Automation in Data Science, Software, and Information Services

Abstract

While the data and information services industry dates back to the fifteenth century AD, the information technology (also called as software services) industry is as young as 70 years. Yet the pace at which both have grown is phenomenal, and this is tied to the evolution of computer technology. Networking of computers and people through the Internet has moved into high gear. The decision (or knowledge) sciences arena enveloping the operations research methodologies came into prominence during the Second World War but has had its growth in parallel to the computing technologies till the 1970s. The last two decades have also witnessed a spurt in their development due to advances in expert systems, machine learning, and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms, all of which are now embedded within the field of data science. These three sectors have given birth to multiple business segments in the process. Delivery of data and information, data and business process outsourcing, analytics, printing and display solutions, and information flow in supply chain management of goods and services are the five segments identified within the information services, while computer-aided software engineering, independent software testing and quality assurance, package and bespoke software implementation and maintenance, network and security management, and hosting and infrastructure management are covered within software services. The data science arena consists of big data, statistical and mathematical techniques, and business domains but covered as one distinct business segment. The automation path of each segment is reviewed in detail. An impact analysis to identify the changing landscape is described. Finally, current trends are traced, followed by predictions for future developments.