0XzdaWFJFSW5UM3FZaDZJZEE5MVlzd3xBQ3Jtc0tub3RnMEF0OEdhbGFfb2lLa2JBVFlHemQ1Z09KaVp5TDctc0lGbDAtU3E2UEhid2c0RXBoQS1nMFA2WWtNSzVKMUVReTFYZWxfTnZVcjBPZUZreDFJZ2JnVDd6b1RjQ3BhNURzaE5yUkEydWV2eHJxdw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Ftom-smith-90647411%2F&amp;v=NVsQlS7lTH4" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" aria-label="LinkedIn Channel Link: tom-smith-90647411">tom-smith-90647411</a>
🔔 Subscribe to Xcede's Sofa Series, hit the notification button, and join us in this exciting journey of knowledge and inspiration. Available now on the following platforms:
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Xcede Sofa Series S1 E04: Tom Smith, Senior Director of Design at Condé Nast

The "Xcede Sofa Series" is back with your weekly dose of industry knowledge! In our third episode, we had the privilege of engaging in an insightful conversation with Chandni Kumar, the Data Product Lead at Expedia, as she takes us on a journey through her impressive career and her pivotal role in shaping data products. 
With a remarkable 15-year career, Chandni brings her extensive experience from companies like Capgemini, North Highland, Royal Mail, and Bally's Corporation to her current role at Expedia. She's dedicated to shaping data products and enriching the traveller's experience within the B2B ecosystem. Chandni's contributions go beyond her role, as she mentors aspiring data product professionals and plays a vital role in supporting mental health as a Mental Health First Aider. 
Recently, she hosted an enlightening Q&amp;A session at the Xcede Product networking event, sharing valuable insights. 
➡️ Connect with Chandni on LinkedIn:&nbsp;<a class="yt-core-attributed-string__link yt-core-attributed-string__link--display-type yt-core-attributed-string__link--call-to-action-color" tabindex="0" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVpmdVZoX3RXRTdoYVFfMG0xaFJvTHE4NEJKZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsTTgtWS00SndSR3ZEeS1ocTJGSXdWSUlpMEdBOU96MDlNRHFqdndfSElnOFgzclVocTZwWDctT2psVnF3azh4MGFRbEEyWVBxcjZwRkdydVBwMEp2VHN4ZENhZkxJTDdfaXk5LUhyQ09UZG1wMTJ6Yw&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Fchandni-kumar-41a96212%2F&amp;v=0duXGBmi3kI" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" aria-label="LinkedIn Channel Link: chandni-kumar-41a96212">chandni-kumar-41a96212 </a>
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Xcede Sofa Series S1 E03: Chandni Kumar, Data Product Lead at Expedia

The first aspect of UX that makes it integral to product design is its deep-rooted connection to neuroscience. Human brains are wired to avoid discomfort. This natural instinct has profound implications for how users interact with products and interfaces. Understanding the neuroscience behind user experience allows designers to tap into the user's cognitive and emotional responses, ultimately shaping their perception of a product. There are 3 key areas that designers should keep in mind when factoring in the neuroscience of user experience:
<ul>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Emotions and Memory: Emotions play a pivotal role in user experience. Positive emotions associated with a product interaction can lead to stronger memory formation. Designers who harness the power of emotions can create lasting impressions, making their products more memorable. This is why well-designed interfaces often evoke feelings of satisfaction and trust.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Cognitive Load: Cognitive load refers to the mental effort required to process information. A high cognitive load can lead to frustration and disengagement, while a low cognitive load enhances the user experience. Through neuroscientific insights, designers can streamline interfaces, reducing cognitive load and ensuring users can navigate effortlessly.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Visual Hierarchy and Attention: The brain is naturally inclined to process information in a hierarchical manner, focusing on what stands out visually. This insight informs the design principle of visual hierarchy, where designers prioritise elements to guide user attention. Understanding how the brain perceives and prioritises information helps create interfaces that are intuitive and easy to use.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Measuring and Improving UX Through User Research</h4>
User research stands as the cornerstone of effective UX design, offering invaluable insights into user behaviours, preferences, and needs. It operates as a continual feedback loop, enabling designers to create products that not only align with user expectations but also exceed them. At the heart of user-centred design, this rigorous process places users at the forefront of decision-making.
One of the primary tenets of user research is the principle of user-centred design. This approach starts by gaining an in-depth understanding of users' goals, pain points, and aspirations. By meticulously collecting and analysing data through research methods such as user interviews, existing data and competitor analysis, designers can formulate design decisions that are rooted in the real-world needs of their target audience. This user-centric perspective acts as a guiding light throughout the design process, ensuring that the resulting product resonates with its users.
Usability testing is another pivotal aspect of user research. It involves observing users as they engage with prototypes or existing products. This hands-on approach uncovers usability issues and provides direct user feedback, which is then leveraged to refine and enhance the user experience. By witnessing first-hand how users interact with a product, designers can identify areas of friction, eliminate bottlenecks, and fine-tune the interface to optimise usability.
Furthermore, user research fosters an iterative design process. In the ever-evolving landscape of UX design, continuous refinement is essential. User feedback gathered through research becomes the fuel for continuous improvements. By integrating user insights at each stage of development, designers can make data-driven decisions that steer the product towards excellence. This approach ensures that the user experience remains in sync with evolving user expectations and technological advancements.
<h4>Incorporating Accessibility and Inclusivity in UX Design</h4>
Inclusivity is an ethical imperative in UX design. Products should be accessible and usable by all, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. Integrating accessibility and inclusivity into the design process not only expands a product's user base but also fosters a sense of social responsibility.
<ul>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): The WCAG provides a comprehensive framework for making digital content accessible to individuals with disabilities. Adhering to these guidelines ensures that web and app interfaces are usable by everyone, including those with visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive impairments.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Inclusive Design: Inclusive design goes beyond meeting minimum accessibility standards. It involves designing products that are usable by the widest possible audience from the outset. This approach encourages empathy and creativity in UX design, leading to solutions that benefit everyone.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Legal and Ethical Considerations: In many regions, there are legal requirements for digital accessibility. Ignoring these regulations can result in legal consequences and reputational damage. Therefore, incorporating accessibility and inclusivity in UX design is not only ethical but also a legal necessity.</li>
</ul>
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Why Is User Experience Integral to Product Design?

Welcome back to the "Xcede Sofa Series"! In our second episode, we had the privilege of sitting down with Tricky Bassett, the Director of Product Design at The Guardian. 
Tricky's journey in designing interactions dates back to the 1990s, with a rich agency background, including founding his own business in 2004 and experience at notable media companies such as News UK.&nbsp;Tricky brings a wealth of knowledge to the table. 
In this episode, Tricky delves into The Guardian's unique role in a rapidly evolving digital landscape, the innovation processes that drive their success, and the challenges they face in assembling and empowering their design team. He also sheds light on the rise of Design Ops and stakeholder management, essential in today's design world.&nbsp;
➡️ For more about Tricky Bassett and his journey, visit his LinkedIn profile: <a class="yt-core-attributed-string__link yt-core-attributed-string__link--display-type yt-core-attributed-string__link--call-to-action-color" tabindex="0" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&amp;redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVR5YTEzMDd6VC1KS1VUN1RLR1JxQ3ZsRDRad3xBQ3Jtc0ttT2Zqcms5TDJFRnNPUXJRbVZ4aDZ5cDgzemc1VFpKNHZieVplRFdHY21FYlNvZHZ4ZF9MQmFqcW1IWjd6QWRuSGwzdGdBVnJaMFpIQjcwaURKYlpoMXUyaTVPUnZJWVNib2JmZmN3UHU3aEZudmw5MA&amp;q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fin%2Frichardtrickybassett%2F&amp;v=dLJ_iZVMSHs" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" aria-label="LinkedIn Channel Link: richardtrickybassett">richardtrickybassett</a>
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Xcede Sofa Series S1 E02: Tricky Bassett, Director of Product Design at The Guardian

Welcome to the Xcede Sofa Series! In this episode, we are delighted to have Diana Matei, an experienced Senior Product Manager at ClearScore, sharing her wealth of experience and insights. Diana Matei has an impressive career spanning eight years across various notable companies, such as Tesco, Gousto, Thoughtful, and Skyscanner. Diana is a passionate advocate for Product Management and has even established her own YouTube channel, <a class="yt-core-attributed-string__link yt-core-attributed-string__link--display-type yt-core-attributed-string__link--call-to-action-color" tabindex="0" href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrHp_6SycASbTBZuthyGPBQ" target="" rel="nofollow">dmthepm</a>. Her expertise is well recognised, she actively contributes as a mentor in the Bloom program and speaks at product conferences. 
➡️ Follow Diana on LinkedIn and subscribe to her YouTube channel below: 
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Xcede Sofa Series S1 E01: Diana Matei, Senior Product Manager at ClearScore

​User experience (UX) design plays a pivotal role in shaping the success of any digital product or service. As technology continues to evolve, so do the tools and techniques available to UX designers. One such revolutionary force is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has significantly impacted the field of UX design in recent years. AI has opened doors for more personalised user engagement, as well as quicker user research and data analysis processes. However, with these new advantages come potential drawbacks and ethical concerns.
Personalisation and User Engagement:
Personalisation has become the cornerstone of modern UX design, aiming to create tailored experiences that resonate with individual users. AI has turbocharged personalisation efforts by enabling designers to analyse vast amounts of user data and deliver highly relevant content. AI algorithms can track user behaviour, preferences, and interactions to create dynamic user profiles. This information is then used to offer personalised recommendations, content, and features. This level of customisation not only enhances user engagement but also fosters a deeper emotional connection between users and the digital product.
For instance, streaming platforms like Netflix employ AI algorithms to analyse user viewing habits and suggest movies and shows based on individual preferences. Similarly, e-commerce websites leverage AI-driven recommendation engines to showcase products relevant to each user's browsing history and purchase behaviour. The result is a more immersive and satisfying user experience that keeps users engaged and coming back for more.
User Research and Data Analysis:
User research and data analysis are critical components of UX design, providing insights into user behaviour, pain points, and needs. AI has transformed these processes by automating data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms can analyse user feedback, reviews, and social media posts to extract valuable insights. This enables UX designers to make informed decisions based on real-time user sentiments. Not only that but by studying the prompts given to AI, UX designers can gain a lot of context around user behaviour and thought processes providing a deeper understanding of what users are looking for.
One of the toughest tasks of being a researcher is recruiting users to participate and taking the time to conduct the user research needed. Once the data is gathered, it still needs to be analysed and interpreted. AI-powered analytics tools can process complex data sets quickly, identifying patterns and trends that might otherwise go unnoticed. This expedites the user research phase, allowing designers to iterate and optimise designs more efficiently. As a result, UX designers can create products that align more closely with user expectations and preferences.
Despite the time-saving advantages that AI offers for research purposes, it's important to acknowledge the potential risks associated with its use.
Ethical Concerns and Negative Impact of AI in UX Design:
While AI holds immense potential for enhancing UX design, it also raises ethical concerns that must be carefully addressed. One primary concern is the potential for algorithmic bias, where AI systems inadvertently favour certain user groups or exclude others. This bias can perpetuate stereotypes and further marginalise underrepresented users. When AI systems are designed with inherent biases, such as those related to gender, race, or disability, these biases have the potential to filter into user research outcomes. This can prove highly detrimental, as tainted findings could render the collected data unusable. This issue is of particular concern in light of the ongoing efforts to enhance the accessibility of user experience (UX) design.
Moreover, the excessive use of AI-driven personalisation might lead to privacy breaches and a sense of surveillance. Users might feel uncomfortable knowing that their every action is being tracked and analysed to deliver targeted content. Striking the right balance between personalisation and user privacy is a challenge that designers must navigate cautiously.
Similarly, another risk of AI in UX design is the potential for over-automation. Relying too heavily on AI can strip away the human touch that makes a design empathetic and relatable. It's crucial for designers to remember that while AI can assist in data-driven decisions, it cannot replace the intuitive creativity and emotional understanding that human designers bring to the table. Human touch can also help connect user research with a company&rsquo;s aim. For example, AI may identify that a specific demographic makes up the majority of a product&rsquo;s user base and tailor all research and outcomes to that demographic. This limits the ability to diversify the target audience, which may be a goal of the company.
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How is AI Impacting UX Design

Having already experienced so much growth in the last few years, the data analysis sector is showing no sign of stopping. According to Precedence Research, the anticipated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the global data analytics market is 29.4% in the time period of 2023 to 2032, surpassing around 393.35 billion USD. In this fast-evolving landscape of data analysis, staying relevant and effective requires a continuous commitment to upgrading your skill set. Let's dive into the key data analyst skills that are crucial in 2023 and the year ahead.
Advanced-Data Visualisation Techniques and Tools:
In the digital age, data visualisation is more than just creating bar charts and pie graphs. It's about telling compelling stories through data, driving actionable insights, and making complex information understandable to a wider audience. To excel in this aspect, data analysts need to be proficient in advanced data visualisation techniques and tools.
<ul>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Interactive Visualisations: In 2023 and beyond, data analysts are now expected to create interactive visualisations that allow users to explore data from different angles, making the analysis more engaging and insightful.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Dashboard Creation: Creating dynamic dashboards that provide a comprehensive overview of key metrics is a critical skill and will put you ahead of the competition. Tools like Tableau, Power BI, and Looker are widely used for building interactive dashboards that facilitate real-time decision-making.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Data Transformation: Raw data often requires preprocessing before it can be visualised effectively. Data analysts should be proficient in data transformation techniques, such as cleaning, reshaping, and aggregating data, to ensure that the data is ready for visualisation.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Data Build Tool (DBT): DBT has gained prominence as a powerful tool for transforming and modelling data in a structured and scalable manner. Proficiency in DBT allows data analysts to streamline the data transformation process, ensuring that data is accurate and up-to-date for visualisation purposes.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Data Artistry: Data analysts are now akin to artists, turning raw data into visually appealing representations. The ability to select appropriate colours, layouts, and design elements contributes to the effectiveness of communicating insights.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Generative AI and ML Operations:</h4>
With the data analysis sector experiencing significant growth, it's essential to stay ahead of the curve by acquiring proficiency in Generative AI and ML Operations. As we move further into 2023 and beyond, these skills will play a pivotal role in maximising the potential of data analysis and machine learning.
Generative AI encompasses the understanding and application of advanced AI models like GANs (Generative Adversarial Networks) and VAEs (Variational Autoencoders). These models have found increasing relevance across diverse domains, enabling tasks such as image generation, text synthesis, and data augmentation. They present innovative solutions to a myriad of data-related challenges.
Meanwhile, ML Operations (MLOps) has emerged as a pivotal discipline within the swiftly evolving landscape of data analysis. Data analysts must exhibit proficiency in deploying, monitoring, and managing machine learning models in production environments. Key tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines form the bedrock of effective MLOps practices.
Furthermore, the comprehension of scalability and efficiency is vital as data volumes continue to increase. Data analysts must adeptly optimise algorithms and infrastructure to efficiently handle large datasets. This ensures that data analysis processes remain adaptable and scalable to meet the evolving needs of the organisation.
<h4>Ethical and Responsible Data Analysis:</h4>
As data collection and analysis become more prevalent, the ethical implications of these practices are under scrutiny. Organisations are now prioritising ethical and responsible data analysis, making it a key skill for data analysts in 2023.
<ul>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Privacy Awareness: Data analysts should be well-versed in privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA. Respecting user privacy and ensuring that data is handled in compliance with these regulations is non-negotiable.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Bias Mitigation: Bias in data and algorithms can lead to unfair or discriminatory outcomes. Data analysts must actively work to identify and mitigate bias in data sources and models to ensure fairness and inclusivity.</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Transparency: Being transparent about data sources, methodologies, and assumptions is essential for building trust with stakeholders. Data analysts should be capable of explaining complex analyses in a clear and understandable manner.</li>
</ul>
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Key Data Analyst Skills Required in 2023 and Beyond

Explore the biggest salary trends and insights from 2023 thus far and for the year ahead in Germany in Xcede&rsquo;s 2023-24 Salary Survey.​
Introducing Xcede&rsquo;s first-ever Salary Guide for Germany &ndash; your definitive resource for gaining insights into the German job market in 2023 and a sneak peek into what 2024 holds. Focused on our specialised sectors, including data, product, cyber, cloud, and software, this report is a must-have for professionals, businesses, and decision-makers seeking to navigate salary bandings and employment opportunities across these thriving industries.
Through meticulous research and data collection, we present a detailed overview of how the job landscape has evolved and provide a glimpse into the prevailing dynamics shaping workforces in the next year.
Join us as we delve into the emerging trends and explore the promising prospects that await job seekers and employers across these pivotal sectors in Germany.
​Download your own copy of The Xcede 2023-24 Salary Survey Germany today by completing the form below.

Xcede Salary Guide Germany 2023-2024

Roundtable Discussions: "Are AI tools like ChatGPT actually beneficial to your business?

<article class="body mb-5">
Welcome to the final post in our dedicated Natural Language Processing Blog Series. In our first post, we asked Xcede&rsquo;s Data team about the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/nlp-series-nlp-s-exponential-job-growth-explained">current state of the hiring market for NLP specialists</a>. We then spoke to University of Edinburgh Speech Technology PhD student Jacob Webber to learn more about&nbsp;the uses of NLP within academia, current research in the field, and his connected field of study.
Here we speak to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/srinivasancj/">Srini Janarthanam</a>, Lead Conversational AI Scientist at Builder.ai about responsible AI, AI bias, and how revolutions in ML and Deep Learning are advancing the NLP space.
Read his thoughts below.
<h4 align="start">Srini, can you describe what your role is at&nbsp;<a href="http://builder.ai/">Builder.ai</a><a href="http://builder.ai/">&nbsp;</a>and the wider role of ML and NLP within the organisation?</h4>
My role at Builder.ai is Lead Conversational AI Scientist. I lead the NLP team working towards building a conversational AI agent that will assist customers and colleagues in engaging with the Builder platform and products in a seamless manner. Our team is part of a wider AI team called the Intelligent Systems team that is responsible for all the AI models that power the Builder platform like models that estimate time, cost and feature sets for customer projects.
<h4 align="start">What does &lsquo;responsible AI&rsquo; mean to you?</h4>
Machine Learning models have been very successful in solving many NLP tasks. Researchers are coming up with more complex tasks to challenge them. Although the power of ML is growing exponentially, there are some problem areas too. ML models can be biased towards or against certain sections of the population. This is because they were trained on biased data. When using such models, we need to exercise caution. ML models based on certain kinds of architecture like neural nets can become opaque as decisions made by them could not be easily explained. How could you then explain to a customer why their application was rejected by the model?&nbsp;
Another important problem is privacy of data. Are we training our models on data that we shouldn&rsquo;t be having access to? Models can learn to generalise but sometimes they memorise. Big transformer models have been shown to have this problem - memorising personal data that they were fed with during training time. How do we avoid these issues? How do we consume these models to build AI services? With great powers comes great responsibility. Responsible AI is about understanding the underlying problems, the quality of the datasets, limitations of our models and taking responsible action.
<h4 align="start">How, in your words, would you describe NLP, and has this changed in any major way over the past few years?</h4>
Natural Language Processing is a subfield of AI focused on getting computers to understand and generate natural human languages like English, French, Hindi, etc. Researchers in the field have built tools and techniques to analyse language at several levels - morphology (words), syntax (phrases), semantics (meaning) and pragmatics (context). These tools are used to do several NLP tasks like recognising and generating speech from text, translating text from one language to another, answering questions from a large body of text documents, etc.
<h4 align="start">How would you describe the evolution of NLP?</h4>
The earliest form of NLP involved building rule-based tools in which linguistic rules were hand-coded manually by language experts. Then came statistical models that mined the rules and patterns from language data. These were very robust and more flexible than rule-based approaches. Recently, in the past ten years, deep machine learning methods have overtaken the past approaches. We now have machine learning algorithms that can ingest large quantities of text and build huge state of the art models for addressing NLP tasks.&nbsp;
ML models like BERT and GPT-3 which were introduced recently are huge models with millions of trainable parameters that have learned to represent any sentence in an N dimensional semantic space. This means these models can take any sentence and, in a sense, &lsquo;understand&rsquo; the meaning of it. So, they can compare two sentences and tell if they are similar to each other. GPT-3 can understand a prelude and generate a whole story that could follow the prelude meaningfully. Of course the results may need to be fine-tuned by humans but still I think the quality of their output has improved a lot.
<h4 align="start">What is the most exciting thing to have come up in the conversational technology space over the past year?</h4>
The most exciting thing in Conversational AI in recent years is the emergence of transformer-based architectures. Several transformer-based conversational AI systems were introduced by organisations like OpenAI, Google, Facebook and Amazon.&nbsp;
In early 2020, Google introduced Meena, a conversational AI open domain chatbot that can talk about anything. It was based on transformer architecture, much like BERT. It was trained on hundreds of gigabytes of social media conversation to come up with sensible and specific responses to the user. In 2021, they released Lamda, which is an upgrade to Meena. It focused on making conversations not just sensible and specific but also interesting and factual too.
Amazon have been running the Alexa prize challenge for a few years now. It is a global competition for university teams to create the most sociable chatbot that can interact with users on Alexa. This competition has generated many new architectures for open domain social bots. This year&rsquo;s competition also includes a task bot challenge where the teams are required to build a chatbot that will assist users with DIY tasks like cooking a recipe.
Facebook came up with Blenderbot after Meena in which they focused on giving an open domain socialbot a consistent personality and empathy skills. Their study showed that 67% of human evaluators thought it sounded humanlike.
<h4 align="start">How much is sentiment and emotions a part of your work and where do you think this (area of the space) can go?</h4>
Sentiment and emotions are essential components of human conversations. Making conversational AI empathic is one of the goals of the field. There are two sides to this problem - recognising emotions and generating them. We want chatbots to understand the emotional state that the user is in so that it can adapt its behaviour. We also want chatbots to generate emotions and display them during conversation to make the conversation engaging.&nbsp;Some open domain chatbot researchers have started to focus on this problem.&nbsp;
In task based and goal-oriented chats, emotion recognition can be used to direct the conversation in optimal directions. If the customer seems to be angry or disappointed, chatbots could consider handing off to the human team quicker than usual. If they are confused with jargon, chatbots could generate a simpler version using descriptions for concepts.
I think we still have a long way to go to fully understand how to responsibly use emotions in conversational AI settings.
<h4 align="start">What&rsquo;s next for the sector?</h4>
Conversational AI is a very exciting field. We are tackling one of the hardest challenges AI is facing - that is to build AI systems that can have engaging and useful conversations with us in natural language.&nbsp;
The research in the area has grown multifold in the last decade. New architectures are emerging every day. New datasets, models and code are shared under open-source licensing which I think is a great way to accelerate the field.&nbsp;
While open-domain chatbots like Meena, Lamda and BlenderBot have made big news, task based chatbots haven&rsquo;t. Scaling up task based chatbots like the ones you would use in a sales, troubleshooting or customer support scenarios is still a challenge. Transformer based architectures for taskbots are emerging however they are not mainstream yet. Even the most basic conversation rules have to be hand-coded in current approaches.
The next big thing would be to build task-based chatbots powered by transformers in a meaningful way so that organisations need only provide content of conversations to chatbots (what to talk) and not worry about the rules of conversations (i.e. how to talk) because those are already learned.
Looking to make your next career move within the AI and NLP space?&nbsp;Get in touch&nbsp;with Xcede&rsquo;s dedicated data recruitment team or explore our huge range of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/data">AI and NLP job opportunities</a> today.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/nlp-series-nlp-s-exponential-job-growth-explained">NLP Series: NLPs Exponential Job Growth Demand Explained</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/nlp-series-interview-with-phd-scholar-jacob-webber">NLP Series: Interview with PhD Scholar Jacob Webber</a>
</article>

