T E C H FAST LY
A p r i l | 2021
ETL OR ELT
BUILT VS BUY
IN CONVERSATION WITH
ARNAB PANDEY
ARE YOU JUST “DOINGDIGITAL AGILE” ACCELERATION OR “BEING AGILE” IN THE TIME OF CORONAVIRUS THE FUTURE OF
ROBOT AND WORK
IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MEET A THREAT TO CLUBHOUSE JOURNALISTS AND WRITERS?
SENIOR 1 ANALYST FOR DERIVATIVES AND FOREIGN EXCHANGE | QUANT AND FINTECH ENTHUSIAST | PADMA SHRI NOMINEE 2021
C O N T E N T S
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Story of Machines — The Computer in Your Hands
How These Pioneers Reshaped Our World
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ETL Or ELT: Build vs Buy
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P. 25
Cloud Computing in Health Care Industry
P. 5
P. 46
P. 33
Why Is ELT Better For Cloud Data Warehousing?
Digital Acceleration in The Time of Coronavirus
P. 52
The Future of Wealth Management — Tech or Hybrid?
Interview: Arnab Pandey P. 65
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Is Artificial Intelligence a Threat to Journalists and Writers? Technology and Stock Market A Millennial’s Take
What Does AI Have In The Box For E-commerce?
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THE
The time for your business to digitally transform is now. The process of digital transformation involves leveraging the latest tools of Artificial Intelligence, IoT devices, Cloud Migration, Big Data, Blockchain, and other high-end technologies. The COVID pandemic has accelerated the speed of digital transformation for many companies. We have explored how digital transformation has helped accelerate businesses amidst the pandemic.
Migrating your data to a cloud platform is a crucial step for digital transformation. Most of the companies are opting for the ELT method to handle their analytical data. We have weighed in the pros and cons of both the ELT and ETL methods for cloud data warehousing. We have also analyzed if you should ‘build’ your own data warehouse or ‘buy’ it from a third-party.
FROM
EDITOR We have also looked at the positive side of artificial intelligence’s ethical dilemma. A few more articles around AI will cover its impact on the news industry and e-commerce businesses.
In our interview series, we had Arnab Pandey, Padmashri Award Nominee 2020, this time with us. Arnab is a board member of the D&I council for Fixed Income at Raymond James. We talk with him about the capital markets and how technology is changing the landscape. He also discussed with us the application of AI tools in the market and what the future holds. We are introducing the ‘Story of Machine’ series in our attempt to bring something new for you. We plan to cover the innovations that help ease our life. This month, we begin with ‘The Computer in Your Hands – How These Pioneers Reshaped Our World’. We would appreciate your feedback and are always open to suggestions. Here is your edition. Do read it, enjoy it, and nourish in the knowledge. Happy reading! Thank you Srikant Rawat COO, Techfastly
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Thomas Davis
Digital Acceleration in the Time of Coronavirus
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w
e all knew technology would be a disruptive force in our lives. But we didn't expect it to happen this fast. Businesses have had to adjust to the work landscape that hapw overnight, thanks to the coronavirus. Businesses that weren't prepared for the digital age received a wake-up call. This left most of them scrambling and trying to figure out how to adjust on the fly. Problems they never had before came out of nowhere and had to be dealt with like virtual meetings, migrating operations, employee productivity and mental health, infrastructure issues, etc. Those companies that had the foresight to begin planning ahead of time were much better prepared. They were well-positioned to leapfrog their competitors who weren't prepared. This does not mean that they could have seen this coming., but they will be in a more advantageous position to come out on the other side of this pandemic, stronger.
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Those companies that had the foresight to begin planning ahead of time were much better prepared.
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Companies Foresight
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For instance, RXR Reality was one of those companies that well-positioned themselves ahead of time. The New York City-based commercial and residential real estate developer began investing in digital capabilities that set it apart from its competition.
Historically, real estate has been a very transactional business. We felt that by leveraging our digital skills, we could create a unique and personalized experience for our customers similar to what they’re used to in other aspects of their lives”, explains Scott Rechler, CEO of RXR.
Before the global pandemic hit, RXR had established a digital lab. This included over 100 data scientists, designers, and engineers working across the business to complete digital initiatives. Their company was so far ahead with creating an app that could provide services without human intervention. This included enabling move scheduling, deliveries, dog walking, rent payments on the residential side, and real-time analytics on heating, cooling, and floor space optimization for tenants on the commercial side. Suddenly the need for social distancing and contactless interactions was necessary for the tenants of the buildings. This allowed RXR to pivot quickly and seamlessly to meet this need. RXR Reality received 2020 Digie Award – Best COVID Tech – for their preparedness. Majid Al Futtaim Retail, a Dubai-based conglomerate that runs retail food and grocery stores in the Middle East, is another example of an organization ahead of time. The company began building its digital presence long before COVID-19 hit. They began assembling their online presence in 2015 to operate alongside their 315 brick-and-mortar stores across 16 countries. But progress was slow since they didn’t see the need for any urgency. Then the pandemic hit, and the company was forced to speed things up. “The pandemic pushed 9
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us to accelerate our digital transformation. We are implementing things in the coming 18 months that we originally wanted to achieve in five years,” said Hani Weiss, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Retail. This sudden increase in demand meant Majid Al Futtaim had to move fast. They quickly converted some physical stores to fulfillment centers, but the stores proved to be too small. So, logistics managers swiftly arranged to have a 54,000 -square-foot fulfillment center tent erected and operational in five weeks. The centers were complete with frozen and chilled food rooms, making it easier to stock more than 8,000 items ready to ship. Hani Weiss credits initiatives such as Click and Collect with its redesigned app to meet the increased demand. The app made it easier for customers to use and launched contactless payment options such as Mobile Scan and Go in its stores. This allowed customers to scan items and pay with their smartphones. These tools allowed the company to launch an online marketplace with 420,000 new products from other retailers whose stores were closed during the lockdown. “No matter how our customers want to shop, we can be there for them,” Weiss says. “We developed this agility through the pandemic, and I want to keep it as we go forward.”