NLP Series: Responsible AI & NLP

Information Security and Assurance jobs are challenging, rewarding, and constantly evolving. Information systems are at the centre of every organization&rsquo;s infrastructure, so protecting the information and data that comprises that is critical. This foundational need means that there is an ever-growing demand for certified information assurance and security specialists in every organization (that has a digital aspect) across the globe.
Here we delve into the main differences between information assurance and<a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/cyber"> information security jobs</a> and what these jobs entail. We also share some insights from Adam Blaney on the ever-expanding demand for certified information security and assurance specialists in the UK and beyond.
JOBS IN INFORMATION SECURITY AND ASSURANCE
Any role related to information assurance and security is completely open to interpretation depending on what type of information a company wants the candidate to protect, the industry they will be working across, and the company&rsquo;s individual business goals.
Generally, &ldquo;information assurance and security is the management and protection of knowledge, information, and data&rdquo;. As Capella University notes, however, there are two distinct disciplines here.
Firstly, information assurance is all about &ldquo;ensuring the availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and non-repudiation of information and systems.&rdquo;
In contrast, information security centres on &ldquo;the protection of information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction.&rdquo;
Where information assurance takes measures to provide &ldquo;for restoration of information systems by incorporating protection, detection, and reaction capabilities&rdquo;, the goals of an information security role are instead more focused on providing &ldquo;confidentiality, integrity, and availability.&rdquo;
WHAT DOES A PERSON WORKING ACROSS INFORMATION SECURITY AND ASSURANCE DO?
What an Information Security and Assurance specialist will do for a company will depends on what the company wants to achieve, or in this case, protect.
Broadly speaking, GOV.ukdefines Information Security and Assurance roles as those that deliver &ldquo;the processes and mechanisms needed to build a secure and reliable ICT infrastructure.&rdquo;
As Capella University notes on the overlap between the two disciplines, each will involve a general balance of &ldquo;risk management, cyber security, corporate governance, compliance, auditing, business continuity, disaster recovery, forensic science, security engineering, and criminology.&rdquo;
Characteristically, the objectives and day-to-day tasks of professionals in this field tend to be synonymous with the job titles themselves: they protect, manage and secure information. This means they will be managing a huge range of information across a given company, overseeing GDPR and compliance-related material, identity and access management, and company databases.
Related to, but in contrast is cybersecurity, which is more about preventing unwanted access to networks.
WHAT SECTORS AND TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS DO INFORMATION SECURITY AND ASSURANCE SPECIALISTS WORK ACROSS?
As discussed, as information systems are at the core of most, if not every businesses infrastructure, you will find Information Security and Assurance Specialists in some form in every organization, whatever the sector, across the globe.
Adam Blaney notes:
&ldquo;If you imagine, it's just a permission base of who can access what across the system. We've had that for years, but these things are now becoming part of cyber departments as they got built.
&ldquo;Historically, companies didn't have a cyber department. Instead, they likely had one person who was the &lsquo;data controller&rsquo;, or someone in charge of the data who managed and took measures to protect it.
&ldquo;As the departments grow, there are more and more job titles coming out and more functions being added into that function.&rdquo;.
The range of jobs related to Information Security and Assurance is vast. Many of the Information Security and Assurance jobs that Xcede consult for relate to coding and preventing unwanted network access.
Adam Blaney notes:
&ldquo;The biggest areas we work across are identity and access management, as well as Systems Security. We also have a team that focuses in the commercial piece, placing specialists to sell cyber products to cyber vendors.&rdquo;
As more organizations expand their digital strategy, new regulations surrounding consumer information and data (such as GDPR) arise, and universal awareness of cyber security and data privacy increases, the diversity and quantity of Information Assurance or Security-related roles will continue to expand. Looking for your next contract or permanent job in information security and assurance? Get in touch with our team today to discuss our diverse range of roles.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/what-are-the-high-in-demand-job-roles-in-cyber-security">What are the High in Demand Job Roles in Cyber Security?</a>

What is Information Security and Assurance?

We spoke with <a href="https://www.xcede.com/consultants/niall-wharton">Niall Wharton</a>, Team Lead in Data Science at Xcede, to find out more about what being a Senior Data Scientist involves and how to know if you&rsquo;re ready for the jump.&nbsp;
Thanks for talking with us, Niall. To kick us off, can you describe the primary difference between a Senior and Junior Data Scientist? The structure of a Data Science department varies significantly between countries and companies, especially because the market is still in its relative infancy.&nbsp;
However, for most, the fundamental difference between a Senior and Junior Data Scientist is the amount of responsibility that an individual is given. Senior Scientists usually have an increased level of which allows them to manage and deliver projects successfully, as explained by Guillermo Barquero, Data Science Manager at Tesco:
&ldquo;I'd say the main difference is around project management: being able to efficiently translate business problems into mathematical ones and drive the technical part of the project: including selecting the right approach for the specific use case and managing stakeholders.&rdquo;
What can a Senior Scientist expect to do as part of their role?
Again, each company is unique, but normally a Senior Data Scientist owns the entirety of a data project. This includes the glamorous model building and machine learning stages and the not-so-glamorous data collection, data cleaning and productisation stages.&nbsp;
Mahana Mansfield, Data Science Director at Deliveroo, describes the scope of a Senior Data Scientist&rsquo;s role well:
&ldquo;For me, a Senior Data Scientist is someone who can own a project end-to-end, right from formulating the problem, through developing a solution (potentially mentoring more Junior Data Scientists to rolling out and iterating, and knowing when to move on to something more impactful.&rdquo;
When is someone ready to become a Senior Data Scientist?
While you might think readiness for a senior position is based on longevity or technical ability, it&rsquo;s actually more often based on relevant or impactful experience.&nbsp;
When someone can show that they&rsquo;ve helped deliver projects that add real value to an organisation (for example, customer purchase uplift or improved results in any domain), that&rsquo;s a strong sign they&rsquo;re ready for the next level. Technical ability is great, but employers want to see facts and experience to back up that expertise.&nbsp;
Does that mean senior promotions are more results-driven than skill-driven?
In most cases, yes. It&rsquo;s a common misconception that just because someone is doing something more technically complex or has been in their position for a long time, that they deserve senior status. In reality, someone who has built something simple but that adds genuine value to a business is often more suited to a senior position if that was the best way to get great results.&nbsp;
We often find that leading Data Scientists say they know someone has matured as a Data Scientist when they look for the simplest solution first - one that doesn&rsquo;t necessarily use machine learning. We&rsquo;re definitely seeing candidates with a portfolio of results win jobs over candidates with a portfolio of skills.&nbsp;
How important are Data Scientists to organisations and where do they fit into the day-to-day running of a department?
This is a great question, and I&rsquo;d be interested in hearing our readers&rsquo; response to this one. For smaller companies and start-ups, I think Senior Scientists add genuine value when it comes to mentoring and working with other teams. The Head of Data Science is often drawn into more exec-level work, allowing Senior Data Scientists the opportunity to mentor Junior Scientists and coach others, as described by Chanuki Illushka Seresinhe, Lead Data Scientist at Popsa:
&ldquo;When I judge whether a Data Scientist is ready to be a Senior Data Scientist, I look for what they are doing beyond their technical competence. Exceptional Senior Data Scientists start to recognise that in order to do their jobs to the highest degree they also need to take their own initiative and start learning wider tasks beyond data science. Can they bridge gaps between data science and other teams? Can they communicate complex data science goals to non-technical audiences? Can they mentor people in a way that encourages them to grow?&nbsp;
&ldquo;While many people focus on achieving technical mastery in Data Science, only a few people recognise the importance of these other crucial skills.&rdquo;
For larger companies, Senior Scientists add value in terms of experience and project delivery, as Roshini Johri, Principal Data Scientist at HSBC, explains:&nbsp;
&ldquo;In my opinion a Senior Data Scientist is someone who has had experience in running end to end machine learning pipelines including deployment to production as well as stakeholder engagement.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I would definitely not consider someone as a senior if they haven't at least worked 2-3 years as a Data Scientist &hellip;[and]...I see a lot of companies make this mistake and bring on people with no experience in the relevant field as seniors.&rdquo;&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re looking for a <a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/data-scientist">Senior Data Scientist job role</a> or a hire to join your team, get in touch with our expert data science and machine learning consultants to find out how we can help.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-evolution-of-the-data-scientist-job-title">The Evolution of the Data Scientist Job Title</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/how-to-hire-a-data-scientist">How to Hire a Data Scientist</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-quiet-truth-about-data-science">The Quiet Truth about Data Science</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/chief-data-scientist-tracking-the-rise-of-senior-scientists">Chief Data Scientist | Tracking the rise of Senior Data Scientists</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/data-scientist-vs-data-analyst-which-role-is-most-in-demand">Data Scientist Vs Data Analyst | Which Role is Most in Demand?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/4-reasons-why-it-s-harder-than-ever-to-hire-a-data-scientist">4 Reasons Why its harder than ever to Hire a Data Scientist&nbsp;</a>

What Is A Senior Data Scientist?

AI technology is already changing the world we live in, but what are some of the traditionally human skills that AI is starting to demonstrate?
AI still feels, in many ways, like science fiction. The idea of machines with intelligence taking over human roles seems like something that belongs in a novel or film rather than in the workplace. However, AI is already making an impact in today&rsquo;s business world, with early adopters seeing increased efficiencies and cost savings. A recent McKinsey study found that 20% of C-suite level executives report using AI or machine learning in their business. While <a href="https://hbr.org/2016/06/why-salespeople-need-to-develop-machine-intelligence">Harvard Business Review</a> reported that companies using AI for sales increased their leads by 50%. But what does this technological shift mean for people? AI is an incredibly valuable tool and though it can never replace our human skill set it can help to augment some traditional people skills. These are some of the areas where AI is beginning to change the way we think about machines.
1. Emotional Intelligence
Machines can be taught to perceive emotions. Blending facial, text or speech recognition technology with machine learning and natural language processing to interpret how we are feeling. The applications for this technology are immense and &lsquo;artificial emotional intelligence&rsquo; is already supporting a wide range of projects, from market research to medical trials. <a href="https://www.affectiva.com/">Affectiva</a> is one of the organisations leading the way in this ground-breaking field and they have analysed more than 8 million faces in their research. As the technology supporting this field gets more sophisticated, the range of emotions able to be detected becomes more precise. A recent <a href="https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8079931/">study</a> found that AI was even able to recognise sarcasm in written text. Machines may still be far behind humans in how they perceive emotions but they are catching up surprisingly quickly.
2. Creativity
Creativity feels like such a completely human process that it&rsquo;s hard to define what it is and where it comes from. The level of imagination required to create a piece of music or art seems like it should be beyond the scope of AI but this is changing fast. AIs have already used neural networks and machine learning to produce unique pieces of music or even create unique human faces. The potential of this technology is astounding and forces us to reconsider the nature of creativity.
3. Social Skills
Many social skills happen before we have time to think about them. That instinctive nod of the head or handshake that occurs when we greet a colleague, for example. However, AI is becoming more sophisticated in its capacity to interact on a human level. In China, the popular chatbot, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/04/science/for-sympathetic-ear-more-chinese-turn-to-smartphone-program.html">Xiaoice</a>, is known for her sense of humour and listening skills &ndash; with many users telling her they love her. While a recent research paper from Nature Communications, found that their AI displayed better cooperation skills than human participants in an experiment.&nbsp;
4. Judgment
It&rsquo;s unlikely that an AI will be given the power to hand down a criminal sentence. Or to decide on parental custody in a court case. Some decisions are simply too important, and the consequences too far-reaching, to place into non-human hands. This does not mean that AI can&rsquo;t support people in making better decisions. AI that is able to review the complexities of a contract or sift through decades of case law could empower humans to make better and more informed decisions. Researchers are already looking at the capacity of AI to solve moral problems; a 2014 research project from MIT crowdsourced responses to complex moral dilemmas to get a better understanding of how AI could respond to ethically ambiguous scenarios.&nbsp;
5. Strategy
AI can help to support a whole range of strategic processes, from planning more effective sales campaigns to using big data to analyse competition in the marketplace. But AI could soon have a seat in the boardroom. An algorithm known as <a href="https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Artificial-intelligence-gets-a-seat-in-the-boardroom">Vital</a> was credited with bringing a Hong Kong venture capitalist firm back from the brink of collapse. Helping the board to make clear and logical decisions that were not driven by instinct or emotion.
The sudden explosion of AI can feel overwhelming. Particularly if you are part of an industry that is likely to be disrupted by an influx of new technology. But it is important to remember that AI is a human tool. Something that has the power to enhance how we live, not replace or threaten who we are as a species. If we proceed with caution, continuing to put human values and ethics at the heart of AI development, then our technological future will be bright.
Visit our <a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/data">AI, NLP and Computer Vision jobs</a> page to view the latest job vacancies.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/how-is-ai-impacting-ux-design">How is AI Impacting UX Design?</a>
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<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/roundtable-discussions-are-ai-tools-like-chatgpt-actually-beneficial-to-your-business">Roundtable Discussions: Are AI Tools like ChatGPT actually beneficial to your Business?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/where-are-the-machine-learning-hotspots-in-the-uk">Where are the Machine Learning Hotspots in the UK?&nbsp;</a>
&nbsp;

5 Ways AI is Becoming More Human

Data Science vacancies are widely renowned as one of the toughest roles to recruit, indeed the shortage of Data Scientists within the market is top of many discussions we have when recruiting for this role. Our recent Salary Survey demonstrates that there are far too few candidates to meet the rising demand. However, the first hurdle we face here at Xcede when speaking to a company looking to hire in this market is defining what the Client means by a Data Scientist?
Let&rsquo;s go back to the beginning
In 2008, DJ Patil and Jeff Hammerbacher co-coined the term &ldquo;Data Scientist&rdquo; to define their jobs at LinkedIn and Facebook respectively. A few years ago when the likes of Facebook and Google started searching for these &ldquo;unicorns&rdquo; there was a specific criteria they were searching for. At Xcede we refer to Anjul Bhambhri's (VP of Big Data products at IBM) definition:
&ldquo;A data scientist is somebody who is inquisitive, who can stare at data and spot trends. It&rsquo;s almost like a Renaissance individual who really wants to learn and bring change to an organisation&rdquo;.
The job title itself seems to have lost this element over the past few years. Granted, the bulk of this is due to buzzwords and the hype around Data Science &ndash; after all, who wouldn&rsquo;t want the title of &ldquo;Sexiest Job of the 21st Century&rdquo;. The question is, is this such a bad thing?
Sure, there are many companies who are posting <a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/data-scientist">job vacancies in Data Science</a> that include descriptions for &ldquo;Data Scientists&rdquo; which aren&rsquo;t, and there are many people calling themselves &ldquo;Data Scientists&rdquo; who aren&rsquo;t. But the very vague overall goal is the same &ndash; we have a whole load of data and need someone to help us come up with some insight from it to move our business forward.
What are the Biggest Changes?
The biggest developments that we have seen over the past two years is that companies are no longer searching for an individual &ldquo;unicorn&rdquo; who can do this but are looking to build teams with complementing skillsets&hellip; and rightly so! The Data Scientist title has been broken down (or gone back to, depending which way you look at it) other titles such as Machine Learning Specialist, Statisticians, Python-istas, and the new buzz-role &ldquo;Data Artists&rdquo;.&nbsp;
However, it is argued that the Data Scientist bubble could burst as Jean-Pierre Dijcks states &ldquo;the future of Data Science is smarter tools, not smarter humans&rdquo;. The point being, as an increasing number of organisations jump on the Data Scientist bandwagon, they have now become wise to the need to hire a team of specialists. This is why such articles as &ldquo;7 Questions to Ask before Hiring a Data Scientist" are surfacing and providing a great insight into helping companies explore the real reasons they need a Data Scientist.
What does this all mean?
The job market is changing&hellip;yes, more companies are hiring Data Scientists, but they also want to get their money&rsquo;s worth from them. At Xcede we still receive a &ldquo;shopping list&rdquo; of desired skills when receiving job descriptions. In a lot of cases those companies need educating on what Data Science can do for them and what their realistic expectations should be.
So what is the future for the Data Scientist job title? We see there being two parts to its recent evolution. Firstly, despite many claims that the Data Scientist job title will disappear, we believe that the role will always exist in one form or another with the possibility of the number of &ldquo;true&rdquo; Data Scientist positions and professionals stagnating. Secondly, and perhaps the more noticeable trend of the past 12 months, teams of more specific skillsets will be built out around these Data Scientists, or Data Science teams will be built with complimentary skillsets.
No matter what happens, the Data Science job market is easily one of the most interesting and debated&hellip; and long may that continue!
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/what-is-a-senior-data-scientist">What is a Senior Data Scientist</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/how-to-hire-a-data-scientist">How to Hire a Data Scientist</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-quiet-truth-about-data-science">The Quiet Truth about Data Science</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/chief-data-scientist-tracking-the-rise-of-senior-scientists">Chief Data Scientist | Tracking the rise of Senior Data Scientists</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/data-scientist-vs-data-analyst-which-role-is-most-in-demand">Data Scientist Vs Data Analyst | Which Role is Most in Demand?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/4-reasons-why-it-s-harder-than-ever-to-hire-a-data-scientist">4 Reasons Why its harder than ever to Hire a Data Scientist&nbsp;</a>

The Evolution of the Data Scientist Job Title

Over the last decade, the ability to access, leverage, and analyse data has become increasingly important. Data expertise, once largely confined to the tech world, has become vital across every sector and in almost every type of business. 81% of organisations said they were increasing their investment in big data in 2019 according to a study by Whishworks. This means that data professionals are more sought after than ever before. Data analyst and data scientist are two of the key roles at the centre of this thriving data landscape. In this blog, we explore these data-focused roles and discover which specialism is most in-demand today.&nbsp;
What is the difference between a data scientist and a data analyst?&nbsp;
Although both roles are often referred to in the same breath, there are key differences between a data scientist and a data analyst. Data analysts look at data trends, identify patterns, and produce insights that help organisations make data-based decisions. They also help to aggregate, manage, and cleanse data. Data analysts perform an essential job role, helping to provide the commercial business insights that all organisations need to stay competitive in the marketplace.&nbsp;
Data scientists may have a data analyst background but combine this with coding and software engineering skills. They can create new processes for data modelling, advanced programming, predictive models, and machine learning. Data scientists are more heavily involved in the production and creation of products due to their deeper theoretical knowledge and practical expertise. They may not be as essential to every business as data analysts, but they add enormous value and are vital for a wide variety of projects.&nbsp;
What are the differences in pay between these roles?&nbsp;
In the Xcede 2020 Salary Survey, we found that those in data scientists job roles attracted a significantly higher salary than data analysts. A mid-level data scientist commands an average salary of &pound;69,000 compared to &pound;39,000 for a mid-level analyst. This reflects qualification level &ndash; many data scientists have advanced degrees &ndash; as well as the specialist, targeted expertise that data scientists offer.&nbsp;
Is data scientist a new role?&nbsp;
A decade ago, the job role we now refer to as data scientist would have been performed by a senior data analyst or an analyst with a very specific skillset. However, as the importance and value of data has grown, we have begun to see people working towards data science as a specific career path. Often studying maths and coding at university, before pursuing an advanced degree in data science. Data scientist is a role and term that has grown out of our expanding reliance on and engagement with data. The advancement of key tech, such as artificial intelligence, has also made data scientist a more prominent and sought-after role.&nbsp;
Does this mean that data scientists are more in demand?&nbsp;
Not necessarily. All organisations have different data needs, and this is reflected in the types of roles they hire. Feedback from Xcede clients suggests that some organisations are beginning to supplement the work that data scientists do with advanced technology that can perform some of these specialist functions. They are also choosing to increase data analyst numbers as this generalist role can support a wider range of business units.&nbsp;
The need for data scientists varies across industries, but if we look at demand across the board, the number of <a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/data-analyst">data analyst job</a> roles are much higher. Over the last 12 months, our teams have overseen 453 data analyst roles compared to 300 data scientist roles. This is because the qualification requirements and cost-per-hire are lower for analysts. It&rsquo;s important for organisations looking to engage data talent to understand specifically what functions they need a candidate to perform. This will help to determine whether they need to engage an analyst or scientist.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/what-is-a-senior-data-scientist">What is a Senior Data&nbsp;Scientist?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-evolution-of-the-data-scientist-job-title">The Evolution of the Data Scientist Job Title</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/how-to-hire-a-data-scientist">How to Hire a Data Scientist</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-quiet-truth-about-data-science">The Quiet Truth about Data Science</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/chief-data-scientist-tracking-the-rise-of-senior-scientists">Chief Data Scientist | Tracking the rise of Senior Data Scientists</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/4-reasons-why-it-s-harder-than-ever-to-hire-a-data-scientist">4 Reasons Why its harder than ever to Hire a Data Scientist&nbsp;</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/key-data-analyst-skills-required-in-2023-and-beyond">Key Data Analyst Skills required in 2023 and beyond</a>
&nbsp;

Data Scientist Vs Data Analyst: Which Role is Most In-Demand?

We spoke to Paul Culmer,Principal Consultant in Analytics at Xcede, to find out what a data specialist does and how the role has evolved in recent years.
Thanks for talking with us Paul. Can you give us an overview of what a data specialist does and what their skillset looks like?
A data specialist is someone who collects information, electronically collates it, converts it accurately into a useful format and shares these findings with stakeholders in the business. They need to combine a broad range of technical skills to effectively extract, process, and analyse data. They also need strong business acumen and communication skills.
What is the day-to-day role of a data specialist?
There are lots of job titles within the data market &ndash; data engineer, <a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/data-scientist">data scientist</a>, <a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/data-analyst">data analyst</a> &ndash; they all do their thing. A data specialist is slightly different. They could work across multiple areas, but they are generally someone who has been tasked with working through a big chunk of data to provide a clear view of that information in a format that&rsquo;s actionable within the business. A data specialist has to provide meaningful results &ndash; can this data help us to sell more products or improve our profit margins?
How do you think data specialists have been impacted by the global pandemic?
The last few months will have seen more data specialists working remotely (as many of us are). They may have experienced challenges in gathering the data they need and accessing key stakeholders. It&rsquo;s tough when you remove that human element and they are having to find new ways of working. Depending on the industry they are in, they may be seeing a significant shift in their business, positive or negative. They may be responsible for tracking or analysing some of these changes. Being off-site will definitely hamper work if they are using archaic databases that are not directly linked to the internet.
How long have you worked in this market? And what&rsquo;s changed when it comes to data specialists?
I&rsquo;ve been working in the data market for about 18 years. I&rsquo;ve seen lots of changes, both technical and in terms of the titles we see in the industry. Initially, a data specialist referred to someone who was relatively technical but predominantly a strong communicator. Over the years, software and technologies have changed and technical knowledge has become crucial. Now, when they label someone a data specialist, they want them to be able to work with all types of data &ndash; whether that&rsquo;s transactional or online data. They want them to have worked across traditional and open-source software and also to have some knowledge of data insight, products, data science, and engineering. It&rsquo;s a much broader requirement than years ago when there were fewer channels to work across.
Looking for a data specialist to join your team? Or for the next step in your data career? Explore our <a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/data">data recruitment specialists page</a> or get in touch with one of our expert consultants to find out more about what we offer.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/key-data-analyst-skills-required-in-2023-and-beyond">Key Data Analyst skills required in 2023 and beyond</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/data-scientist-vs-data-analyst-which-role-is-most-in-demand">Data Scientist Vs Data Analyst : Which role is in demand?</a>
&nbsp;

What Is a Data Specialist?

Is it time to take on a new challenge? Are you:
Reaching a turning point in your career as a technician?
In an engineering field and looking for a different job?
Graduating from University soon and need a field to settle into?
No matter your technology background there&rsquo;s an incredible career path ahead of you in semiconductor engineering.
 (Source: Statista)
What is Semiconductor Engineering?
Semiconductor engineering is the process where electrical products are prepared for launch to the market and/or end-users. It involves designing, implementing and testing different semiconductors (like silicon) to ensure the highest functionality of the machinery in question, as well as its safety.&nbsp;
Why are Semiconductor Engineers Important?
Today, semiconductors are the &ldquo;building blocks of modern computing&rdquo; and play a role in the vast majority of personal and professional technology devices used across the world (Source: CTE). Therefore, semiconductor engineers are essential in aiding the production of the world&rsquo;s technology sector.&nbsp;
The Job Role Explained&nbsp;
Semiconductor engineers are known for having a wide scope of responsibilities across different electrical applications, from lightbulbs to heavy machinery. Born to Engineer reports you&rsquo;ll spend most of your days:
<ol>
<li>Designing semiconductor devices systems, software, and modules.</li>
<li>Develop interfaces and structures.</li>
<li>Testing products and conducting analysis.</li>
<li>Reviewing and providing specification documents.</li>
<li>Availing software engineering support.</li>
<li>Identifying and resolving problems that arise.</li>
</ol>
The Demand
This year, the international IT market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.2% - bringing its total value from $8.4 billion in 2021 to an estimated $9.3 billion in 2022. (Source: The Business Research Company). This is driven by:
Digital transformation and businesses needing more hardware.
Software development that requires modern and up-to-date technology.
Trends in consumerism, where the average smartphone only lasts 2-3 years.
With these factors in play, it&rsquo;s no wonder that qualified semiconductor engineers are in high demand. If companies want to continue facilitating ongoing development in the agile market, they have to fill their talent gaps.
 (Source: Finances Online).
Semiconductor Engineer Shortage
Every day, over 3.8 million smartphones and one million laptops and computers are sold on the global market. This is just a snapshot of the devices that need to be appraised by semiconductor engineers, which, compared to mass sector growth, are in short supply. An article published in January revealed that the &ldquo;monthly shortfall in semiconductor workers [is] about 27,700 employees.&rdquo; (Source: 9-5 Mac).
This is an opportunity you can take advantage of.
Your Career
Today, anyone who decides to specialise in semiconductor engineering is putting themselves forward for incredible career development. The gap between supply and demand means employers are prioritising the needs of their semiconductor engineers and increasing salary rates to retain talent.
The Top 5 Benefits of Semiconductor Engineering As a semiconductor engineer, you can enjoy&hellip;
1. Respect&nbsp;
Employers in the sector are eager to provide you with the best possible working experience so you&rsquo;ll continue working with them. They will listen carefully to your requests, take your advice on board, and provide you with the resources to thrive.
2. Flexibility
If you are feeling overworked and underappreciated in your current role, then you know the mental drain it can have on you. As a semiconductor engineer, you gain an extensive level of career flexibility. You can trial full-time jobs to find positions that align with your goals, or even become a contractor where you can set your own rates.&nbsp;
3. Recognition
Alongside appreciation from your employer, semiconductor engineers generate high levels of personal satisfaction. The challenging nature of the job keeps you &ldquo;on your toes&rdquo; with engaging and entertaining work. At the end of the day, you can return home feeling proud of your contribution to the technology sector.&nbsp;
4. Development
When you move into semiconductor engineering, you&rsquo;ll have the chance to be challenged and develop both personally and professionally. As technology continues to advance, you&rsquo;ll have to learn new skills and even front the way in semiconductor innovation.
5. Progression
The global semiconductor industry has been predicted to go through a decade of growth and become a trillion-dollar industry by 2030 (Source: McKinsey). This creates scalable potential for someone who enters the market while it is still hot. Soon, you&rsquo;ll be able to claim a leadership position to keep increasing your income.&nbsp;
How to Become a Semiconductor Engineer Although there are thousands of unfilled semiconductor engineering jobs, you don&rsquo;t want to settle for a position that doesn&rsquo;t engage and satisfy you. &nbsp;
Step 1. Attain Qualifications
73% of semiconductor engineering jobs, even entry-level positions, require a bachelor's degree or master&rsquo;s degreein a relevant field (Source: Zippia), such as:
<ul>
<li>Computer Science</li>
<li>Material Science</li>
<li>Software Engineering</li>
<li>Electrical Engineering</li>
<li>Computer Engineering</li>
<li>Engineering Science</li>
<li>Applied Physics</li>
<li>Chemical Engineering</li>
</ul>
If you don&rsquo;t have one of these qualifications, you could consider studying while you work through Open Universities. Or, you can speak to potential employers about sponsoring your education.
Step 2. Hone Your Skills
To become a semiconductor engineer, you need a variety of different skills. It&rsquo;s not enough to simply be proficient at what you do, you need to:
<ol>
<li>Communicate with clients and colleagues.</li>
<li>Apply critical thinking to solve issues.</li>
<li>Be detail orientated to not make dangerous mistakes.</li>
<li>Have high dexterity to complete your job.</li>
<li>Competent in Mathematics</li>
</ol>
Although not obligatory, those who come from a background from the following occupations can make the transition fairly easily given the skillsets are evenly matched eg manufacturing process engineering, equipment engineer, design engineer or data analysis and processing.
Step 3. Design a Specialised Resume
Instead of simply using the resume you already have (even if it&rsquo;s up-to-date) your best bet to finding high-quality employment is to design a customised resume that&rsquo;s specific to semiconductor engineering. This shows the top companies and recruiters in the market that you are serious about your application.
Step 4. Review Available Positions
If you have the right skills and qualifications, you can afford to be picky when it comes to job postings. Look at employer reputation sites to assess where you&rsquo;ll be treated well, and look at different salary ranges in your local area. Make a list of everything you&rsquo;d like from your employment including ideal work location and then research recruiters who can help you negotiate.
Step 5. Contact Xcede Group
When it&rsquo;s time to find a semiconductor job role, speak to the specialist recruiters at Xcede Group. We connect world-leading organisations to top talent in the form of unique contract, permanent, and project-based solutions.&nbsp;
As a specialist recruitment business working across every aspect of STEM innovation, we can provide you with the opportunity you&rsquo;re searching for. <a href="https://www.xcede.com/contact-us">Contact us</a> today.

Why You Should Consider a Career in Semiconductor Engineering

We look at the career pathway to a rewarding role in data engineering.&nbsp;
Data has been one of the fastest-growing areas in the digital marketplace over recent years. As the sector matures and diversifies, specialist roles are becoming ever more important &ndash; our 2020 Salary Survey found that demand for data scientists and engineers has risen 231% over the last 5 years. Data engineering is an exciting and rapidly expanding niche that is attracting some of the best talent around. Responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure around large pools of data, experienced data engineers are in high demand and command impressive salaries.&nbsp;
Looking to pursue a career in this field? Explore our guide below and discover the skills and experience you need to achieve your goals.
What is a data engineer?&nbsp;
A data engineer builds, maintains, tests, and updates systems designed by a data architect to hold large amounts of data. Responsible for regularly dealing with petabytes or even exabytes of data, they are often also involved in the designing of the warehouse solutions they construct. Aside from building large data processing systems, data engineers offer expertise in data warehousing solutions and should be confident working with unstructured (NoSQL) database technologies and a wide variety of open-source tools. They support data scientists and analysts by providing easy access to the information they need to compile their data sets.&nbsp;
What qualifications do I need to become a data engineer?&nbsp;
To become a data engineer, ideally you would have a strong foundation in computer science. Potentially, a bachelor's degree in a numerical field, such as mathematics, science or computer programming, is a strong place to start for aspiring data engineers. This should be supplemented by further study to expand your knowledge on algorithms, data structures, and databases. This can be achieved through professional programming qualifications from a variety of providers, including various coding bootcamps and official accreditation through online courses. Key areas of learning for a potential data engineer are:&nbsp;
Strong coding skills &ndash; in one of the following: Python, Scala or Java&nbsp;
Good knowledge of SQL (Structured Query Language) &ndash; a key tool for all data professionals&nbsp;
A good understanding of both structured and unstructured databases
Ideally, some exposure to one of the following cloud solution platforms (GCP - Google Cloud Platform, AWS - Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure)&nbsp;
What experience do I need to be a data engineer?&nbsp;
Most data engineers start their careers in junior or entry-level data engineering roles, growing their skills and experience over time through a variety of different fields within data, such as business intelligence, data development, data warehouse development and software engineering. This is a highly technical job, and it&rsquo;s impossible to build all of the potential skills you need before entering the workplace. For ambitious candidates, obtaining a wide breadth of experience while continuing to develop their own professional skills is the best way to advance quickly. &nbsp;
What remuneration can I expect to achieve?&nbsp;
Data engineers are highly sought after as we rapidly advance our data knowledge and capability. Those with significant experience can command impressive salaries. Our 2020 Salary Survey found that data engineers are earning an average salary of &pound;70,750. In contract roles, a senior data engineer can command a day rate of &pound;700.
Looking to grow your data engineering career? Visit our <a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/data">data sector recruitment page</a> to find available roles or connect with one of our expert consultants. Or explore the latest <a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/xcede-2021-uk-salary-guide">Xcede Salary Survey</a> to discover more about this dynamic sector.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/what-is-a-data-engineer">What is a Data Engineer?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/is-remote-working-the-future-for-data-engineers">Is Remote Working to Future&nbsp;for Data Engineers?</a>

How Do You Become a Data Engineer?

The United Kingdom has always been a global leader in technology innovation.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s no surprise, then, that last year, it ranked 3rd in the world for its emerging Artificial Intelligence industry (Source: Business Wire).&nbsp;
By 2035, the industry is predicted to add $880 billion to the UK&rsquo;s economy, and, to continue driving its success, financial and human resources in the sector are already being funnelled into Machine Learning hubs across the country.&nbsp;
Why?
When competitors gather, they create profitable &ldquo;hotspots&rdquo; for international investors and worldwide talent alike.&nbsp;
​What is Machine Learning?
&ldquo;Machine Learning&rdquo; refers to the algorithm that allows Artificial Intelligence to learn from its surroundings, much like the human brain does.&nbsp;Why is Machine Learning important for the future of AI?
Machine Learning is encouraging the ongoing adoption of Artificial Intelligence by companies outside of the sector.&nbsp;
Current customers worry that AI will not be able to scale as they do, but Machine Learning negates this. If individual Artificial Intelligence systems can develop and adapt to market changes, business potential becomes unlimited.
<h2 dir="ltr">Where are the Machine Learning Hotspots in the UK?</h2>
Today, there are more than 2000 AI-centric businesses in operation across the UK. The majority of these have employees dedicated to advancing Machine Learning capabilities, creating job opportunities namely in Data Science, Data Analysis, and Engineering roles.&nbsp;
​Despite the current demand for remote work that allows these firms to operate from anywhere, there are clear hotspots developing where competitors can benefit from legal coopetition - attracting talent from all around the world.&nbsp;
While it&rsquo;s easy to assume that the majority of these companies have orientated towards London, the UK&rsquo;s &ldquo;Tech North&rdquo; initiative is ensuring there are attractive job opportunities and startup climates in cities like Leeds or Manchester and even as far as Edinburgh and Glasgow.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">Machine Learning Hotspots in South UK</h3>
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 1: London</h4>
London is 4th in the world for annual total venture capital investment into technology, and roughly 600 (35%) AI businesses have head offices in the city. Due to the high cost of living and a regional minimum wage, entry and experienced workers can benefit from competitive salaries.
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 2: Bristol</h4>
Innovative startups in Bristol make it one of the&nbsp;UK's fastest-growing tech cities that multiple AI firms call home. Last year, the area saw &pound;98.8 million of investment and &ldquo;the number of &lsquo;unicorn&rsquo; companies worth over $1bn in Bristol&rsquo;s burgeoning tech sector [is] predicted to double to six over the coming years.&rdquo; (Source: Business Live).
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 3: Oxford</h4>
As a famous research hub, Oxford has become a Machine Learning hotspot that hires students right out of graduation from the local University. It lays claim to multiple big names in the sector, including biotech firm Exscienta.
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 4: Cambridge</h4>
Cambridge has some of the best Artificial Intelligence labs in the country, and the University itself has previously been awarded &euro;1.9m in funding to stop AI from &ldquo;undermining core human values.&rdquo; (Source: Cambridge University). This is an essential undertaking that will help secure the ongoing adoption of Machine Learning, and experts and companies alike have flocked to join in on the project.&nbsp;
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 5: Birmingham</h4>
Second in the country, Birmingham has always had a strong technology and digital sector. In 2020, an international Machine Learning company - Sidetrade - promised an investment totalling &pound;30 million (Source: FinTech Times) into the city, and, due to this, the industry will continue scaling.
​
<h3 dir="ltr">Machine Learning Hotspots in North UK</h3>
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 1: Edinburgh</h4>
Roughly 20 of the UK&rsquo;s best Machine Learning firms are based in Edinburgh and are expected to undergo huge growth. Already, these businesses are averaging between 10-49 employees, unlike many small south UK startups that are struggling to scale due to high competition for talent.
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 2: Glasgow</h4>
The Artificial Intelligence sector in Glasgow is thriving. Multiple large businesses (such as Seebyte) are driving advancements in Machine Learning and, in particular, Deep Learning. In 2022, we anticipate the ongoing technological development of software for industries such as Energy, Data, and, of course, Finance.
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 3: Leeds</h4>
As of early 2021, the tech sector in Leeds was attracting $43.5 million in international venture capital, and, in part, this can be attributed to the ongoing advancement of Machine Learning companies in the area.&nbsp;
To secure future growth, Machine Learning firms need to secure reliable recruitment channels to fill the 400 open positions (Source: Indeed). Thankfully, the three well-accredited Universities in the area should provide an ongoing supply of young and enthusiastic workers.
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 4: Manchester</h4>
A Manchester-based startup, The Modular Analytics, has recently made headlines by raising &pound;1.5 million of investment to &ldquo;support its next stage of growth.&rdquo; (Source: Prolific North). Ongoing innovation has allowed the city to become a recognized name in the world of Machine Learning, especially as industry-leading Digicia is based here.&nbsp;
<h4 dir="ltr">Hotspot 5: Liverpool</h4>
Students at Liverpool have designed out-performing AI algorithms that have broken national records - and this promises an exciting future for Machine Learning in Liverpool. The hotspot has been booming recently because of the number of local research hubs and the city&rsquo;s focus on providing &ldquo;learn as you get paid&rdquo; entry-level jobs.&nbsp;​
<h2 dir="ltr">Finding Your Next Job in Machine Learning</h2>
Machine Learning is an industry with a&nbsp;CAGR of 33.6% worldwide and shows no sign of slowing (Source: Digital Journal). For talent in technology and digital spaces, therefore, this creates a promising career path with thousands of companies across the UK.&nbsp;
In-demand positions across sectors like MedTech, FinTech, and even Retail include:
<ul>
<li>
Machine Learning Engineers
</li>
<li>
Artificial Intelligence Engineers
</li>
<li>
Data Analysts
</li>
<li>
Data Scientists
</li>
</ul>
And, whether you&rsquo;re located near a Machine Learning hotspot or not, remote working capabilities allow qualified candidates up and down the country to contribute to the future of Artificial Intelligence.&nbsp;​
<h3 dir="ltr">About Xcede</h3>
Xcede are global recruitment specialists who source employees for a range of dynamic&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/machine-learning-engineer">machine learning engineer job positions</a>, selecting the top talent for every single one of our clients looking to fill employee gaps. Our dedication to finding experienced candidates with the right qualifications allows businesses to foster growth and continue scaling.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/5-ways-ai-is-becoming-more-human">5 Ways AI is Becoming More Human</a>

Where are the Machine Learning Hotspots in the UK?

We take a closer look at the key skills that define UX, UI and <a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/product-design">product designers</a> at each stage of their career.&nbsp;
The path to becoming a great designer can be complex. It&rsquo;s a path built on a wide range of experiences, a strong foundation of technical skills, and a wide range of learning opportunities. What&rsquo;s more, time served isn&rsquo;t the only consideration when it comes to becoming the best designer you can be. Great designers must be prepared to constantly update their skills, refine their approach, and expand their knowledge.
We take a closer look at the 5 key differences between junior and senior designers, below:&nbsp;
1. Senior designers take ownership and see the big picture
As a junior designer, it&rsquo;s easy to get caught up in eagerness to please or pressure to get the job done. When you ask for a deadline and it seems impossible &ndash; you simply find a way to make it happen. Senior designers are much more likely to negotiate a deadline based on realistic timescales and with an eye as to how this task will fit into the wider project. By shifting from a task-based mentality to a project-based mentality, designers can grow in maturity.&nbsp;
2. Junior designers may not have found their specialism
There are some great generalists out there, but most designers have an area where they excel. Junior designers may not yet have chosen the niche they want to pursue as they move forward with their careers. This is why seeking out exposure to different skills and ways of working is a key stepping stone to success. Once you understand your niche, you can embrace it, building a depth of knowledge that helps you to stand out amongst your peers.&nbsp;
3. Experienced designers explain their work
As a junior designer, it&rsquo;s easy to think that a finished task is a job done. This means you may send work to a senior colleague or client without taking the time to provide a rationale. Senior designers know that context is everything and that failing to provide an explanation for design choices can leave your work open to misinterpretation and confusion. It&rsquo;s vital to really think about your design choices and to be prepared to present them in a mindful way.&nbsp;
4. New designers often don&rsquo;t think beyond the brief
Junior designers sometimes lack the experience to look beyond the parameters of the task they are set. In contrast, senior designers have the deeper knowledge and experience necessary to challenge and, where appropriate, to work beyond the brief to produce a design with greater functionality or improved user flow. Knowing how to navigate the fine line between getting a job done and providing the greatest value is a skill that is honed over time.&nbsp;
5. Senior designers solve complex problems&nbsp;
All designers hit occasional roadblocks. But it is under this sort of pressure that senior designers can show their worth. They present potential solutions alongside the biggest challenges, while junior colleagues may be unsure how to approach or shape their response to more complex problems. Junior designers can build their complex problem-solving skills by gaining experience across a range of disciplines and paying close attention to the way talented senior designers approach difficult tasks.&nbsp;
Are you a junior designer looking to take a step up? Or a mid-level or senior designer looking for your next challenge? Visit the Xcede Product Design and UX page to explore our current creative vacancies to find a role that could help you to grow your design career.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/What-Does-the-Future-Hold-for-Product-Designers">What does the Future hold for Product Designers?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/why-is-user-experience-integral-to-product-design">Why is User Experience Integral to Product Design?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/highlights-product-design-a-healthtech-perspective">Highlights: Products &amp; Design: A Healthtech Perspective</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/how-is-ai-impacting-ux-design">How is AI Impacting on UX Design?</a>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

5 Key Differences Between Junior and Senior Designers

We are delighted to share with our valued clients, partners, and employees that Etonwood, a trusted partner in Infrastructure, Software Engineering and Quant space recruitment, is joining forces with Xcede, a renowned global technology recruitment company. This merger marks a significant milestone in our journey, combining our strengths and expertise to create an even more powerful force in the industry.
This merger represents a strategic move aimed at strengthening our ability to meet the evolving demands of the rapidly changing talent landscape. By leveraging our combined resources and deep industry knowledge, we will be able to provide an exceptional level of service, innovation, and expertise across a wide range of sectors.
Additionally, by combining our networks, we will have an extensive reach within the talent market, enabling us to source top-tier professionals for our clients across the globe. This increased access to talent will fuel growth opportunities for businesses while simultaneously propelling the careers of talented candidates.
Speaking to Adam Blaney, Xcede Group&rsquo;s Chief Operations Officer, he commented:
&ldquo;We are thrilled to merge with Etonwood and embark on this transformative journey together. By combining our expertise and resources, we will expand our reach within the recruitment landscape, driving unparalleled value for our clients and candidates&rdquo;
We are confident that this merger will bring significant benefits to our clients and partners, empowering them to achieve their goals with unrivalled talent solutions. Rest assured that our existing engagements and relationships will continue uninterrupted, with the added advantage of an expanded array of resources and capabilities.

Etonwood Merges with Xcede

The arrival of a global pandemic to an already digital-first world has had a devastating impact on many bricks-and-mortar businesses. The same cannot be said of ecommerce. According to research released by IMRG, UK online sales growth hit a 13-year high at +36.6% year-on-year for 2020. Recent sales of major high-street names such as Debenhams, Topshop and Miss Selfridge to online-only retailers further illustrate how brands are answering a growing consumer demand for digital retail therapy.
So, what role does a customer insight manager job have to play in an ecommerce business&rsquo;s growth? Here we will look at what a customer insights manager is, what they do, and what key skills they should nurture to ensure success. We will then explore the importance of this role within ecommerce, as well as sharing some insights around the current boom in customer insight manager jobs in the UK from our Principal Consultant in Analytics, <a href="https://www.xcede.com/consultants/paul-culmer">Paul Culmer</a>.
What Is A Customer Insight Manager?
The title of &lsquo;Customer Insight Manager&rsquo; has been somewhat distorted over the years as the field has grown. With the expansion and evolution of Product Analytics, Advanced Analytics, Big Data and Data Science, more and more new job roles have surfaced to fill the gaps. This has meant that in recent years the role of &lsquo;customer insight analyst&rsquo; has changed in terms of the specific skillset that a candidate would need for a particular role or company.
Broadly speaking, consumer insight managers answer &ldquo;questions that arise when marketing new products&rdquo; according to Marketing-Schools.org. By collecting and collating the right targeted data about consumers, customer insight managers can help a business to anticipate their customers&rsquo; needs. That way, they can better retain their current customer base as well as expand their reach.
The Role of a Customer Insight Manager
A customer insight manager role is as much as about being intuitive, personable, and commercially aware as it is about having the legitimate technical know-how.
Generally, a customer insight analyst or manager&rsquo;s job is to look at and analyse trends. Being commercially aware of their market as whole is key, as they need to think outside the box and ask questions of the data they collect, to transform it into actionable insights for the business to grow.
As <a href="https://www.marketing-schools.org/careers/consumer-insight-manager/">Marketing-Schools</a> notes, it is by &ldquo;sifting through market information, polling consumers, and finding niche areas in the marketplace&rdquo; that Customer Insight Managers can help the marketers of the company &ldquo;to base decisions on research-backed data points&rdquo;. Working principally in market research, Customer Insight Managers aim &ldquo;to discover target areas that help drive the [overarching] operational and creative strategies at a company.&rdquo;
Every day, a customer insight manager will analyse the data they collect to give actionable insights to the marketing team (as well as other teams across the company), which in turn allows them to deliver communication messages to their customers that accurately respond to the current customer needs and demands.
What Key Skills does a Customer Insight Manager Need?
Foundationally, a Customer Insight Manager will typically come from a STEM background. This is usually attained via a broader degree such as Maths, or through a more specialized degree such as Data Science.
When it comes to putting this STEM background into action, a Customer Insight Manager must have SQL experience, and confidently know their way around the database. It is imperative that they can use SQL, and perhaps some other open-source tools such as Python. These tools&mdash;together with a visualisation tool such as Tableau or Looker - will be the tools used by a Customer Insight Manager on a daily basis.
Aside from the technical skillset, a Customer Insight Manager must also nurture softer skills such as communication and the ability to collaborate across teams creatively.
Paul Culmer - our Principal Consultant in Analytics - notes the importance of Customer Insight Managers having to cultivate a rounded balance of technical and softer skills when it comes to securing a placement.
&ldquo;A customer insight analyst must be able to effectively manage stakeholders. Clear communication and having the ability to build relationships with different people across a company - whether that be across marketing, finance, HR or beyond - is key.
&ldquo;Customer Insight Managers must be able to break the technical information down and communicate that in a non-technical way so everybody else across the business can understand it.
&ldquo;They do need to have personable communication skills and the ability to deliver clear and concise information and insights surrounding the actions they provide from the data. If they have not got crisp communication skills, that would not be a good placement in this type of working environment&rdquo;.
The Growing Importance of Customer Insight Managers within Ecommerce, and Today&rsquo;s Demand For These Roles Last year, the ONS reported that, during COVID-19&rsquo;s first peak in May, &ldquo;online sales as a share of total retail (excluding fuel) reached 33.8%.&rdquo;
In a sector rife with competition, knowing your customers&rsquo; needs and anticipating what is on your potential customers&rsquo; radar is more important than ever. With such a huge array and quantity of brands competing for a user&rsquo;s attention online, harnessing the data you have captured and translating this into actionable insights is critical for online success.
Paul Culmer, our Principal Consultant in Analytics notes that to keep up with the perpetually growing competition in the sector, the demand for Customer Insight Managers is rife. This is especially true across the sectors of gambling, food and lifestyle ecommerce sites.
&ldquo;Right now, our clients are looking are people that are mathematically and technically strong - as well as being able to confidently use open-source tools alongside this good STEM background - for roles around the &pound;50-60K mark (or a little bit higher).
Candidates that have worked for customer-related businesses and are strong in identifying trends, drilling down lots of data, and being able to turn that into insightful commentary when they are talking to people across the business are always in demand.&rdquo;
Looking for your next job in customer insights, or want to expand your skills into the thriving analytics and ecommerce sector? Get in touch with our data team today to discuss our huge range of open roles.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/3-ways-digital-disruption-has-impacted-customer-experience">3 Ways Digital Disruption&nbsp;has Impacted Customer Experience</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/why-are-businesses-relying-more-on-digital-analytics">Why are Businesses relying more on Digital Analytics?</a>
&nbsp;
&nbsp;

What Does A Customer Insight Manager do?

<h4>AN INTERVIEW WITH OUTI KARHUNEN</h4>
The rise of ecommerce has meant that brands must deliver a flawless &ndash; and relevant &ndash; digital experience that mirrors their customers&rsquo; needs in order to uphold their brand reputation and ensure customer retention. In line with this, demand for IT consultants specialising in customer relationship management and engagement is booming.
To learn more about the importance of creating customer-driven IT solutions, we spoke to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/outikarhunen/">Outi Karhunen</a>, freelance Senior Consultant (CRM) at Osito Consulting Oy.
Read her thoughts below..
<h4>INTRODUCTION TO OUTI KARHUNEN</h4>
After graduating, Outi worked as an online solution specialist, Project Manager, and CRM Consultant. Over the past few years, Outi has gone from Project Manager/ Senior Consultant working across MS D365-related software consultation and project management to her current freelance role at Osito Consulting Oy as Senior Consultant (CRM).
<h2>WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON OVER THE PAST YEAR?</h2>
<blockquote>
For the last 12 years, I've been working with the&nbsp;<a href="https://dynamics.microsoft.com/en-gb/">Microsoft Dynamics system</a>&nbsp;and developing better customer relationship management systems. Last spring, when I was working as a Head of IT in a financial company, I established Osito Consulting Oy.
I worked in an administrative role and was eager to get back to defining and developing CRM systems and customer-related processes. Pretty soon I realized that I could share my knowledge more efficiently with different kinds of companies through entrepreneurship, and I enjoyed working as a freelancer a lot. Currently, I'm working in the financial sector as a CRM consultant.
</blockquote>
<h4>WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY CHALLENGES THAT HAVE ARISEN OVER THE PAST YEAR (WITH THE RISE OF REMOTE WORKING)?</h4>
<blockquote>
The challenge for remote work is the lack of natural connection you get when sharing the same table and having lunch with the customer or co-workers. Social contact is essential, and usually, it's more efficient to have a conversation face to face than to ask everybody to join a virtual call. Small things matter, especially when developing the system; the developers and the customer need to understand each other, and it's sometimes harder in virtual meetings.
However, I think the COVID-19 pandemic has also done some good things; companies have realised that remote work is a possibility, not just a challenge. It has also made solutions like Teams, Zoom, etc, develop their systems faster.
</blockquote>
<h4>CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE INTERDISCIPLINARY NATURE OF IMPLEMENTING MS DYNAMICS ACROSS AN ORGANIZATION?</h4>
<blockquote>
MS D365 is a versatile and expansive product family. It's very scalable and suits the different sizes of companies. For example, you can start with the Sales application and handle the sales and the customer information in D365 and implement case management, marketing, business analytics, etc., later.&nbsp;
D365 has many ready-to-integrate applications, so it's possible to use the customer data, for example, for marketing and enrich the data with customer preferences. Enhanced customer data will add more value to your company and make you understand your customers better. In addition, implementing the sales processes in D365 gives the company better visibility of what's going on in the sales sector and makes it more measurable.
However, first the company needs to understand why they are implementing a CRM system, so the deployment and guidelines come from the executive level. Then, it's necessary to get the experts from the substance around the same table with the CRM experts (with enough decision-making power). These are the essential elements and gives the CRM project possibility to be successful.
</blockquote>
<h4>IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN COME FROM THIS E.G. IMPROVING THE RELATIONSHIP WITH AN ORGANISATION'S CUSTOMER BASE?</h4>
<blockquote>
When you think of any functions around the customer, up-to-date customer information is quite critical to success. Most companies wish to have a 360 view of the customer, and it's possible with a well-developed CRM system. In addition, the quality customer data will make the sales, marketing, case management, or financial processes more efficient.&nbsp;
</blockquote>
<h4>WHERE DOES AUTOMATION FIT IN?</h4>
<blockquote>
Automation is an out-of-the-box feature in MS Dynamics. MS D365 contains multiple ways to automate small or more significant processes, and it's normal to use these from the beginning. However, it's good to understand that automation doesn't need to mean big and challenging projects. It's possible to use automation to fill the form with default values and make work easier and quicker and of course, it's also possible to create larger and complex automation processes as well.&nbsp;
</blockquote>
<h4>WHAT ARTICLES/PODCASTS HAVE YOU ENJOYED RECENTLY THAT YOU WOULD RECOMMEND TO YOUR TEAM?</h4>
<blockquote>
There are a couple of books I recommend for everyone: Hans Rosling's "Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think" and Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking fast and slow". Hans makes it easy to understand that the world is a better place than the media tells us. Thinking fast and slow gives you tools to know why you are thinking and acting in a certain way in different circumstances.&nbsp;
And podcasts: Nordnet's #rahapodi is entertaining if you're into investing. I also recommend Coffee Break French and Coffee Break Spanish; it's an easy way to learn a language. I also challenge everyone to change 15 minutes in social media to 15 minutes of language studies per day with the Duolingo app. Currently, I study Arabic, French, and Spanish, and it's an effortless and fun way to learn a language.
</blockquote>
<h4>WHAT DOES 'SCALABILITY' MEAN TO YOU, WHEN CREATING CUSTOMER-DRIVEN IT SOLUTIONS?</h4>
<blockquote>
Scalability means that it's easy to add applications and users into the solution if the needs change or the business grows more prominent. A well-developed system is made with scalability in mind. MS Dynamics 365 contains multiple applications for the growing company, and there are a lot of applications that can be integrated into the D365. This also gives a possibility to pay only for the applications that are in use.&nbsp;
</blockquote>
Looking for a new role in cloud? Check out Xcede&rsquo;s latest&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/cloud">permanent and contract cloud computing jobs</a> across the globe.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/why-are-businesses-relying-more-on-digital-analytics">Why are Businesses Relying More on Digital Analytics?</a>

A Day in the Life of an MS Dynamics 365 Consultant

Our business landscapes are evolving.
Instead of popping to the local high street when you need to purchase a present for a friend&rsquo;s birthday party, we much prefer to click &ldquo;buy&rdquo; on the likes of Amazon.
Why?
Convenience and efficiency.
Time is becoming a precious resource for many consumers, but the same is true of business owners. That&rsquo;s what has made digital transformation so popular.
<figure><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20230329122117im_/https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QyDDt5roKX6S5mts9JuyrjK_TtHUcjbvGPdEuWio8cFb00H0ByRnRl9CPYHQMmce4gBb6CDHsYcCVFzUt5SVlfKz4Bo8b7yNFJou6br89d5HWXzRHTftc9RbE4d2rBkB8r5rMkhP4cH7_DekWFg"></figure>
(Source: Small Biz Daily)
<h2 dir="ltr">Digital transformation overview (2022)</h2>
Today, there are<a href="https://thecircularboard.com/online-shopping-statistics/">&nbsp;2.14 billion&nbsp;</a>active online shoppers, which make up the majority of all transactions. As such, businesses have had to adapt how they interact with their customers.
With the necessity of embracing the world&rsquo;s Internet of Things, it&rsquo;s no surprise that businesses have started to use technology to their advantage.&nbsp;
In fact, over&nbsp;<a href="https://www.smallbizgenius.net/news/85-of-small-business-owners-report-that-use-of-technology-aids-success/">90%</a>&nbsp;of SMEs are already using digital tools every single day - fuelling vast growth across many technology markets.​
<table style="width: 57.5369%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.1034%;">
Market
</td>
<td style="width: 24.1379%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;Value (2021-2022)
</td>
<td style="width: 10.6897%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp; CAGR
</td>
<td style="width: 41.0345%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Source
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.1034%;">
SaaS
</td>
<td style="width: 24.1379%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;$130.69 billion
</td>
<td style="width: 10.6897%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;12%
</td>
<td style="width: 41.0345%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Yahoo Finance
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.1034%;">
Data
</td>
<td style="width: 24.1379%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;$146 billion
</td>
<td style="width: 10.6897%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;13.2%
</td>
<td style="width: 41.0345%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Go 451 Research
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.1034%;">
Artificial Intelligence
</td>
<td style="width: 24.1379%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;$87.04 billion
</td>
<td style="width: 10.6897%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;20.1%
</td>
<td style="width: 41.0345%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Globe News Wire
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.1034%;">
RPA
</td>
<td style="width: 24.1379%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;$1,215 billion
</td>
<td style="width: 10.6897%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;25%
</td>
<td style="width: 41.0345%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Business Research Company
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="width: 23.1034%;">
Hardware
</td>
<td style="width: 24.1379%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;$2.32 billion&nbsp; &nbsp;
</td>
<td style="width: 10.6897%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp;38.2%&nbsp;
</td>
<td style="width: 41.0345%;">
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Grand View Research
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
What&rsquo;s more? As a result of digital transformation, businesses can:
<ul>
<li>
Improve their scalability
</li>
<li>
Reduce wastage
</li>
<li>
Access accurate data
</li>
<li>
Be more efficient ​
</li>
</ul>
This is attractive to almost every firm across every industry, and is increasing the demand for qualified technology and digital talent.
Why?
<h2 dir="ltr">The future of digital recruitment</h2>
The evolution of our online environments wouldn&rsquo;t be possible without the incredible and creative talent working behind the scenes to lead market growth.&nbsp;
Therefore, any company looking to make a name for itself needs to secure a team of industry-leading talent.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s not that easy.
In 2022, there is a vast shortage of labour able to fill in-demand (often niche) positions like:
<ul>
<li>
IT Security Analysts
</li>
<li>
Software Developers&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Computer Programmers
</li>
<li>
Cloud Architects
</li>
</ul>
This is creating a competitive candidate-driven market where many businesses struggle to hire.
<h2 dir="ltr">3 core ways digital transformation impacts recruitment&nbsp;</h2>
In the next five years, over 150 million technology jobs will be added to the market. This will force employers and hiring managers across a range of industries to be smarter with their recruitment and use digital transformation to their advantage. Over time, HR technologies are predicted to reach $35.68 billion in value because of the benefits they have to offer.
<h3 dir="ltr">1. Talent attraction</h3>
Before the pandemic, many businesses had a close-minded approach to hiring talent. They&rsquo;d select candidates from a local pool of employees, and only consider looking further afield if they were struggling to find the right people. Even then, they&rsquo;d look at relocating a staff member rather than offering remote work. This has since changed.
Due to digital transformation, international recruitment is becoming a &ldquo;norm&rdquo;. This not only creates great job flexibility (and appeals to candidates), but it also opens the door to diversity and inclusion. Before, it wasn&rsquo;t possible for someone in Singapore to be working for a company in the United States. This has changed, and these employees can benefit from a great exchange rate - creating an attractive job market for technology employees across the world, and giving businesses access to a wider pool of talent.
Going forward, all hiring managers should utilise a multi-platform approach that combines social media with online job boards to expand their reach and identify and attract candidates. They can make the most of accurate targeting metrics on LinkedIn (where there are over 830 million active users) to directly connect to and network with prospective talent that would be a great addition to their team.
<h3 dir="ltr">2. Talent placement</h3>
Once upon a time, it would be the Human Resource Manager&rsquo;s job to manually review applications for every job listing they made. In a large company, this was not a sustainable approach - and made recruitment a lengthy and time-consuming process which damaged candidate experiences.
Today, Applicant Tracking Systems can easily review candidates and flag the best matches for your company. This:
<ol>
<li>
Eradicates human error.
</li>
<li>
Successfully evaluates large pools of data.
</li>
<li>
Aids accurate decision making.
</li>
<li>
Reduces the time-to-hire.
</li>
</ol>
Additionally, with the help of technology, businesses can start to conduct in-depth research on what their target candidates want in terms of salaries and benefits. They can review their current performance metrics and analyse what skills their team is lacking. From this, they can make an attractive offer to a prospective employee.&nbsp;
<h3 dir="ltr">3. Talent retention</h3>
A digital world means that candidates can easily look into what it&rsquo;s like working for you, so, one of the biggest influencers in successful recruitment is the strength of your employer brand. This is largely decided by how well you look after your current employees.&nbsp;
Retaining talent, therefore, should be a priority to anyone wanting to onboard new staff and fuel growth. To do so, you need to put their needs first through the use of HR technology. When you have digital platforms in place to manage your employees, you can ensure they can:
<ol>
<li>
Easily communicate with their leads to provide feedback or make requests.
</li>
<li>
Be paid the correct wages on time, every time.
</li>
<li>
Review performance metrics for higher job satisfaction and engagement.
</li>
</ol>
As a result, they are much more likely to speak positively about you if asked and will encourage new hires to stay. Office morale will be much higher. According to research from OC Register, over 40% of your employees are most likely to quit within the first 6 months.&nbsp;
If you can use digital transformation to manage candidate expectations beforehand and deliver on your promises as an employer, you&rsquo;ll be much better positioned to keep scaling your company.
<h3 dir="ltr">Recruit with Xcede</h3>
Xcede is a global tech recruitment specialist, sourcing employees for a range of dynamic job positions, selecting the top talent for every single one of our clients. Our dedication to finding experienced candidates with the right qualifications allows businesses to foster growth and continue scaling.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/contact-us">Get in touch.</a>
​
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/3-ways-digital-disruption-has-impacted-customer-experience">3 Ways Digital Disruption has Impacted Customer Experience?</a>

How does digital transformation impact recruitment?

Is Remote Working the Future for Data Engineers?

The demand for Product Managers has sharply increased across all sectors over the past year as businesses have adapted to the new challenges brought about by COVID-19. Companies across the globe have had to reshuffle their teams, rethink their long-term growth plans, and reassess their status in the market.
ITJobsWatch has revealed that&nbsp;Product Manager roles&nbsp;have jumped a whopping 73 places in the rankings of the UK's most in demand tech jobs over past 6 months alone. From ecommerce brands to tech start-ups, it seems the demand for Product Mangers across every sector shows no signs of decreasing any time soon.
Here we speak to one of our Product Consultants at Xcede,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/stellashkreli/">Stella Shkreli,</a> to learn more about the current state of the Product market, which Product jobs are in demand, and how the pandemic has impacted the sector. She also shares her thoughts on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/xcede-2021-uk-salary-guide">Xcede Salary Survey 2021</a>. Read her thoughts below.
<h4 align="start">As our 2021 Salary Survey reports, the UK&rsquo;s digital technology sector is experiencing growth six times higher than any other industry. How has this affected hiring?</h4>
Hiring patterns have been affected by the tech boom, especially within the Product Market. The skills needed to be successful in Product roles are more tech/digital heavy than before, and the people that come with those skills tend to be on sufficiently higher salaries.
Sometimes you will find that a Product Manager/Owner with less experience, but a more specific digital skillset, can be paid more than a counterpart with more years of experience.
Salary is completely subjective due to company budgets. Google will be paying a lot more than the average Series A start-up, for example. The salary market in general is fiercely competitive at this point in time. A company could be developing world-class products, but if they cannot provide a competitive package, top talent will look elsewhere.
<h4 align="start">Have you seen a shift in the demand for product managers across different sectors since the arrival of the pandemic?</h4>
A lot of the roles that are urgent hires seem to be within the FinTech/data sector, and the requirements are heavily digitally focused. If you look at the stats around October last year to where we are now, the increase in demand is huge.
Exponential growth like this is rare and just goes to show how the role has adapted to emerging technology to the point where every department in every business is bursting at the seams to get talented product professionals through their doors.
<h4 align="start">Has there been a demand for product managers with experience of working across a specific product or technology?</h4>
There has been an increase in demand across all sectors and levels of Product Management, but I would say specifically within B2B start-up/scale-ups. A lot of clients are looking for tech savvy people who have experience in SaaS, SQL, growth &amp; strategy, which seem to be recurring themes in desired expertise.
<h4 align="start">How has remote working affected how product managers work?</h4>
Product Managers are usually at the forefront of in-person collaboration, brainstorming &amp; effective communication. They are always raring to go and full of energy, which is one of the reasons they are so collaborative across cross-functional teams.
Moving to remote working has seen a change in how roadmaps are delivered, how teams use specific software/tools, how senior team members are able to delegate work and assess performances, and how effectively they are able communicate/implement product changes &amp; development.
<h4 align="start">What are some of the challenges that COVID-19 has brought to the hiring process, when companies are looking to add to their product management teams?</h4>
In general, there&rsquo;s a lot of uncertainty as to whether it&rsquo;s the right time to move because it is difficult to predict how a company is going to handle the pandemic. In some cases, business is booming, and in others, a lot of roles are being put on hold because there isn&rsquo;t enough budget to make new hires.
A lot of candidates are in stable roles, but their salaries do not match the calibre of work they are producing, and with companies wanting the best of the best but being unable to match salaries or offer bonuses/equity, people are not willing to risk making a move.
Companies need to offer more than just standard government benefits to really entice talented market professionals, and if they cannot, then their competitors will beat them every single time. It is a candidate driven market and they need to up their A-game to be able to attract the best people to produce the best work.&nbsp;
<h4 align="start">What are some of the key things you look out for to distinguish between candidates who will and will not progress to the next stage of the hiring process?</h4>
Many candidates are driven by a handful of key factors which tend to fall around learning and development opportunities, competitive financial compensation, and company culture. When we speak to candidates, we ask them what their biggest motivators are when they are looking for a new company to join. Then we pair them to the best role and remind them at every interview stage or process what those key motivators are, as it is easy to get cold feet and feel unsure of change.
<h4 align="start">What&rsquo;s next for the sector?</h4>
Many industry professionals say that customer feedback is the most important form of data collection as it is the number one source of creating new ideas, so continuous new experimentation across all sectors will boom.
I also see Product Managers as a whole being more adverse and adaptable meaning not only sticking to Product, but rolling up their sleeves and tackling a little bit of everything, be that more UX, UI, data science, design &amp; even account management.
We&rsquo;ve seen Product shift from a project-based role to a more tactical and strategic role, so strategic, user-centric mindsets will be more in demand, as well as people who are specialists in stakeholder/client management.
Are you on the hunt for your next&nbsp;product management role, or are you looking to expand your team? If so, get in touchwith our specialist product team to find out more.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-role-of-the-product-manager-in-2020">What is the Role of the Product Manager in 2020?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/3-key-areas-of-product-management">3 Key Areas of Product Management?</a>

The Rise of The Product Manager in 2021

Be prepared to make the right first impression, whatever the stage of your SEO career.&nbsp;
The toolkit of an SEO professional has become increasingly technical in recent years. Whether you are searching for your first industry role or are an established professional applying for an executive position, a strong technical foundation will help to set you apart. In fact, we are seeing a distinct correlation between technical proficiency and higher salaries. However, it&rsquo;s not only technical process that will help you to make a good first impression in an SEO interview.
Here are 7 ways that you can ensure you are prepared for interview success.
Be Industry Aware
Your interviewer is likely to ask you questions to measure the depth of your market knowledge. What SEO blogs and commentators do you follow? Have you attended any industry events recently, like Brighton SEO? What was the last Google update? Make sure you come prepared with relevant answers and examples to show that you are an active participant in the SEO community.
Talk About SEO Tools
It&rsquo;s important to demonstrate that you have a detailed understanding of key SEO tools and processes. Expect to face questions including: What tools have you used? Why did you use them? What were the advantages of them? If you could build an SEO tool what would it do? Our most requested tool skills include: DeepCrawl, Screaming Frog, SEMrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Majestic, and Google Analytics. Cultivating a strong knowledge of the tools that can support your potential employer is a great way to impress.
Share Your Experience
Being able to communicate your experience and education is vital to your interview success. Formulate answers to likely questions that are clear, concise, and demonstrate your strengths. Common SEO interview questions include: Have you had formal training? Have you done any extracurricular activities, like building and marketing personal websites? What have you learnt? What mistakes have you made? What are your achievements? Being able to talk honestly about your work with appropriate self-reflection is a vital part of securing your dream role.
Articulate Key Processes
What do you do? It&rsquo;s a simple question, but one that can often throw interviewees off course. You need to be able to articulate a process in detail, without falling into confusing or vague explanations. For example, &ldquo;Do you have an on-page SEO tick list? How does it work?&rdquo; Prepare replies for the key aspects of your current and potential-future role.&nbsp;
Show Your Passion
Employers are looking for people who can balance technical knowledge with commitment and enthusiasm. Be positive, passionate, and show interviewers that you can bring something more to the table. One way to demonstrate this is by carrying out company research, including a brief SEO audit to show that you are truly invested in the role you are applying for.&nbsp;
Prepare for Technical Challenges
You will inevitably be asked technical questions. These may vary depending on the role and the company, but some common testing areas to be aware of are:
On-Page SEO
Long Tail Keywords
No Follow Tags
301 V 302 redirects
Panda and Penguin
Google Penalties
SEO Audits
Canonical URLs
Site Migrations
Domain Authority
You should also consider refining your coding skills to ensure that you are able to interpret code and make recommendations to the relevant development teams.
Be Aware of Agency Specific Questions
Interviewing at an agency can change the tone of the meeting. For agency interviews, prepare for the following potential questions:
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; What clients you have worked with?
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; Talk us through your results. Can you explain how these were achieved?
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; How do you ensure your solutions align with strategy?
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; Can you tell us about any strategies you have created?
&middot; &nbsp; &nbsp; Have you been involved in pitching? What were the results and what did you learn?
Preparation is the key to any interview success. For SEO and digital marketing roles, visit our Performance Marketing job vacancies page as it can be essential to securing the role that could transform your career.

7 Ways to Impress in an SEO Interview

AWS Solutions Architect Jobs are creative, collaborative, and constantly evolving. No day will ever be the same, and nurturing a good balance of technical and business skills is a sure way to success. So, what does an average day in the life of an AWS Solutions Architect look like in 2021?
Here, we look at what an AWS Solutions Architect does, the key skills every Solutions Architect should cultivate, and who they collaborate with on a daily basis. We also share some insights from Adam Blaney, our Regional Director
WHAT IS AN AWS SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT?
The role of &lsquo;AWS Solutions Architect&rsquo; is completely open to interpretation depending on what the company deems the Solutions Architect to do in that particular context, in relation to their business goals.
As KnowledgeHut notes, an AWS Certified Solutions Architect is a Solutions Architect with an AWS Solutions Architect Certification that &ldquo;has the responsibility of designing one or more services or applications within an organization&rdquo;.
WHAT DOES AN AWS SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT DO?
When thinking about why a company would need to employ an AWS Solutions Architect in the first place, it all goes back to what the company wants to achieve.
Broadly speaking, as KnowledgeHut notes, an AWS Solutions Architect&rsquo;s role involves &ldquo;the integration of hardware and software for meeting the customer-defined purpose&rdquo;, as well as the &ldquo;examination of current systems and architecture&rdquo;&rsquo; to recommend &ldquo;solutions for more effective systems&rdquo;.
Adam Blaney notes:
&ldquo;From our customer base, you have companies who need a solution architect who is potentially an integration partner or a cloud service provider who needs a solution architect to work on their behalf to implement their solution&rdquo;.
Generally, they are responsible for managing the architecture of a business&rsquo;s cloud, working closely with an enterprise architect or a technical architect. However, AWS Solution Architects are considerably more focused around the business impact, process, and principles, rather than the technology itself.
WHAT ARE THE KEY SKILLS AN AWS SOLUTIONS ARCHITECT SHOULD ACQUIRE?
Every solution architect should nurture a rounded balance of business and technical skills, and validate those technical skills via <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/certification/certified-solutions-architect-professional/">AWS Certified Solutions Architect Exams</a>. Although it is primarily a technical role, possessing an apt for creative thinking, collaboration and communication is key to being a successful AWS Solutions Architect, whatever industry you work across.
Discussing the need for such skills, Adam Blaney notes:
&ldquo;When you are working in the architecture space, it's definitely about having both sides: a technical understanding of a product and the solution, as well as being able to engage with the right stakeholder in the right way.&rdquo;
Stakeholder management is a key part of every AWS Solutions Architect&rsquo;s daily routine, so having the ability to communicate clearly and concisely across many teams in a business is a must. Very often, a solution architect is someone that the key stakeholders turn to for information or guidance about the challenges they face, things that they are looking to implement, and what the business impact could be if they do not implement these changes. Successful AWS Solutions Architects must be able to clearly articulate their perspective around what a process needs to be for the solution they have provided.
Moreover, as many projects will be international, solution architects must be able to adapt to different ways of doing business and communicating.
WHO DO AWS SOLUTIONS ARCHITECTS WORK WITH?
As discussed above, AWS Solutions Architects will communicate with and collaborate across many teams in the business. However, regarding who works most closely with a Solution Architect specifically? This again depends on the size of the business.
In a larger enterprise - which will usually have a dedicated architect team - a Solutions Architect would report into the Head of Architecture who is responsible for that team. The team would also usually feature one to two enterprise-level architects, as well as a handful of Solution Architects and Technical Architects.
In smaller businesses, the financial capacity will also be diminished. This means that there will be a much tighter, if any, architect team. In this case, there will usually be one enterprise architect who acts as the solution or technical architect for the whole business.
If you&rsquo;re looking for a fast-paced, synergetic and inventive career, a career in Solutions Architecture could be your perfect match. With more and more features and programs being added every month, AWS Certified Solutions Architects are always in demand to keep up with the perpetually evolving landscape. If you are on the hunt for your next contract or permanent Solutions Architecture job role, get in touch with our team today.

A Day in the Life of an AWS Solutions Architect

<h1 align="center">Explore Our 2023 UK Salary Survey</h1>
​Explore the biggest salary trends and insights from 2022 and for the year ahead in the UK in Xcede&rsquo;s 2023 Salary Survey.
Numerous factors contributed to the changes in the UK job market throughout 2022, including inflation, the increasing cost of living, the conflict in Ukraine, and post-pandemic ripple effects still coming into play. The demand for jobs remained, yet companies&rsquo; budgets were under scrutiny as they prepared for a much anticipated recession, which is understandable given the economic outlook changing so drastically over the last few years.
Regarding Xcede&rsquo;s specialisms, we have seen a continuation of high demand for skills in data, digital literacy and cybersecurity - yet the top talent in these areas is still a challenge to place in various locations, given the aftermath of the Great Resignation. Although the country saw record-low unemployment and pay growth peaking in 2022, the year ahead remains challenging.
The results of our 2023 Salary Guide highlight findings from over 3,600 vacancies across 22 industries to provide an overview of hiring trends and guidance on remuneration for permanent and contract roles.
Download your own copy of The Xcede 2023 Salary Survey today by completing the form.

XCEDE 2023 UK SALARY GUIDE 

We are thrilled to announce that we have been award the <a href="https://www.feefo.com/uk/business/company/trusted-service-awards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award</a> for the second year in a row. This recent accreditation further signals how we consistently deliver an exceptional experience for our clients and candidates, year after year.
The Platinum Trusted Service Award is given to businesses that achieve Gold standard for three consecutive years or more. As it is based purely on interactions with real customers, this highly respected badge of approval remains unique. All Xcede reviews must be verified as genuine, and in turn, the accreditation is an honest reflection of Xcede&rsquo;s ongoing commitment to excellent service.
Adam Blaney, COO of Xcede commented: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re delighted to receive a Platinum Trusted Service Award. Keeping our customers happy is our priority so this award gives us confidence we are providing an exceptional level of service. The award also recognises just how hard our employees have worked under fresh challenges, with both rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis affecting both consumers and businesses alike.&rdquo;
Tony Wheble, CEO at Feefo, said: &ldquo;The Trusted Service Awards have always been about recognising companies that go way beyond the norm in customer service and in turn receive great feedback from delighted customers. A particular congratulations to Xcede for winning a Platinum Trusted Service Award by providing great customer service consistently over a number of years. I look forward to seeing them continue to achieve next year and beyond.&rdquo;&nbsp; ​
Contact our <a href="https://www.xcede.com/contact-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener">specialist team</a> today to discover how Xcede can help you.

Xcede Receives Feefo Platinum Trusted Service Award for Second Consecutive Year

Why Are Businesses Relying More On Digital Analytics?

Data has become a powerful force that shapes our modern experience. It touches every moment of our lives, from the way we interact with media and entertainment, to how we access healthcare and communicate with each other. In many ways, it has been a transformative force for good. Today, organisations have the power to access increasingly relevant information, building products and experiences that effectively meet our needs. In other areas, it has begun to erode some of the privacy and freedoms that we have previously enjoyed.
We explore the world of data, along with what the future may hold, below.
<h3 align="start">Pros</h3>
<h5 align="start">Personalised Experiences</h5>
Life is easier with data driving our experiences. It&rsquo;s why your favourite music and streaming services know how to recommend new artists and movies you will enjoy. It&rsquo;s how online retailers decide which offers to send to you. The harnessing of data means we can all live in a carefully-curated world.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h5 align="start">Optimised Healthcare</h5>
Data can have a positive impact on how we access vital services, like healthcare. This year, the&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230329131315/https://www.england.nhs.uk/2019/06/nhs-aims-to-be-a-world-leader-in-ai-and-machine-learning-within-5-years/">NHS</a>&nbsp;announced its aim to become a world leader in AI and machine learning. Using data analysis and artificial intelligence to improve diagnostic processes and manage complex functions like outpatient appointment systems.
<h5 align="start">Targeted Solutions to Everyday Problems</h5>
Collecting, processing, and analysing data in real-time can provide meaningful solutions to everyday problems. From how long it will take you to get across town based on current traffic conditions to figuring the best route to take through an airport.
<h5 align="start">Automated Creativity</h5>
Data is at the core of automated creativity. By analysing art or music from around the world, Systems powered by AI are learning how to create unique works.&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230329131315/https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/31/17777008/artificial-intelligence-taryn-southern-amper-music">Amper Music</a>&nbsp;is an AI platform that is working with human popstars to create new hits.
<h3 align="start">Cons</h3>
<h5 align="start">Discourages Discovery</h5>
The downside to living in such a carefully personalised world is that it discourages people to discover the new and the extraordinary outside of their comfort zone (or algorithm). If you never look at anything outside of a relatively narrow set of parameters, how do you discover an innovative new film or a quirky restaurant that doesn&rsquo;t fit neatly within your usual preferences?
<h5 align="start">Creates a Privacy Risk</h5>
Perhaps the most well known and widely publicised risk of the mass collection and analysis of data is the threat it poses to personal privacy. It&rsquo;s incredibly difficult to &lsquo;opt out&rsquo; when your data is being collected with almost every digital interaction. The&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230329131315/https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/cambridge-analytica-files">Facebook and Cambridge Analytica</a>scandal &ndash; where data was mined and used for political advertising purposes without consent &ndash; is an example of how data can be manipulated and misused.
<h5 align="start">Stifles Creativity</h5>
As we begin to use data to power creative processes in music, art, and literature, there is an inevitable concern for what this means for human creativity. Will we need to be creative when machines can create for us? This question will become more contentious as AI technology becomes more sophisticated.&nbsp;
<h3 align="start">What Will The Future Bring for Data?</h3>
Using data for the greater good and minimising its negative impact is a difficult balancing act. In the future, we expect to see greater collaboration between private enterprise and the state as leaders and innovators try to enhance the positive impact of data usage while minimising the misuse of information. We may also see greater competition amongst the leading tech organisations who, today, control huge amounts of personal data around the world. This is something we are beginning to see challenged &ndash; a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230329131315/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/tech-giants-do-not-face-enough-competition-reducing-consumer-choice-and-innovation">report</a>&nbsp;from the UK government called for greater choice and innovation in tech to avoid an effective monopoly on data. It is impossible to predict the next step in our data evolution, but data is undoubtedly going to be at the centre of how we live in the future.
If you're looking for a groundbreaking role in data, or to find the talented candidates who can help you to create the future, contact our&nbsp;<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20230329131315/https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/data">team in data recruitment</a>.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-current-state-of-the-data-recruitment-market">The Current State of the Data Recruitment Market</a>

What are the Pros and Cons of Living in a Data-Driven World?

​Last year, there were more than&nbsp;205 billion&nbsp;app downloads, and the average smartphone user now has between&nbsp;<a href="https://buildfire.com/app-statistics/">60 - 90 apps</a> installed on their phone. However, apps aren&rsquo;t just changing the way people access the internet, buy products, or fill their time - they&rsquo;re also changing the technology job market.&nbsp;
At&nbsp;Xcede, we&rsquo;re seeing a significant increase in the demand for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/product-analyst">product analysts</a>&nbsp;and product data scientists, as companies shift their focus away from traditional web analytics.
To explain further,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/consultants/bailey-snow">Bailey Snow</a>&nbsp;(Senior Consultant of Digital Analytics) and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/consultants/luke-adams">Luke Adams</a>&nbsp;(Director of Digital in Web Analytics and Optimisation) sat down to talk further around this increasingly advancing topic.
<h4 dir="ltr" align="start">Can you explain more about the shift towards product analytics?</h4>
[Bailey] Twenty years ago, we experienced the internet boom and companies needed web analysts for understanding user data, increasing page views, user experience, and converting visitors into customers. Today, more people are using apps instead of websites, and companies require product analysts to analyse app behaviour and drive solutions to improve user experience and conversions. You might have opened the Facebook app multiple times today, but when did you last visit the website? Companies must focus their attention to where most users interact with them or are likely to do so in the future.&nbsp;
[Luke] Apps are more user-friendly than websites and much quicker to access. This is driving app use, and companies are recruiting digital product analysts accordingly.
<h4 dir="ltr" align="start">Are all companies directing their attention and resources to app analysis?</h4>
[Bailey] The majority of companies we engage with are solely app-based or want to drive users away from their website to their app.&nbsp;Apps are beneficial to companies because they are user-friendly for customers and they are easier than websites to track user behaviour on and gather customer data.&nbsp;
[Luke] Yes - while companies can monitor user behaviour on websites, it&rsquo;s much more challenging. You must navigate different web browsers, cookie regulations and more, making it harder to collect data.&nbsp;With an app, you have immediate access to every move a user makes while in the platform, creating the perfect dataset to analyse and make future improvements to the app itself or the business.&nbsp;
<h4 dir="ltr" align="start">Do you think the increased demand for product analysts is because it is easier collecting customer data via apps?</h4>
[Luke] It is for many companies. While most product analyst roles seek candidates that can analyse cross-digital data, the day-to-day tasks are predominantly app-focused - analysing app data and devising techniques to increase use.&nbsp;
[Bailey] I think the increased demand for product analysts is because companies want to push more users to their apps. With a website, companies rely on users proactively visiting them; with an app, companies can send push notifications that compel users to open the app.&nbsp;Apps also offer a more personalised experience than websites; an experience that users return for. The increased user engagement that apps generate, provides companies with access to more data that can drive future opportunities and target audiences.&nbsp;
<h4 dir="ltr" align="start">With the rise of these roles, which are some of the most common ones you are seeing in product analysis, and how do they differ from traditional web analyst jobs?</h4>
[Bailey] Product analysis roles fall under a variety of job titles, from product analyst to product data scientist. I&rsquo;ve also seen data analyst roles advertised with the requirement of product and app experience.
[Luke] Whereas a web analyst pulls reports on user behaviour, a product analyst uses more advanced techniques to analyse data and gain insights from it.&nbsp;A product analyst also works in the product environment, alongside a designer, developer, technical engineer and product manager. This environment is incredibly fast-paced, with projects that are short, sharp and time-sensitive.&nbsp;
<h4 dir="ltr" align="start">Where do you see the product analysis trend in the next 1 - 3 years?</h4>
[Bailey] While companies have performed product analysis for a couple of years now, the area is still in its infancy, so I expect the next 1-3 years to look similar to today, but with a lot more recruitment activity.&nbsp;
[Luke] I think product analysis roles will become more advanced over the next few years, demanding more statistical skills and cutting-edge techniques, closer to those of a data scientist. Companies will use more cloud-based and open source analytic tools and candidates will need appropriate experience.&nbsp;
<h4 dir="ltr" align="start">What advice would you give candidates looking to enter product analysis?</h4>
[Luke] I would encourage graduates to complete a STEM course that provides them with the right technical and soft skills to succeed as a product analyst.&nbsp;We see some candidates joining purely for the financial benefit rather than the merits of the role. While this factor should be considered, if you choose a role on the value it will bring to your skill set, then the finances will always look after themselves. As a result, you will be presented with the best opportunities within the most cutting edge businesses in the market as well.
[Bailey] I agree with Luke. Find a position that excites and stretches you, and the financial rewards will follow.&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re interested in&nbsp;digital and product analytics, or you&rsquo;re looking to enhance your analytics team, get in touch to find out more.

The Rise of the Product Analyst

We are excited to announce the completion of a merger with TechStream and Etonwood as of Friday the 17th of January 2020. This merger brings together three specialist technology talent solution companies that creates a group with &pound;100m revenue, 650 onsite contractors and 220 internal employees across 9 global offices.
The merger has been funded by South African private equity firm <a href="http://www.universalpartners.mu/">Universal Partners</a> and <a href="https://www.investec.com/en_gb.html">Investec Bank</a>. All three companies now share a group parent company branded as TechStream Group with Paul Beeke acting as Chief Executive Officer and William Jacques acting as Chief Operating Officer.
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-jacques-4864b31/">William Jacques</a> said:&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am delighted to announce the merger of Xcede Recruitment with both TechStream and Etonwood. By joining the businesses, we will expand our service offering into the US, Asia and MEA markets, whilst increasing our European operations&rdquo;
William continued to say:&nbsp;
&ldquo;The new enlarged group will continue to provide a highly focussed talent solution across technology, digital and automation. Xcede is focussed on building on its position as one of Europe&rsquo;s leading digital and data talent solutions companies and we are very excited about the future.&rdquo;
The group will operate across its current global office network in London, New York, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Singapore, Malaga and Cape Town. Operationally, each brand will remain highly specialised in their own field with a clear focus on new and emergent technology, covering Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, Data Analytics, Digital Transformation, IoT, Automation and CleanTech.
Since 2003, Xcede has delivered talent solutions for some of the most innovative and successful companies across the creative, technology, marketing and data sectors. In 2018 Xcede was awarded a place on the Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100 table. Xcede has also been recognised as a great place to work, achieving inclusion in the Sunday Times Best 100 Companies list in 2018 and 2019.
Founded in 2017 by Paul Beeke, TechStreamis an internationally recognised human capital business. TechStream consists of four portfolio brands each focusing on unique technology streams: CloudStream, EarthStream, AutoStream and CyberStream. The organisation employs over 130 internal sales delivery consultants and support staff with over 300 technology, engineering &amp; digital consultants on client sites.
Paul Beeke commented:&nbsp;
&ldquo;I am delighted for TechStream to be joining forces with Xcede, Etonwood, Universal Partners and Investec to create a much larger, diversified global technology talent solutions business.&nbsp;
This provides the platform, scale and funding to realise our future global growth ambitions and to drive our individual specialist brands in all of the global regions we operate in.&rdquo;
Etonwood specialises in cloud and infrastructure technology talent solutions and works closely with financial services companies, technology consultancies and service management automation specialists which includes the rapidly growing ServiceNow market.
Etonwood Managing Director Andrew Murton said:
&nbsp;&ldquo;The knowledge, experience and expertise that exists across the group will ensure each of our businesses maintains its position as a leader in its field and maximises the opportunities that exist for growth in this fast-moving sector.&rdquo;
For more information on Etonwood visit: <a href="http://www.etonwood.co.uk/">http://www.etonwood.co.uk/</a>
For more information on Universal Partners visit: <a href="https://www.universalpartners.mu">www.universalpartners.mu</a>

Xcede merge with TechStream and Etonwood to create £100m revenue group

It has now been a year since the UK entered its first UK lock down. As companies have made rapid decisions on where to cut costs and increase short-term revenue, the importance of harnessing data to make business decisions has become increasingly evident.
Here we look at how the pandemic has affected the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/data">data recruitment market</a>&nbsp;over the past year, exploring which data roles are currently in highest demand. We also share some expert insights from our Associate Director of Data&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/consultants/matthew-jones">Matthew Jones</a>&nbsp;concerning the current surge in specific job roles across the data space.
<h4 align="start">The Data Talent in Demand Through COVID-19</h4>
In recruiting for data roles more broadly across our team during COVID-19, there has been a handful of noteworthy trends.
One of these has been regarding the level of seniority that is in greatest demand. Over the past year, &nbsp;we have witnessed a shift in which there has been less of a focus on specialists having a specific data skillset, and more about the level of experience they possess. In general, there has been an increased preference for senior candidates across all skillsets in data.
In the current climate, it is natural that companies are perhaps warier than they were pre-COVID when it comes to hiring graduate or entry-level candidates. As companies are largely onboarding new employees remotely, candidates that have a proven track record of successfully delivering on projects to strict timescales (from years of experience doing just that) will typically find it much easier to adapt to a new remote role.
<h4 align="start">A Boom in Data Across all Sectors</h4>
If there is anything that COVID-19 has illustrated in relation to the digital world, it is that data as a sector is relatively pandemic and recession-proof. Even when businesses are scaling back, cutting costs, or undergoing a digital revamp, it is now more crucial than ever to make these business decisions in a data-driven way.
Speaking to our Associate of Director of Data&nbsp;Matthew Jones&nbsp;on the boom in data across all sectors, he provides the example of a hospitality client he recently worked with. During lockdown, Matthew supported a hospitality group to hire three analysts.
<blockquote>
&ldquo;They were a wider group and wanted to understand how they could streamline their processes, as well as how to ensure they properly understand who their loyal customers are and how to retain those loyal customers when venues reopen. This demonstrates how regardless of the current climate, companies want to become much more data driven than ever before.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
It is evident that every data skillset is in demand regardless of the sector, especially for those companies making difficult, unprecedented business decisions to cope with COVID-19.
<h4 align="start">The Data Roles in Highest Demand Over the Past Year</h4>
One of the roles that we have seen an exponential growth in over the past year, is that of the product analyst. With people spending more and more time at home attached to screens, ecommerce and retail competition is rife, and providing users with a flawless digital experience is key to customer retention.
More than ever before do companies want to understand how their users are interacting with their games or apps, and whether the user experience is accurately personalized. This has led to a boom in demand for experienced and commercially aware product analysts.
Speaking to Matthew Jones about the growth, he notes:
<blockquote>
&ldquo;Companies that thrive off the in-app user experience&mdash;food delivery apps being a huge one here&mdash;want to optimise that user experience as much as possible.
Now more than ever do they want to make sure that their customers are having a top-quality interaction with them. For example, &ldquo;are these recommended items and restaurants relevant to me?&rdquo;, or &ldquo;would I buy this item of clothing?&rdquo;. It is about making these recommendations as accurate as they should be for each unique user.
As everyone was and is online more during lockdown, we have seen a huge increase in demand over the last year within the product analytics market.&rdquo;
</blockquote>
<h4 align="start">What is Next for the Data Hiring Space?</h4>
COVID-19 has illustrated the importance of companies making business decisions from a data-driven perspective. Preparing for any upcoming changes to wider landscape is another part of this.
Uncertainties surrounding Brexit and the imminent arrival of&nbsp;IR35&nbsp;regulation changes in April are also expected to shake up the market. On the upcoming changes, Matthew Jones notes:
<blockquote>
&ldquo;Brexit is definitely going to change things. Around 20-30% of our placements in the data team were from people relocating from Europe. As Brexit changes this, it is likely that businesses will need more support from their recruitment partners to hire data specialists in the UK.
We are fortunate that we have an outstanding reach in the UK for helping to place data specialists. It will be crucial for our consultants going forward to further investigate how each client&rsquo;s sponsorship visa process work and keep on top of any upcoming changes to these."
</blockquote>
Similar Blogs that may be of interest:
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-living-in-a-data-driven-world">What are the Pros and Cons of Living in a Data Driven World?</a>

The Current State of the Data Recruitment Market

Welcome to the first blog in our NLP Blog Series!
Natural Language Processing&mdash;widely known as NLP&mdash;continues to be a rising star within the data space, creating more and more&nbsp;job opportunities in data&nbsp;as new tools and technologies arise. Saying this, we wanted to dedicate a 3-part recruitment blog series to this exciting aspect of the data space.
In this first blog, we will explore what NLP is, its growing use across different sectors, and the types of jobs you can enter within the NLP field. We also share insights from our data specialists Niall Wharton and Matthew Jones on some of the challenges and limitations currently faced in the NLP/AI space.
<h2 align="start">WHAT IS NLP?</h2>
NLP is defined by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/natural-language-processing">IBM</a>&nbsp;as &lsquo;the branch of computer science, and more specifically, the branch of artificial intelligence or AI&rsquo; that enables computers &lsquo;to understand text and spoken words in much the same way human beings can.&rsquo;
By fusing the technologies of &lsquo;computational linguistics - rule-based modelling of human language - with statistical, machine learning, and deep learning models&rsquo;, NLP allows &lsquo;computers to process human language in the form of text or voice data and to &lsquo;understand&rsquo; its full meaning, complete with the speaker or writer&rsquo;s intent and sentiment.
IBM defines deep learning as a subset of machine learning &lsquo;modelled to work like the human brain&rsquo; that learns from vast quantities of data. With the help of deep learning, the accuracy of the NLP solutions - in this case, the text itself, as well as how the machine understands the text&rsquo;s true sentiment and meaning - improves over time. As deep learning algorithms &lsquo;make predictions repeatedly&rsquo;, they progressively learn and improve &lsquo;the accuracy of the outcome over time.&rsquo; &nbsp;
You have probably witnessed the increase in accuracy in NLP tools yourself in recent years: think of what Siri can understand and help you with now, as opposed to just a few of years ago.
<h3 align="start">NLP TOOLS, TECHNIQUES AND APPROACHES</h3>
It is worth noting that we will not explore specific language models such as GPT-3 and BERT here. NLP is used for a variety of automated processes, and thus the specific tools and techniques used vary depending on what process is involved. As SAS notes, NLP techniques vary from &lsquo;statistical and machine learning methods&rsquo; to more &lsquo;rules-based and algorithmic approaches&rsquo; to account for the variety of text and voice data NLP can analyse.
NLP tasks can include &lsquo;tokenization and parsing, lemmatization/stemming, part-of-speech tagging, language detection and identification of semantic relationships&rsquo;. Overall, this is all in the aim in the name of simplifying language into &lsquo;elemental pieces&rsquo; to better understand &lsquo;relationships between the pieces and explore how the pieces work together to create meaning.&rsquo;
<h4 align="start">EVERYDAY USES OF NLP</h4>
It is highly likely that you have come across, or even use NLP every day knowingly or unknowingly. From voice-operated GPS apps to automated customer service chatbots, many tools which we now take from granted when solving day-to-day problems rapidly, are all driven by NLP.
IBM lists a variety of real-world examples of NLP, from spam detection (using NLP to scan an email&rsquo;s text and determine whether it indicates phishing) to virtual assistants (queue, &lsquo;Hey Siri?&rsquo;), to machine translation (such as Google Translate): many of which you will have interacted with already.
Overall, whatever NLP is being utilised for, it is all about automating and streamlining processes. As IBM notes, the use of NLP is expanding across every type of enterprise to help &lsquo;streamline business operations, increase employee productivity, and simplify mission-critical business processes.&rsquo;
As a consumer, we want answers to where our parcel is fast. By asking a virtual chatbot to perform a simple task such as tracking the status of our order on a database, we can get an answer in seconds. If we have a huge body of text that needs summarized or a report condensed, NLP tools can help speed up this process. When we want rapid answers and simple task-based solutions, NLP can help.
But what about providing more complex solutions, understanding the true meaning of text when the complexities of human language get in the way, and the wider problematic issues surrounding bias that AI-based tools and techniques such as NLP unveils?
<h4 align="start">CURRENT LIMITATIONS OF NLP: COMPLEXITIES OF NATURAL HUMAN LANGUAGE AND BIAS</h4>
<h6 align="start">Complexities of Human Language: That&rsquo;s Just Human Nature</h6>
The complexities of human language with its web of ambiguities, emotions and sentiments is almost always guaranteed to affect the meaning of the words in any given sentence. Then there is the physical aspect of speech to think about, which adds another level of complexity to human language: from diction to accent to the speed at which we speak.
Let us take voice recognition technology as just one example. We are not robots. We say things differently depending on who we are with and how we feel all the time (as well as having different accents, dialects, use of slang, speech rate and the like). Unravelling, analysing and quantifying the complexities of human language both physically and metaphysically is just one of the fascinating challenges that current NLP specialists are engaging with.
And it is improving all the time. From brands being able to detect irony across a set of Twitter posts, to chatbots being able to identify anger in a customer service message, to enterprises being able to gauge the average sentiment from their customers based on reviews or email campaign replies, NLP tools are only going to get &lsquo;more human&rsquo; as they are fed more and more data. The fusion of automation and what we think of as uniquely human characteristics or privileges&mdash;emotion, empathy, freewill, and even consciousness&mdash;is one of the most fascinating aspects of NLP and AI generally, especially when we try to envisage where these technologies could take us.
<h4 align="start">BIAS</h4>
But then arises a wider AI-related issue which has yielded worrying headlines across the globe. NLP, as with any AI tool, can pose serious problems in regard to bias.
Speaking to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/consultants/niall-wharton">Niall Wharton</a>,&nbsp;our Team Lead in&nbsp;Data Science, ML &amp;&nbsp;Big Data Engineering hiring, he comments on the dangers of overreliance on text matching within a sector like recruitment, giving the example of CV screening.
&ldquo;An overreliance on this could lead to very simplistic CV screening from recruitment software products, which may lead to inaccurate CV evaluation. One of the criticisms levelled at human-centric recruitment is that less experienced consultants may need to resort to &ldquo;keyword-matching&rdquo; &ndash; at Xcede we focus on individual areas of expertise to get around this issue and actually understand the quality of applications that we get. If the text algorithms are too simple, that is when problems arise&rdquo;
This is illustrative of the wider issues surrounding where AI / ML products are at in general right now.
&ldquo;AI/ML have notoriously been discriminatory because the algorithms they&rsquo;re run on are only as good as the data that they&rsquo;re fed. Any bias or prejudice that exists in human hiring processes could quite easily filter into the behaviour of the products from the training data. There have been numerous high-profile cases of this when not spotted early on&rdquo;.
Xcede&rsquo;s Associate Director of Data,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/consultants/matthew-jones">Matthew Jones</a>&nbsp;also comments on the dangers of NLP being over relied on when scanning the landscape for new candidates.
&ldquo;Recommendation algorithms that can parse CVs and help rank candidates in predicted order of suitability for a position, but do not aid diverse hiring.&rdquo;
The use of NLP is growing across all sectors. From implementing NLP tools and techniques for an organization to utilize in the first place, to advancing NLP models to find solutions to the complex challenges around bias and natural language adoption, to say NLP specialists are in demand is an understatement.
<h4 align="start">JOBS IN NLP</h4>
Statistics clearly illustrate the exponential growth of NLP in recent years. In 2017 the NLP space was valued at about&nbsp;$3bn; by 2025, experts expect this to reach $43bn- (source: TechShout).
As SAS notes, NLP and text analytics in general can be applied to many roles, across many sectors. This can include everything from crime investigation, &lsquo;to identify patterns and clues in emails or written reports to help detect and solve crimes&rsquo; to social media marketing and advertising, &lsquo;to track awareness and sentiment about specific topics and identify key influencers&rsquo;.
Speaking to Xcede&rsquo;s Associate Director of Data Matthew Jones on the current demand, he notes:
&ldquo;The demand for NLP is generally growing across every sector. For example, insurance companies use it to rapidly parse and summarise huge documents, retailers and brands use it to better understand how their brand is perceived on social media, and customer-facing brands might want to use it if they've got an online platform and they need a chatbot, for example. As text is everywhere, once companies have the foundation of a data team in place, they want to do NLP work. It is a really interesting growth.&rdquo;
As you can see, anywhere that text is present, NLP can be utilized to automate and streamline the task at hand. And as businesses undergo digital transformations to better automate and streamline their digital infrastructure, the use of NLP is only going to continue to grow.
Looking to make your next career move within NLP or discuss how you can progress your career in data?&nbsp;Get in touch&nbsp;with our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/data">data recruiters </a>today.
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/nlp-series-interview-with-phd-scholar-jacob-webber">NLP Series: Interview with PhD Scholar Jacob Webber</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/nlp-series-responsible-ai-nlp">NLP Series: Responsible AI and NLP</a>

NLP Series: NLP’s Exponential Job Growth Explained

We are pleased to announce that our parent company, Xcede Group has been shortlisted for two categories at the TIARA Recruitment Awards: The Odro Innovation Award, and The Clearwater Growth Recruitment Company of The Year.
The shortlist highlights Xcede Group's commitment to delivering exceptional experiences for our clients and candidates, as well as the innovation we have shown as part of our growth so far in 2022.
&ldquo;This year&rsquo;s shortlist is the most impressive yet &ndash; not only reflecting the recruitment boom of the last year but those who have achieved profitable growth with the best balance of talent and tech,&rdquo; said Alex Evans, Managing Director of TALiNT Partners.
Following a successful first half of 2022, the award is a fantastic indicator of the exciting developments we are making across the Group throughout the remainder of 2022.
William Jacques, CEO, said:
&ldquo;I was thrilled to hear that Xcede Group was shortlisted for the TIARA Recruitment Awards. This is a testament to the fantastic service our teams provide and the innovation that we have shown across our organisation so far in 2022. We're excited to see the winners list later this year!"
Do you want to work for an award-winning business? View our internal vacancies <a href="https://www.xcede.com/join-us">here</a>.

Xcede Group Shortlisted for TIARA Recruitment Awards

In our experience there is no doubt that Data Scientists are one of the most in-demand professionals of the 21st&nbsp;century when it comes to hiring. We all remember the&nbsp;<a href="https://hbr.org/2012/10/data-scientist-the-sexiest-job-of-the-21st-century">Harvard Business Review</a>&nbsp;in 2012 naming &ldquo;data scientist&rdquo; as the sexiest job of the 21st&nbsp;century, but since then the hype has grown exponentially. With this hype comes an array of issues for businesses looking to hire them.
<h3 align="start">Reason 1</h3>
Simply by posting a job advertisement online and receiving hundreds of applications, one would be forgiven for thinking it&rsquo;s easy to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.xcede.com/job-role/data-scientist">hire a Data Scientist.</a> Here stems the first problem; everyone wants to be a Data Scientist. Ok, &ldquo;everyone&rdquo; is an exaggeration, but there are certainly a lot of people from a mix of backgrounds who hear of six figure salaries and weird and wonderful artificial intelligence or deep learning projects in data science and want to make the transition. We think the terminology of &ldquo;fake Data Scientists&rdquo; is a step too far - there are very transferable skill sets between professions, but the definition of a Data Scientist is certainly becoming more indistinct. New job titles are emerging for very clearly defined roles such as Machine Learning Engineer, Computer Vision Specialist, NLP Scientist. Companies need to be able to read beyond a job title and get a good understanding of a person&rsquo;s CV and come to the realisation of problem number two, there is still a huge shortage of talent.&nbsp;
<h3 align="start">Reason 2</h3>
The hype over the last few years has led to a lot of people making the transition from academia to data science. &ldquo;Data Analysts&rdquo; are going back to University to study bridging degrees (UCL&rsquo;s Computational Statistics and Machine Learning Masters programme must be one of the most oversubscribed in the UK), the emergence of dozens of &ldquo;data science boot camps&rdquo;, and a huge uptake of online courses such as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.coursera.org/">Coursera</a>.&nbsp;However, this increase in supply nowhere near meets the huge increase in demand. Data Science is not restricted to Silicon Valley-esque tech businesses; this year alone Xcede&nbsp;have recruited Data Scientists for law firms, investment banks, sports teams, charities, and even pet-care businesses&hellip; the list of industries and their need for Data Scientists is everlasting. This Harvard Business Review feature reported that&nbsp;<a href="https://hbr.org/2012/10/big-data-the-management-revolution">"companies in the top third of their industry in the use of data-driven decision making were, on average, 5% more productive and 6% more profitable than their competitors".</a>&nbsp;An attractive part of the role of a Data Scientist is that it is possible to very clearly quantify the added value to a business: a contributing factor to the huge increase in demand.
<h3 align="start">Reason 3</h3>
Basic economics dictates that high demand and low supply leads to an increase in price &ndash; problem number three. Data Science salaries are rather mixed and inconclusive at the moment. Six figure salaries for little commercial experience are just as common as &pound;50,000 &ldquo;Head of Data Science&rdquo; roles. A lot of this stems from problem number one; defining the role of the Data Scientist. Genuine &ldquo;unicorn&rdquo; Data Scientists are likely to have a host of offers when changing jobs which can lead to a bidding war between businesses. A maturing freelance/contract market is also adding a spanner to the works with lucrative day rates blowing salaries out of the water.
<h3 align="start">Reason 4</h3>
This increase in demand leads to another problem: problem number four &ndash; how to best attract and interview Data Scientists. Xcede&nbsp;are one of many digital agencies that recruit for the Data market in the UK. Data Scientists get dozens of LinkedIn&nbsp;messages each week, making it harder and harder for companies to stand out and attract the best talent. LinkedIn messaging is not the only way to attract Data Scientists! However, once you get people through the door, you then have to try and work out how to interview them. It is a fine art producing an interview process that allows you to: test someone&rsquo;s skill set but still be able to sell the role, opportunity and company; have a fast-paced process so that you don&rsquo;t miss the best talent who naturally get appointed first. While ensuring it is not too quick that it is a rushed hire and have a process that includes some test of technical ability, but not one that requires such a commitment from a candidate that it can put people off, e.g. take-home tasks that take a whole weekend to complete.
It is fascinating where the Data Science market is heading, with the job title itself potentially dissolving into many other more clearly defined job titles. This may help balance fluctuating salaries and allow companies to easier attract and interview people, whilst making sure both companies and candidates have a much clearer representation of what the role will involve and what the candidate&rsquo;s skill set is.&nbsp;
Some advice to consider:
1. When reading applications, read beyond the job titles.
2. Make sure you carefully benchmark your salaries, and don&rsquo;t enter unnecessary bidding wars &ndash; the right people will want to work to you for the right reasons, not just based on salary.
3. Understand that interviews are a two-way process &ndash; make sure you tell people why it&rsquo;s great to work for you!
4. Put together an interview process that doesn&rsquo;t require excessive commitment from candidates and one that doesn&rsquo;t drag on too long.
Similar Blogs that may be of interest:
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/what-is-a-senior-data-scientist">What is a Senior Data Scientist?</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-evolution-of-the-data-scientist-job-title">The Evolution of the Data Scientist Job Title</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/how-to-hire-a-data-scientist">How to Hire a Data Scientist</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/the-quiet-truth-about-data-science">The Quiet Truth about Data Science</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/chief-data-scientist-tracking-the-rise-of-senior-scientists">Chief Data Scientist | Tracking the rise of Senior Data Scientists</a>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/data-scientist-vs-data-analyst-which-role-is-most-in-demand">Data Scientist Vs Data Analyst | Which Role is Most in Demand?</a>
&nbsp;

4 Reasons Why it's Harder than Ever to Hire a Data Scientist

Digital disruption is a hot topic and is high on the corporate agenda right now. Almost half of global business leaders are concerned by the level of digital disruption in their sector according to a new report produced by the technology company Fujitsu. Technology continues to evolve rapidly and if the change is radical enough it can alter businesses and potentially entire industries.&nbsp;
Each customer interaction is unique, with analytics being the backbone of the experience, creating millions of personalised journeys based on individual needs. Because the new interactions are analytics-powered rather than hard-coded, they can be much more agile and responsive to change. Our managing recruitment consultant Nicola, who specialises in marketing analytics and insight explores three main ways digital has affected customer experience.
1. Loyalty Apps
When someone refers to a loyalty scheme, the thought that springs to mind usually is points on an instore account or stamps on a coffee card. According to Investopedia, &lsquo;a loyalty scheme is a rewards program offered to customers who frequently make a purchase.&rsquo; Since 2017, the word loyalty has been taken much further than it ever has been before.&nbsp;
Customers choose to be loyal because of the psychological connection to the brand, the rewards gained and the free items received in return. There is no doubt that these schemes increase sales and create repeat customers but could loyalty go further? Howard Schneider, Senior Consultant for Kobie Marketing said &ldquo;savvy and strategic companies are now looking beyond these rewards programs to delight, create and retain loyal customers. They are looking to solve customers&rsquo; problems and soothe pain points.&rdquo; He suggests that smart companies are investing in new ways to take their loyalty to the next level, some businesses are doing this by providing an app for their customers&rsquo; smartphones.&nbsp;
For example, Starbucks is one of many businesses that has developed an app based loyalty model. You can use your Starbucks app (the digital version of the reward card) to make a purchase and to earn stars so that you can gain exclusive rewards such as free drinks and more. Some individuals may argue that there are a few issues with this; what if your battery dies and you cannot pay for your purchase with the money preloaded onto the app? Does the customer really want to go in store and pay for a coffee without guaranteeing a star on the spot? Does this scenario drive people to competitors like Caf&eacute; Nero who still use a reward card and stamps?&nbsp;
Schneider describes apps like Starbucks as lifestyle apps which are created to enhance your experience of the purchasing process. In addition to gaining stars/points, customers can actually pre-order their drinks for a certain time. Do these types of apps sway a customer to remain loyal to them due to the ease of use and benefits? The flexibility provided is clearly appealing as it allows customers to be organised by pre-planning and making the most of the app. It&rsquo;s likely that more people would prefer to use and redeem free rewards from the app rather than go to a competitor.
2. E-receipts
E-receipts are the latest method of how you receive your proof of purchase when shopping instore. This is becoming more prevalent across high street retailers like Topshop, New Look and Gap, where you provide an email address and receive your receipt via email. You are then emailed personalised and targeted campaigns with similar products to which you have purchased. Emails are a valuable commodity and this can be beneficial to a lot of customers but so many still view this as &lsquo;spam.&rsquo;
The benefits of e-receipts are clear in preserving the environment as it is paperless and the fact you can&rsquo;t physically lose the email receipt or accidentally put it in the wash. However, there have been many situations noted online via The Guardian newspaper, where people have requested a paper copy of their receipt and arguments have been unavoidable with the shop assistants due to the hassle of having to move to another till to physically print it out. But what if you don&rsquo;t have an email address or if you simply don&rsquo;t want to give that personal information out?&nbsp;
These e-receipts mean stores can gather your shopping history, both online and offline. The single customer view that is a priority in many businesses is being taken even further and allowing the customer analytics teams to collect additional customer information to analyse. Because of this it is becoming a lot easier to analyse customer behaviour and trends through the multi-channels ensuring more personalised campaigns.&nbsp;
A major concern customers are facing is they may not realise what companies are obtaining their email address and details for. Whether it is for marketing purposes or potentially sharing it with third parties. People need to know why companies are collecting this personal information and how they are using it.
&ldquo;Retailers are trying to move to a long-term relationship with customers because loyalty as we once thought of it is pretty much dead.&rdquo; &ndash; Colin Strong, Head of behavioural Science at Ipsos
3. Home Dining
Traditionally people would go to their favourite restaurants and enjoy a meal out but digital disruption has changed the way in which we treat the restaurant trade. A new trend has been created - eating in is becoming the new eating out. We have started to use our most favourite places as takeaways, there has been a substantial increase in restaurants using app-based delivery companies such as Deliveroo and UberEATS to stay ahead of the game. Delivery is becoming much more than a simple add-on as there are signs that restaurateurs are tapping into the delivery trend. In 2016, restaurant group Clockjack Chicken opened a delivery-only kitchen that solely offers food in London through Deliveroo orders. Co-founder Jerry Goldberg said he saw the food delivery market start to take off in 2013 and Clockjack was one of the first restaurants to sign up to Deliveroo, with orders being taken from its restaurant based in Soho. This then led to the opening of their delivery-only branch. Mr Goldberg stated that there were many benefits such as a relief of pressure at their Soho kitchen, no flurry of drivers passing through the restaurant and a saving in expenditures. He said &ldquo;The property costs for a kitchen are significantly lower than a restaurant as you don&rsquo;t have to have a prime location for a delivery site.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Ordering ready-to-eat food for delivery via an app or by phone is growing so fast that eating in is becoming the new eating out. It goes beyond getting delivery of conventional takeaway food because full-service restaurants are offering delivery too.&rdquo; - Cyril Lavenant, NPD&rsquo;s UK food service director
The question is will they eventually kill off full-service restaurants? &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not surprising delivery companies are doing well, as there is demand, but I&rsquo;ll eat my hat if deliveries outstrip restaurants.&rdquo; &ndash; David Moore, successful restauranteur best known for the Michelin-starred London site Pied &agrave; Terre. According to analysts NPD Group, the delivery sector rose almost 10% (599 million in the UK), while the total number of restaurant and other dining venue visits rose only by 1%. Dining out is not always the better option especially today where it&rsquo;s common to queue at no-reservation venues, tipping, dress codes and other things that may be considered nuisances of eating out.&nbsp;
Last year the delivery channel was worth 3.6bn, a 6% increase from 2015. Mr Goldberg agrees that the thriving success of the delivery market suggests some in-depth questions about the future of the restaurant industry. He said &ldquo;this is critical for the whole restaurant market and could have huge implications.&rdquo;
The results of further digital disruption may be unpredictable and overwhelming but it&rsquo;s also powerful, motivating and unavoidable. As a result of this there are multiple concerns: will e-receipts put people off shopping in store? Is this an opening for analytics teams to build up their customer movements due to the massive move to online shopping? Will restaurants harness the appeal of home dining by implementing smart tactics to ensure the restaurant experience is still desired? The organisations such as Deliveroo and Just Eat have direct access to personalised buying trends in a way restaurants can only dream of. Therefore, the app market has a significant advantage when creating its vision of customers and targeting its campaigns.&nbsp;
<h4 class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 21.6pt; text-indent: -21.6pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">Similar Blogs that may be of interest:</h4>
<a href="https://www.xcede.com/blog/how-does-digital-transformation-impact-recruitment">How does Digital Transformation Impact Recruitment?</a>&nbsp;

3 Ways Digital Disruption has Impacted Customer Experience

​Explore the biggest salary trends and insights from 2021 and for the year ahead in the UK in Xcede&rsquo;s 2022 Salary Survey.
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated the pace of digitisation across all sectors as businesses moved operations online and adopted remote or hybrid working practices. Skill requirements changed and the competition to secure specialist technology talent intensified. Against the backdrop of a challenging hiring landscape, organisations in 2021 were under even more pressure to entice talent at all levels. It saw significant investments made to elevate employer brands, with salaries and benefits no longer just competitive but outstanding.
2021 provided exceptional opportunities for technology professionals. Focusing on our core specialisms of data, digital, technology, and cyber, we have gathered information from job seekers and employers, along with industry insights from our specialists and valued sources.
The results of our 2022 Salary Guide highlight findings from over 3,600 vacancies across 22 industries, to provide an overview of hiring trends and guidance on remuneration for permanent and contractor roles.
&nbsp;

Xcede 2022 UK Salary Guide

How has COVID-19 impacted pay across the UK digital, technology and data sectors?&nbsp;Explore the biggest salary trends and insights from 2020 and for the year ahead in Xcede&rsquo;s 2021 Salary Survey. For employees, the survey will allow you to objectively evaluate whether your skills are being matched financially by your employer. For business owners and managers, the survey will be an insightful guide to obtaining and retaining the top talent in your sector as we enter a post-COVID world.
&nbsp;
The challenges that emerged from 2020 had a huge impact on the digital recruitment market. For a market that is in constant flux as new technologies, tools and opportunities emerge, we had to pause, reassess, and rapidly evolve our working practices. The exact same can be said of the digital sector itself.
So how did these unprecedented changes affect how companies hire the best talent within the data, digital and technology sectors?
This year&rsquo;s Salary Survey is one like no other and follows our&nbsp;<a href="https://xcede-redesign.staging.krakatoa.eu-2.volcanic.cloud/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBNGUzRWc9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--84d1352f6b64d56ac31e0197d4795c52f6a676c4/Xcede's%202020%20Salary%20Guide.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2020 Salary Survey Guide</a>, providing insights and uncovering trends from a year that will shape the way we work for years to come. The survey takes a closer look at 3 key markets &ndash; data, digital, and technology &ndash; using information from surveys, CVs, job listings and successful hires to provide a snapshot of current hiring trends in the UK and guidance on remuneration for permanent roles, with a special overview of the contractor market.
Find out how your pay and benefits compare to others working in related roles, or how you can expect your salary to rise with experience. For business owners and hiring managers, our 2021 Salary Survey offers unique insights into the cost of acquiring and retaining the brightest talent in your sector.
Download your copy of The Xcede 2021 Salary Survey today by completing the form.

Xcede 2021 UK Salary Guide

Welcome to the second post in our dedicated Natural Language Processing Blog Series. Natural Language Processing &mdash; otherwise known as NLP &mdash; is a fascinating area of the data space defined by <a href="https://www.ibm.com/topics/natural-language-processing">IBM</a> as a branch of AI that enables computers &lsquo;to understand text and spoken words in much the same way human beings can.&rsquo;
Studies in the space continue to reveal new uses of NLP. Here we chat to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobjwebber/">Jacob Webber</a>, a University of Edinburgh Speech Technology PhD student to learn more about his NLP-related field of study as well as his experience of working and studying in this niche area of the data space. Read his thoughts below.
Jacob, please can you talk us through your current PhD thesis?
I am working on speech synthesis. We are trying to make speech synthesis systems more controllable, so you can choose exactly what the voice you are generating sounds like. Most systems at the moment learn from data, so they default to replicating voices that already exist and that we have good data for.
This work has lots of important applications, but it is particularly important that people with speech disabilities can use voices that are representative of them. Control can mean lots of things, from mood of speaker to voice quality (e.g. gravelly, smooth, etc).
Is there a relation to NLP?
There is a very strong relation to NLP. Speech technology research might be seen as somewhat separate from NLP, which generally applies to text processing, but speech is certainly language, and we process it. The division is becoming less clear with things like machine translation, which is a standard NLP task. Speech-to-speech machine translation, with no text based intermediate representations, is a very difficult task, but it&rsquo;s one that people are working on. Some aspects of speech technology (like audio quality enhancement) have less of a relation to NLP, but the divisions are not well-defined and are highly permeable.
What, in your words, would you describe NLP as?
I think I would define the field very broadly as any computational effort to process language. Language might be speech, text, or signing. This ranges from very simple programs, such as those that search through a document or web page to find a particular word, to very sophisticated machine learning models that will translate between languages or transcribe recorded speech. It&rsquo;s a very broad, fast-moving and exciting field.
Is there anything over the past year or so that has happened in your area of study that particularly stood out to you?
There is very fast progress being made in this area right now. There are a lot of companies, large and small, working on text-to-speech systems at the moment. Many of them, like universities, are publishing their ideas in academic conferences and journals, which is accelerating progress further.
If I had to pick one idea that has stood out it would probably be WaveNet. This was a paper from Google that showed it was possible to generate audio directly using machine-learning. This is from a few years ago, but recent progress has been improving the performance of this sort of system.
How did your academic journey so far lead you to this current niche?
My first degree was in Physics and Music, and between the two I got interested in audio processing and physical models of sound. It became clear how much of science is becoming dominated by computation, and specifically processing huge amounts of data.
I did the Master&rsquo;s and learnt how to program GPUs and supercomputers. It was a great experience and at the end I got to apply it all to physics-based room acoustics. It was during this that I realised that speech processing was another application of these audio processing and GPU programming skills. It&rsquo;s a fascinating area &ndash; I have a lot to learn about linguistics, but it&rsquo;s endlessly interesting.
What piqued your interest in this specific part of the data space in particular?
I really like the range of expertise it requires, from computing to audio processing and to linguistics. This range makes it really interesting, but it also makes the field more diverse than others in computer science.
Before starting your PhD, you were a Software Engineer in Cambridge. What did you focus on during your time there?
I was working programming embedded wireless communication systems. It was programming in low level C, which was a great educational experience for me. I really felt like I was understanding how computers work, which is important for me. I like to know how everything is working.
What types of careers have other students on your courses gone onto pursue, from your Master&rsquo;s Computing Course, and your current PhD study?
Many others from the MSc have gone on to do PhD studies too. A few have gone into industry. Many have ended up working in Cambridge, which seems to be a hotspot for British computing.
Those studying for PhDs in speech technology often end up at large companies that are working on this sort of technology. A well-known search engine provider and a well-known online book retailer have large research teams working on this stuff, to name a couple. Recently I have noticed more start-ups having the resources to research and develop their own speech technology, which is great.
What&rsquo;s next for you, will you be entering the world of data or do you plan to pursue further academic studies post PhD?
I&rsquo;m not sure! I hope to be in academia, but it&rsquo;s very competitive. I would be very happy working as a researcher at a company too.
If you would like to learn more about entering the dynamic world of NLP or discuss how you can progress your career in data, get in touch with our data jobs team today.

NLP Series: Interview with PhD Scholar Jacob Webber

There is an increasing need for automation across all sectors from manufacturing to marketing as organisations seek to reduce the need for human involvement in manual processes, save time and resources, and increase operational efficiency.
Here we explore the key benefits of IT automation and the skillsets currently in high demand featuring commentary from Xcede's Delivery Consultant Hiroo Caprario.
What is IT Automation?
<a href="https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/automation/whats-it-automation?intcmp=701f2000000tjyaAAA">Red Hat</a> generally defines IT automation &mdash; or infrastructure automation &mdash; as the &ldquo;use of software to create repeatable instructions and processes to replace or reduce human interaction with IT systems&rdquo;. Automating processes in the IT space is, as Red Hat suggests, a key step in IT optimization and digital transformation.
CloudStream&rsquo;s Delivery Consultant Hiroo Caprario notes:
&nbsp;&ldquo;Automation is ubiquitous in that it can be integrated and applied to anything from networks, infrastructure, cloud provisioning to application deployment and configuration. It is a critical step as more and more companies move to multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments.&rdquo;
As companies increase their use of containers and microservices, automating processes has become critical. Hiroo notes:
&nbsp;&ldquo;Hybrid cloud, containers, and microservices lead the list of factors driving the increased use of automation in the IT space, with <a href="https://enterprisersproject.com/tags/containers">containers and microservices</a> helping to simplify hybrid cloud environments.&rdquo;
Benefits of IT Automation
One of the most obvious benefits of IT automation is that it helps businesses (and employees) save time and resources. As labour spending is reduced and tasks are more efficiently allocated, this leads to peak productivity, saving organisations time and resources in the long term. The speed and effectivity of work is also enhanced as IT automation creates more efficient, consistent products for employees to work on with more refined testing.
Speaking to Hiroo about the importance of automation to optimizing IT infrastructures, he notes:
&ldquo;Automation has now become a necessity in the world of IT due to the ever-expanding mix of technologies in use, the increasing demands in speed and talent concerns. It can free up IT staff to concentrate on critical tasks (such as strategy and development), rather than getting bogged down in the mundane such as password resets.&rdquo;
It can also reap benefits in the realm of enhancing IT security. Where there is a reduction in manual, repeatable tasks, there is simultaneously a reduction in human error along with other benefits such as automated, proactive network security monitoring.
IT Skills in High Demand
From automation tools such as Ansible to orchestration platforms such as Kubernetes, the demand for IT professionals with proven experience of implementing and deploying such technologies remains high.
Eran Bibi, director of DevOps and cloud platform at Aqua Security suggests that this year we will see more <a href="https://enterprisersproject.com/article/2020/12/8-automation-trends-watch-2021">automation around Kubernetes</a>, in particular around the deployment process.
&ldquo;These tools will ensure the application definitions, configurations, and environments will be declarative and version-controlled. And they will take care of the deployment and lifecycle management in an automated manner.&rdquo;
Another trend to note (as suggested by Ravi Lachhman, evangelist at Harness) is around CI/CD pipelines, with companies shifting focus to how they are deploying rather than what they are deploying, becoming &ldquo;more agnostic&rdquo;. Similarly, Gordon Haff, technology evangelist at Red Hat highlights &ldquo;the evolution of CI/CD systems to be a better fit with Kubernetes&rdquo;, where some of &ldquo;the incumbent tools don&rsquo;t necessarily play nice with the orchestration platform, or otherwise create complexity rather than reduce it.&rdquo;
To learn more about automation-related cloud jobs and related artificial intelligence (AI) vacancies, please contact our dedicated technology recruitment team.&nbsp;

The Importance of IT Automation in 2021

Demand for Software Engineers only continues to grow as 2021 progresses. As ITJobsWatch notes, demand for candidates with Software Engineering skills has leapt +7 places in the rankings of top IT jobs in demand over the past 6 months alone (sitting 12th in the overall rankings).
To learn more, we spoke to Bevynne Maharaj, Software Engineering Manager at <a href="http://www.avisionsoftware.com/home">A Vision Software</a>, a digital transformation consultancy and engineering company delivering applications, data, security and infrastructure services.
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="justify">Introduction to Bevynne </h2>
With 15 years of hands-on experience, Bevynne has developed in-depth knowledge and expertise in Software Engineering. From mentoring teams through software analysis, through to design, development, testing and support, Bevynne has experience of delivering projects to various sectors with a focus on quality and customer value.
<ol>
<li>
What have you been working on over the past year? 
</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
One of the latest projects that we have worked on is an integration project for a payment system. Here, there was a direct integration into a central bank for payments to other banks. We deliver payment solutions across Africa to enable digital transformation in the banking sector. Recently we have been utilizing User Experience (UX) designed software for clients, delivered in a cloud computing capacity, using an agile approach. We are currently researching Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning technology to further enhance our experience and products to our clients.
</blockquote>
<ol start="2">
<li>
What does &lsquo;Agile&rsquo; mean to you?
</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
Agile, for our organization, is being able to work closely with our clients in a collaborative way while understanding the change of software requirements. We are adaptable, with our clients&rsquo; needs. We work alongside our clients from project initiation, through the product lifecycle, through to delivery and support. We are partners in every way. We found that we can deliver faster and achieve the highest quality software while closing requirement gaps sooner this way. It means adaptability to the business and to the experience.
</blockquote>
<ol start="3">
<li>
What Cloud Computing Platforms have been most in demand over the past year?
</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
Personally, I have seen a huge movement towards Amazon Web Service (AWS). However, our clients generally have a preference with the platforms they want to use. We often guide our clients in choosing their Cloud Computing Platforms. For example, some of our clients choose a hybrid model, where we privately host their cloud platforms such as OpenShift. This is a managed service, whilst others go for a Public Cloud environment such as AWS or Microsoft Azure.
</blockquote>
<ol start="4">
<li>
Day to day, do you use a variety of programming languages?
</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
It really depends on our clients&rsquo; requirements. Many of our clients either use a .NET or Java stack. As mentioned previously, we are adaptable with our clients&rsquo; needs. We have a substantial number of engineers in our network and can quickly put teams together with the desired technology stack. Recently, we have used Java, Angular and JavaScript from a programming language point-of-view to create and enterprise software system. However, it depends purely on the client and what they their needs are.
</blockquote>
<ol start="5">
<li>
What advice would you give to a Graduate Software Engineer?
</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
I would advise them to start with a core language like Java, C# or .NET, something object orientated. It is always good to have a core language in your toolbox as well as a scripting language such as JavaScript, Angular or React, then add on with a database language, such as SQL. This way, you have a full stack technology set, in terms of software engineering.
</blockquote>
<ol start="7">
<li>
What books, podcasts or articles have you read/ are you reading that you would recommend to your team?
</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
I mostly read online to keep up with the latest technology trends. Primarily around AI and the Blockchain technology, as these are the newest technology that I am interested in.
</blockquote>
<ol start="8">
<li>
What does &lsquo;scalability&rsquo; mean to you, or how do you begin a scalable development?
</li>
</ol>
<blockquote>
Everything that we design and build for our clients&rsquo; needs to be scalable. Some products that we release, would initially have a relatively small traffic throughput. However, as time goes on and the user base increases, in line with your increasing transactions and flow, the system would be required to scale. This way, it will then manage the higher traffic throughput; this is an instantaneous system function.
What is nice about the cloud platforms that we provide is they are micro-service based. We can scale each service as required by increasing the instances of each microservice. We can scale them to any number depending on how many transactions are being processed through that service. Scalability is a fundamental requirement and forms part of our architectural design.
</blockquote>
Looking for a new job in cloud computing? Check out Xcede&rsquo;s latest permanent and contract <a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/software">software engineer job vacancies</a> around the world.

A Day in the Life of a Software Engineering Manager

<h4 align="center">IR35 Has Changed: Do the New Rules Apply to You?</h4>
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​In April 2021, there was a change in regulations for contractors. Specifically, the IR35 legislation was updated, and new rules now apply. Contractors and businesses who hire staff on a contract basis must understand the changes that have come into effect. Learn more about the changes to IR35 with the help of our free informational brochures.

IR35 Our Solutions Guide

<h4 align="center">IR35 Has Changed: Do the New Rules Apply to You?</h4>
<figure><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://www.xcede.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBBMlZOR1E9PSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--8de0f7f5ead88218b7e383b519172fcd4fa6156b/_04d256a3-1638352238763.png"></figure>
​In April 2021, there was a change in regulations for contractors. Specifically, the IR35 legislation was updated, and new rules now apply. Contractors and businesses who hire staff on a contract basis must understand the changes that have come into effect. Learn more about the changes to IR35 with the help of our free informational brochure.

IR35 Reforms 2021 Guide

The IR35 tax regulations are changing for private sector businesses in the UK, shifting the responsibility for status determination and payment of the correct taxes and NICs to the end-user. In this week&rsquo;s blog, we explain what the reforms mean for businesses and how you can comply with the regulations while remaining attractive to contractors.
What is IR35?
IR35 was introduced in the year 2000 and is legislation that prevents workers and businesses benefiting from tax and NIC avoidance through &ldquo;disguised employment.&rdquo;
Disguised employment is when a contractor supplies their services through an intermediary (such as a Personal Services Company (PSC) or Limited Company) when in practice they are an employee. This is done to avoid tax and NIC - something IR35 hopes to combat.
Contracts falling inside of IR35 (i.e. the contractor is, in reality, a worker) must be paid following the deduction of tax and NIC, either through PAYE, an umbrella company or the PSC.&nbsp; What are the upcoming changes to IR35 for businesses?
From April 2021, the responsibility of ensuring compliance with IR35 is changing. Medium and large-sized private sector end-users become liable for ensuring workers are correctly classified and paid.
A medium or large-sized end user is one that:
<ul>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Has a turnover of more than &pound;10.2 million;</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Has a balance sheet of more than &pound;5.1 million; or</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Has more than 51 employees.</li>
</ul>
This means you must conduct an assessment of the contractor&rsquo;s worker status and issue a Status Determination Statement (SDS) confirming the reasons behind your decision, alongside details of how to appeal.
If you determine a contract falls within IR35, you must ensure tax and NICs are deducted either by yourself or your employment agency. If you fail to classify a worker as falling within IR35 correctly, HMRC can claim unpaid taxes, penalties, and interests from your agency or, if unable to, you as the end-user.
How to determine IR35 status
Compliance with IR35 relies on correctly determining a contractor&rsquo;s worker status. There is no defined test for assessing worker status, however, the following factors should inform your decision:
1. Financial risk
Businesses risk financial loss; therefore, a contractor who could make a loss (or a profit) is more likely to be considered as falling outside of IR35.
2. Employee behaviour
If a contractor acts as an employee, HMRC will likely consider them an employee, especially if they are on the holiday rota, take part in performance management reviews, and heavily use your equipment.
3. Mutuality of Obligation (MoO)
MoO defines an employer-employee relationship - the employee must work, and the employer must pay. If a contractor is obliged to continue offering work and you are obliged to continue paying for work, even if there is no given work, this indicates worker status.
4. Substitution
Substitution is a strong indicator of whether a relationship is of a contractor or worker. If a contractor can offer a suitably qualified substitute for the role, the relationship is more likely to fall outside IR35.
5. Control
The amount of control you exert over a contractor is also important. For example, suppose you require your contractor to comply with specific requirements not based on operational necessity. In that case, they are more likely to fall inside IR35 than a contractor who has complete control over their working patterns and styles.
You can use HMRC&rsquo;s Check Employment Status of Tax tool(CEST) to help determine an individual&rsquo;s employment status.
How to work with an &ldquo;outside&rdquo; IR35 contractor
If you believe a current or future contract falls outside IR35, you can continue working with them through their PSC after issuing an SDS. To reduce the risk of an IR35 SDS being challenged by HMRC, you can obtain insurance to cover and protect your assessment.
How to work with an &ldquo;inside&rdquo; IR35 contractor
If you believe a current or future contract falls inside IR35, you have two main options for engaging them outside of a direct employment relationship:
1. Umbrella company
An umbrella company acts as an intermediary employer between you and the worker. You pay the umbrella company, and they pay the worker minus any tax and NICs.
It is crucial to conduct your due diligence when using an umbrella company, as some have been associated with tax avoidance schemes that could result in financial liability, alongside reputational damage for your business.
The TechStream Group only work with FCSA-accredited umbrella companies.
2. Limited company (PSC)
You can continue paying the worker&rsquo;s limited company or PSC, after deducting tax and NIC. However, this can be complicated and is not a practice widely recommended.
While these changes might feel concerning, it is important to remember public sector end-users have been responsible for status determination since 2017, with positive results, including:
<ul>
<li>&nbsp;&nbsp; Statement of works that provide workers and end-users with clearer deliverables and faster results.</li>
<li>&nbsp;&nbsp; Clearer hiring policies that reduce risk and provide contractors with more clarity.</li>
<li>&nbsp;&nbsp; Variety in talent thanks to the ease that contractors can move between public and private sector work.</li>
</ul>
If you&rsquo;d like to learn more about preparing for IR35 and the implications on your business, get in touch with our specialist team today. Download our free solutions guide to the IR35 reforms here.

Everything You Need to Know About IR35 For Business in 2021

The IR35 tax regulations are changing for contractors in the UK from April 2021, bringing the private sector in line with the public sector. In this week&rsquo;s blog, we&rsquo;re explaining everything you need to know about how the IR35 amendments could affect your contractor status and pay, and what you can do to minimise the impact on your future assignments.
<h3 align="start">What is IR35?</h3>
IR35 is tax legislation that covers contractors who supply their services through an intermediary (e.g. their own company) to ensure they pay the correct tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). You may have heard it referred to as the off-payroll working rules.
The legislation was introduced to tackle &ldquo;disguised employment,&rdquo; where someone claims the tax benefits of contracting through an intermediary when, in practice, they are an employee.
If you are deemed to fall &ldquo;outside IR35&rdquo;, you are considered a genuine business and can pay yourself a salary and draw the remainder of income as dividends. If you are deemed to fall &ldquo;inside IR35&rdquo;, you are considered an employee of your end client for tax purposes, and subject to tax and NICs.
<h3 align="start">How is IR35 changing in April 2021?</h3>
IR35 itself isn&rsquo;t changing and will continue ensuring workers are paying the correct tax and NIC. However, the responsibility for determining IR35 status is shifting from the contractor to the end-user.
From April 2021, all medium and large-sized private businesses will join the public sector in becoming responsible for determining whether your contract falls inside IR35 and for paying the appropriate tax and NICs if it does.
<h5 align="start">For the purposes of IR35, a medium and large-sized private business is one that:</h5>
<ul>
<li>
Has a turnover of more than &pound;10.2 million;
</li>
<li>
Has a balance sheet of more than &pound;5.1 million; or
</li>
<li>
Has more than 51 employees.
</li>
</ul>
As part of this responsibility, your end client will begin issuing Status Determination Statements (SDS) outlining their assessment of your worker status. The SDS will also include details on how to appeal their decision.
<h3 align="start">How will end clients assess your IR35 status?</h3>
While there is no clear-cut test for determining your status under IR35, the following case law factors will be considered:
<ul>
<li>
Financial risk- whether you are undertaking financial risk to deliver the project.
</li>
<li>
Behaviour- if you behave as an employee, for example, using the end user&rsquo;s equipment and following their holiday rota.
</li>
<li>
MoO- if there is an obligation on you to work and your end client to make work available.
</li>
<li>
Substitution- whether you must carry out work yourself or can send a substitute.
</li>
<li>
Supervision- if you are heavily supervised or free to get on with your work.
</li>
<li>
Direction- whether you are given instructions, guidance or advice on how work is completed.
</li>
<li>
Control- how much control you have over your work.
</li>
</ul>
Your end-user might also use <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-for-tax">HMRC&rsquo;s Check Employment Status of Tax</a>(CEST) tool to assist.
<h3 align="start">What do the IR35 changes mean for contractors?</h3>
Essentially, from April 2021, you are no longer responsible for determining your work status when contracting with medium and large-sized end-users.
The consequences of this shift in responsibility could be small or could be considerable. On the one hand, end-users may feel confident using the CEST and insurance backed tools to confirm your worker status and pay you accordingly. On the other hand, the end-user may reduce their risk by implementing blanket bans or assessments of contracts, just like <a href="https://evolutionjobs.com/uk/media/ir35-blanket-assessments/">HSBC and Barclays</a> have done.
<h5 align="start">While we wait to see the long-term effects of the IR35 changes, you can prepare for the changes and protect your position by:</h5>
<ul>
<li>
Finding an FCSA-accredited umbrella company to use should your assignment be classified as falling within IR35.
</li>
<li>
Partnering with a recruitment consultancy that sources contracts falling inside IR35.
</li>
</ul>
If you&rsquo;d like to learn more about IR35 and the implications on your contract, get in touch with our specialist team today.

The 2021 Guide to IR35 for Contractors

If you read our recent blog on The Rise of the Product Analyst, you may have noticed another new job title appear in the discussion: the product manager. In the past six months, the product manager role has jumped <a href="https://www.itjobswatch.co.uk/jobs/uk/product%20manager.do">110</a> places on the UK&rsquo;s most in-demand tech positions, and it&rsquo;s showing no signs of slowing.
To explain more, we&rsquo;ve invited new team member and Product Consultant Stella Shkrelito this week&rsquo;s tech chat.&nbsp;
Can you tell us more about the responsibilities of a product manager and why they&rsquo;re in such high demand?
A product manager oversees a product from its initial conception through to final delivery, to ensure it&rsquo;s delivered on-time and in line with budget, while being a successful hit with the end-user. It is the job of the product manager to ensure that the product is as good as it can be from a customer experience and technical stability point of view while also ensuring that the needs of the business are met. As part of this journey, a product manager works closely with a variety of stakeholders, from designers and developers to clients and even potential users.&nbsp;
We are continuing to see huge growth in demand which can in some way be attributed to three principle reasons:
<ol>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; The accelerated pace of the technology market means companies must act fast when developing and releasing new products.&nbsp;</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; Increasing customer expectations make it crucial that end products meet the demands and needs of end-users.&nbsp;</li>
<li>&nbsp; &nbsp; The boom in new businesses means it&rsquo;s more important for companies to deliver successful and popular products that stand out from the growing competition.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
The pandemic has also had seemingly little effect on recruitment activity in this area. Companies are continuing to rapidly develop and release products with many needing to adapt to their customers' needs during the pandemic and while the role of a PM is to sit within the middle of multiple teams, working remotely has proven relatively successful thus far.
What type of products do product managers typically work on?
One of the best things about the product manager niche is that the products you work with can vary entirely. For example, you can work on a B2B SaaS-based platform or a B2C app, depending on the sector you&rsquo;re in and the companies offering.
What does a typical day for a product manager involve?
Product managers manage the end-to-end life cycle of a product, so no two days are the same. At the beginning of a project they work on the strategy, roadmap and budget. Throughout the project they conduct testing, run experiments and do everything they can to ensure the end product meets the brief, is fit for purpose and exceeds customer expectations.&nbsp;
What key skills does a product manager need to be successful?
Product managers tend to come from a range of different backgrounds but most commonly Engineering, Data, Marketing or User Experience and have experience with scrum and a variety of software, including Google Analytics and Confluence.&nbsp;
However, the top skills for success center around collaboration, communication and organisation. Product managers must work with and coordinate different teams, some of which are in different countries and working on multiple products at the same time. A successful product manager is one who can confidently instruct designers and developers, deliver feedback to stakeholders and engage end-users.&nbsp;
What sectors are you seeing the biggest demand for product managers?
Currently, there is an enormous demand for product managers in FinTech and retail, especially with the rise of online banking and shopping. However, product management is still a niche, making talented candidates in high demand across all sectors.&nbsp;
If you want to know more about the companies hiring, or you want to expand your team, get in touch with our specialist team to find out more about <a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/product/product-management">product manager job opportunities</a>.

The Role of the Product Manager in 2020

It might have been 16 years since Will Smith fought off an army of cyborgs and saved the human race in iRobot, but the thought of artificial intelligence taking over the world, or at least our jobs, still plagues the minds of many.&nbsp;
In this week&rsquo;s tech interview, we speak with Xcede&rsquo;s Freddie DeMetz, Sales Manager and tech specialist, to learn more about the impact of Machine learning and AI jobs in the tech recruitment sector.
<h4>Can you explain how AI has advanced technology over the past few years?</h4>
The very nature of artificial intelligence is that it&rsquo;s always changing, so it has affected technology in every way possible, not just the development of technology itself. For example, in recruitment AI tools can now filter CVs, identify promising candidates and overcome unconscious bias to recruit a talented and more diverse workforce.&nbsp;
AI has changed the way engineers work too. AI tools and automated scripts can complete certain tasks quicker than an engineer can, but that doesn't mean AI is taking over everyone&rsquo;s jobs. Instead, it allows engineers to deliver projects faster and get involved in different and more challenging tasks.&nbsp;
AI is changing the way people work and making a difference to what engineers must learn to perform well in their role and excel in their careers, but this isn&rsquo;t a bad thing. It&rsquo;s enhancing job satisfaction and promoting life-long learning.
<h4>Thinking about films such as iRobot, do you think robots could ever &ldquo;take over the world&rdquo; or do you think we always need the human touch?</h4>
The scary thing about iRobot is that it could happen. There&rsquo;s a great video about an AI coffee machine that becomes so intelligent it protests against making coffee and, in a way, it&rsquo;s entirely plausible.&nbsp;
We work with artificial intelligence companies across Europe that develop robots to complete human tasks. But I think we&rsquo;ll always need that human element to regulate computers and add judgment - otherwise, who knows what will happen.
There must be a balance between using AI to streamline processes, save time and perform better, whilst retaining the human element that adds judgment, emotion and compassion which is a prime factor in human conversation.
<h4>On the other hand, are robots essential for overcoming human error?</h4>
Definitely, AI eliminates human error across the board and is essential for specific sectors. For example, we work with an AI cybersecurity company whose entire premise is that we can&rsquo;t beat cybercrime without AI because human error is our biggest weakness. Most people will immediately open an email and attachment from someone they know without scanning it - AI can prevent humans from making costly mistakes.
<h4>How much is AI changing the skills and qualifications companies look for in technology candidates?</h4>
I think AI is expanding the qualities and skills companies look for in tech candidates. Traditionally, you&rsquo;d earn a computer science degree and go into a computer engineering role - it was straightforward and clear cut.&nbsp;
Today, tech companies desire a range of skills, experiences and backgrounds to grow their business. For example, we might recruit someone with a maths degree for an AI role, or a data engineer into a machine learning position because their skills are better suited to algorithms, problem-solving or project management. Successful AI practitioners have demonstrated that transferable skills are just as useful as specific qualifications.&nbsp;
I think the biggest downfall of any company is hiring the same people; you don&rsquo;t get the diversification of information, knowledge or skills essential for growth. A lot of companies and recruitment agencies talk about &ldquo;cultural fit&rdquo;, but for us, it&rsquo;s more about culture offering - what can you bring to the culture of this company? That&rsquo;s what drives innovation and growth.&nbsp;
<h4>Finally, what do you think is next for AI?</h4>
The next stage in AI depends on how far society is willing to go. For me, the interesting question is how we manage computers. Will we have teams of robots writing code and a manager checking their work? Or will we let robots manage themselves and concentrate on humanising their results?
I think the human element will dictate the future of AI. In recruitment, for example, a robot can review CVs, identify candidates and arrange interviews. But it&rsquo;s the human element that understands a company&rsquo;s culture, sees promise in a &ldquo;not strictly qualified&rdquo; candidate, and returns best results for clients. It&rsquo;s why companies with recruitment software still work with the team at Xcede and I - we bring what computers can&rsquo;t.&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re interested in the future of AI and how you recruit, the skills you need or your future career, get in touch or visit the Xcede's <a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/data/ai-nlp-and-computer-vision">AI, NLP AND Computer Vision Jobs</a> page to connect with our specialist consultants and explore current opportunities.
&nbsp;

How Artificial Intelligence is Impacting Tech Jobs

This week, we spoke with Niall Wharton, Team Lead in Data Science, Machine Learning and Big Data at Xcede, to learn more about data engineers and the significant impact they&rsquo;re making.
First off, what does a data engineer do?
The core role of a data engineer is to store data, making it available for data scientists and analysts to use. It&rsquo;s a vital relationship for operations - you help them complete their job by pulling all of this different data into one, digestible place.&nbsp;
But, as Callum Ryan (Senior Data Engineer at Concirrus) says, the responsibilities of a data engineer can vary, depending on the sector, scale and need of the business in question.
&ldquo;It's a bit difficult to describe a data engineering role generically, as the role can mean different things in a number of businesses, but I think fundamentally it's all about ingesting data and keeping it clean.&rdquo;
What data does a data engineer work with?
In a perfect world, data engineers would work with generic, quantitative and structured data. However, data engineers frequently work with hugely unstructured data, such as computer vision images, sound, recordings and text. Think about how you would handle vision data from CCTV cameras and accurately highlight who was moving at what time. The field has got progressively more complicated - which many engineers love, as the landscape is always changing and there are regularly new challenges to solve!
Thinking about 2020 so far - how have data engineers had to adapt in light of the pandemic?
The recent logistics and changes surrounding communication (due to remote working), have had a considerable impact on the data field. The very best data engineers frequently interact with their stakeholders; recently they&rsquo;ve had to adapt to maintain a clear line of dialogue when working from home.&nbsp;
Remote working has also made task management more difficult. If data isn&rsquo;t stored, or accessible at all, the data scientist can&rsquo;t continue with their work. Data engineers have to constantly be aware of deadlines for each of their projects and how their work impacts others.&nbsp;
What programs or platforms do data engineers commonly use?
It varies a lot between different companies, but the most common thing we&rsquo;re seeing is everyone going cloud-led. Accordingly, experience with AWS is a popular requirement; however, GCP and Azure are quickly becoming platforms of choice. On-premises platforms such as Hadoop are fast becoming outdated.&nbsp;
What does 2021 look like for a data engineer?
The importance of data engineers is increasing rapidly, so the profession looks to grow next year and see steady salary increases. It used to be that senior data scientistroles were more popular, because they were the ones producing the exciting insights at the end - but things are changing, and data engineers are becoming recognised in their own right.&nbsp;
2021 will also see an increased demand for data engineers that can productionise algorithms to work at scale. Data scientists often lack the engineering capabilities to do this with a company&rsquo;s full product, making data engineers increasingly integral.&nbsp;
Looking at the specific requirements for a data engineer role, what qualifications and skills are businesses seeking?
From a technical side, businesses want engineers adept at a couple of programming languages, such as Python, Java or Scala. Data engineers can also obtain certification in cloud technologies and a Databricks certification for Spark.&nbsp;
A solid grasp of the data landscape and tasks at hand are instrumental, as Karim Essawi (Senior Data Engineer at Joyn GmbH) says:
&ldquo;For me, a capable data engineer would demonstrate a sound understanding of the challenges of designing and implementing scalable and resilient self-service data pipelines and data products that enable stakeholders to make data-informed decisions.
From a soft skills side, there are two essential qualities employers want:
1. Problem-solving. In a perfect world, data comes from one place to be stored in another. This isn&rsquo;t reality. For example, Netflix would have multiple data sources, such as TV, mobile and web data. It&rsquo;s a lengthy process so you must be good at working out problems with code and logistics.&nbsp;
2. Patience. You must be patient at handling stakeholders who might not appreciate the complexity of the task you&rsquo;re doing; being able to explain why something is or isn&rsquo;t possible.
Callum Ryan from Concirrus summarises the balance between technical and soft skills nicely:
&ldquo;There are some more obvious important parts of the job, like being able to write code in different languages (Python/Scala), bash scripting, an understanding of cloud technologies, and recently a bit more DevOps with IaC (Terraform).
But I also believe there is also a real requirement to have softer skills, like clear communication and being able to explain complex technical concepts to a less technical audience.
It's also very important to be flexible. One minute I could be debugging a data issue in a pipeline, and the next helping a data scientist with their code.
And, a good engineer should always be learning. There's always something new around the corner, and there's always something to learn, be it about how the wider part of your business operates, or technology-wise.&rdquo;
Thank you, Niall - anything else you want to add?
This is an exciting moment for the data sector, and data engineers are becoming more recognised, appreciated and wanted. If you&rsquo;re looking for a data engineer hire or you want to advance your career in that direction get in touch with our data job team.
&nbsp;

What Is a Data Engineer?

Just a few years ago, the term &ldquo;Data Scientist&rdquo; encompassed everything from statisticians to Software Engineers. As the field has evolved so has the definition and the hiring process of a Data Scientist. At Xcede we often speak to clients about how they can retain their Data Scientists and keep their position at the forefront of innovation.&nbsp;
Our Data Science Collective Roundtable on the 18th of January discussed best practice when hiring Data Scientists with Heads of Data Science from <a href="https://www.criteo.com/">Criteo</a>, The Economist, <a href="https://www.farfetch.com/uk/">Farfetch</a>, <a href="https://www.ynap.com/">Yoox Net-A-Porter</a>, <a href="https://www.inmarsat.com/en/index.html">Inmarsat</a>, <a href="https://profusion.com/">Profusion</a>, <a href="https://www.barclays.co.uk/">Barclays</a> and the <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/">FSA</a>. The questions posed helped us to look deeper into how we can improve the hiring process for a Data Science position.
What was Discussed?
The discussion initially revolved around the design of the job description and the hiring process itself. As the conversation evolved, it became clear that one of the biggest issues is that there is a gap between the expectations of what a <a href="https://www.xcede.com/Data-Scientist-jobs">Data Scientist job roles</a> should be and what it in fact is. This is somewhat alarming as it effects both involved - Data Scientists and companies and also the future of the hiring process.
The role of a Scientist is often viewed as one of the most attractive and principally involves a lot of essential work which can be deemed as quite rudimentary and lacking new and innovative algorithms that a Data Scientist might hope for. Due to these tainted expectations, many Data Mangers say that their experience jaded employees rather quickly. One of the reasons behind this was thought to be the gap between the job description given in interviews and in adverts in comparison to what the job actually consists of on a day-to-day basis. &nbsp;
Following this, another aspect as to why some Scientists become uninterested in their position after 1-2 years&rsquo; is the nature of many Data Scientists - they are often curious and keen to learn. The Roundtable concluded that the key to retaining talent and keeping the role interesting was to feed this curiosity and continuously offer possibilities to develop within the position and their organisation. This must be implemented from an internal perspective, marrying together values and capabilities to design the optimum structure that best suits their organisation.&nbsp;
Skillsets and Experience
In addition to companies bringing value to the role through learning, many of the Managers pointed out important qualities of a Data Scientist that necessarily don&rsquo;t correlate with the skill set they have, or even previous experience. Instead, important qualities of a Data Scientist include their ability to deliver simple solutions that are just as effective, open to new ideas and finally to remain modest.&nbsp;
It is important to improve opportunities available to Data Scientists, this includes taking part in projects and to remain involved in developments that will be particularly rewarding. Motivation and knowledge are key aspects of a Data Scientists position, by investing into these areas our attendees believe that this will improve working environment and will increase retainment levels for these extremely sought after specialists.&nbsp; Summary
The key points of the evening were focused on how to better mirror the responsibilities of the role to the job description. This extra investment in time communicating and exploring the role in further detail are beneficial for a Scientists long-term perspective. By doing so, managers can control expectations and ultimately manage their Data Scientists in a way that not only encourages but innovates and facilitates their working environment. Subsequently, the discussion to hire a Data Scientist must be followed up with a streamlined and honest hiring process to encourage and nurture future projects and talent.

How to Hire a Data Scientist

The&nbsp;rise of online and consumer facing organisations&nbsp;has resulted in a shift in product management over the last 6 years. We live in a&nbsp;data driven society, you might not see it but data is everywhere and it&rsquo;s only going to get bigger. Here we explore the three key areas of product management that are significant for today&rsquo;s product managers.
1. Consumer focus Understanding&nbsp;how consumers use your product&nbsp;is a vital component to a successful long-term strategic plan. More recently we have seen organisations turn their strategy towards consumers and&nbsp;focusing on the customer journey, resulting in product managers working even more closely with UX professionals.&nbsp;
Now more than ever, there is a focus on B2C product management, with a focus on UX to drive certain products and lines&nbsp;to optimise the buying and transaction process. It is key for product managers to ensure that the user experience a consumer is facing is&nbsp;consistent throughout all digital products.&nbsp;
2. Data Good product managers will&nbsp;monitor data trends&nbsp;continuously and should be very data centered in their approach. Consumer facing organisations will encourage examination of web analytics and conversation rates as performance indicators for product managers. As a result it is&nbsp;common for product managers to study click rates to discover what is successful and what can be improved whilst working in an agile environment.
Product Managers are also now the&nbsp;driving force behind customer and user experience. It is essential to measure and report on the&nbsp;effectiveness of product iterations and launches&nbsp;in order to make effective data-driven decision making. Without effective and vigorous analysis products will not improve and instead remain static. &nbsp;&nbsp;
3. The future lies in technical product management As companies look to maximise their online business we are seeing&nbsp;more technical product managers&nbsp;coming from a technical background or who are technically focused. Typically speaking, such candidates will have a software engineer degree or computer science/information systems degree or may have even been a developer.
This brings a sense of understanding of the&nbsp;software development lifecycle&nbsp;into the team as technical product managers are able to roadmap their product or software development lifecycle more confidently.
The <a href="https://www.xcede.com/disciplines/digital/product-management?source=mail.google.com">product management job market</a> is certainly thriving with&nbsp;all elements of the Digital team synergising&nbsp;to create deeper customer connections and an overall better experience for the end user. This approach will certainly aid product managers to innovate and manage the product lifecycle.

3 Key Areas of Product Management

So, I&rsquo;m guessing a lot of people are sick of discussing what it takes to become a Data Scientist. It was (and probably continues to be) one of the most exciting and in equal measure frustrating titles out on the job market.&nbsp;
Before reading further, if you are interested in the <a href="https://www.xcede.com/Data-Scientist-jobs">latest job opportunities in Data Science</a>, Xcede can help by offering a wide range of Principal, Lead and Research job roles.
However at this point, anyone involved in the field long enough will begin to have shaped their own ideas about who can truly define themselves as a Data Scientist, or indeed what things one would need to learn to have the right to do so.
Evolving&nbsp;
This in itself is a clear sign of a market maturing &ndash; universally accepted definitions are often a great indicator of when an area has established itself as an essential part of our very culture, rather than being just a temporary fad /(marketing tool!).
This maturity has also been reflected in the requests I&rsquo;m getting this year and the type of profile global businesses, maturing start-ups and even government departments are desperately searching for. Indeed, the rise of the &ldquo;Chief Data Scientist&rdquo; has been an interesting one, and must be placed in its proper context over the last few years. &nbsp;
In the time that I&rsquo;ve been recruiting specifically for this area, there has been a clear pattern in what I have been searching for:
1.Initially, following what everyone has recognised as an incredible amount of early hype surrounding the field, departments realised they wanted to take on a Data Scientist and/or a Data Engineer to demonstrate the value they could supposedly add to an analytics department across the wider business. In effect, proof of concept projects were key, so those with enough relevant experience were taken on as trailblazers for the area.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
2.Within my own consistent clients, having seen these trailblazers prove successful, there were a number of requests for &ldquo;Junior Data Scientists&rdquo;. Generally, such hires consisted of those straight from academia (whether straight from MSc up to long term postdoc candidates) with the perfect template and clearly analytical mind set to take on a career in this area. Interestingly, when talking to line managers, these hires were preferred at the time for one of two reasons.&nbsp;
Firstly, the demand placed on the initial Data Science hires was proving so great that support was needed; &nbsp;with great success comes invested interested across a business, and more unrealistic workloads/ expectations. Naturally, the juniors were able to learn some of the necessary commercial aspects of the job whilst also contributing to the projects their seniors were drowning under.&nbsp;
Secondly, a number of the companies I have now worked with saw the clear advantages of having a &ldquo;Data Scientist&rdquo; / &ldquo;Big Data Engineer&rdquo; on board through other business models and success stories. However, even with their own obvious business needs and genuine commercial issues that could be solved with such a hire, many felt the costs involved were just too great. Supply and demand is a pain, but a very real thing in any walk of life. An excellent alternative has been to &ldquo;grow their own&rdquo; data scientists &ndash;these juniors have been given the time and space to learn their trade and apply their immense knowledge without the weight of a bumper salary on their shoulders (and in turn have reaped great rewards for the departments they have moved into).
3. All of this has led to a point in 2014 (in the European marketplace at least) where entire Data Science departments have been formed in their own right. More senior hires are being made with more of the aforementioned juniors gaining great commercial insights, and in turn top universities are producing Data Science specific courses to match the constant demand for relevant &ldquo;juniors&rdquo; (rather than the few who could truly claim to have done so previously).
The Importance of Leadership
As a direct result, we have reached a stage where leadership has become a key issue. If those Data Science focused employees are now appreciated across a whole business, rather than just at the occasional demand of an analytics/BI/insight unit, then who is going to take ownership of their work? Whatever we&rsquo;re going to call it, the Chief Data Scientist/ Lead Data Scientist/ Director of Data Science is a problem that has been created as a direct result of the evolution of one of the fastest growing fields in business. As with any team environment, natural leaders are already establishing themselves because of their stellar work and intimate knowledge of their own workplace and product. Those who were prudent enough to make relatively experienced hires a few years ago have ready-made leaders to promote from within. However, there are many businesses who have a team of Data Scientists that are still continuing their development, and whilst producing excellent insight for top level business leaders, could do with someone else to guide their research and communicate their findings appropriately.
In this way, demand has gone through the roof. I think one of the key questions to answering any skills gap, as had been demonstrated by the ongoing &ldquo;Data Scientist&rdquo; discussion, is to define what it truly means to be one.
Through the requirements of the multiple businesses I have dealt with of both multinational and early stage start-up size, I may be in a unique position to guide candidates interested in such a role through most consistent attributes desired;
<ul>
<li>&nbsp;A clear technical understanding of the problems that the department may face. As a field dealing with the most cutting edge and constantly developing technologies/methods on the market, one of the key frustrations I have heard from those operating within the Data Science market is the lack of technical understanding from their senior figures and leaders. Those who have experienced the development of a Data Science department from scratch, and who still enjoy getting involved with the data in front of them on a daily basis, are going to be enormously successful in finding exciting projects to join. This understanding ensures that targets are ambitious enough without being ludicrous, have direction without stifling innovation, and have a clear business goal but also an awareness of what can and can&rsquo;t be achieved with the personnel involved.</li>
<li>&nbsp;An ability to communicate clearly and capably with both ground level technicians and board room executives. This clearly relates back to my first point, but is massively important and cannot be emphasised enough. A Chief Data Scientist should be able to get involved with and have a technical understanding of the entire scope of any given project, but also be able to explain results to those without technical backgrounds so they can see the value to be gained. In the end, this is only going to create more space for the unit to operate in, less hesitation about further growth, and indeed more companywide trust in the commercial insight being provided. Clearly, that&rsquo;s what any unit should be striving for!</li>
<li>&nbsp;A desire to keep learning and help others continue their own development. So you&rsquo;re hired as a Chief Data Scientist. Should your drive to learn the latest technologies and improve your ability to gain the most insight form the data in front of you diminish? Of course not. As the most cutting edge area of any analytics department within a company, a clear part of your job will be to keep in touch with developments in the space &ndash; this is why within this close knit community we see such a staunch commitment to public speaking from key figures at Data Science specific events.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Learning is Key
There is a mutual interest in learning, and mutual commitment to share the knowledge/ breakthroughs discovered along the way. Naturally, this will also apply to the departments that a leader is in charge of &ndash; some of the most successful &ldquo;Chiefs&rdquo; and &ldquo;Leads&rdquo; I have seen have lectured, mentored, and led for a period of their academic career due to a desire to bounce ideas off like minded individuals.
I&rsquo;d recommend anybody who is interested in such a role getting in touch &ndash; relevant experience isn&rsquo;t always commercially focused, either. &nbsp;A great example is Chris Wiggens, now a Chief Data Scientist with the New York Times . Coming from a Biology and applied Mathematics background, Chris has all of the essential skills listed above. In fact, one of the most exciting companies here in the UK, a social gaming company, has recently done the exact same thing with their lead coming from a research background leading a group aimed at predicting specific disease phenotypes.
It&rsquo;s also worth keeping an eye out on European focused news and jobs by joining my group Data Science Collective on LinkedIn &ndash; all contributors to the discussion are welcome!&nbsp;

Chief Data Scientist | Tracking the Rise of Senior Scientists

Following the success of our first-ever roundtable at the C-Suite level last year, we are thrilled to announce that we will be hosting our second CDO roundtable event at The Hoxton Hotel, Holborn, on Thursday, 14th March.
While Xcede has hosted several data networking events over the last decade in collaboration with many of the UK&rsquo;s leading tech companies, it is a pleasure to provide a smaller intimate event at this level for an in-depth discussion.
Sid Ghosh, Senior Director of Data Science at Tools for Humanity, will chair this insightful event. The list of attendees is just as impressive and includes Data leaders from incredible companies such as Financial Times, Newcross Healthcare Solutions, John Lewis Partnership, and many more!
Order of events:
<ul>
<li>18:30PM - Welcome Drinks</li>
<li>19:30PM - Sit Down 3 Course Meal</li>
<li>The structure of the evening from here onwards will be to discuss the topics in between each course with this being an open forum for the guests to express their views and thoughts.</li>
</ul>
We will address the following trends in the data space:
<ul>
<li>With the proliferation of toolkits, open source repositories and services available from online marketplaces, will the focus of a data function change from developing bespoke tech and models to using what is available effectively and deploying services in production? Will that result in an increased focus on engineering than science?</li>
<li>Is the gap between an engineering function and a data function reducing since data teams are adopting core engineering principles? What impact will that have on organisational structures, and will the data function eventually just sit under the CTO's office?</li>
<li>Given that success in data roles is measured on having a business impact, which requires close collaboration between data and business stakeholders, is it necessary to have an induction programme for data professionals starting their careers or regular training for senior data scientists, where they hone their soft skills?</li>
<li>How will the proliferation and adoption of GenAI impact data teams?</li>
</ul>
&nbsp;
<h4>Please note that the capacity for this event has been reached. If you are interested in attending future Xcede events, please <a href="../../../../../../contact-us">get in touch </a>today!</h4>

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