Home > Companies > Thought Leaders > Q&A with Sadiqah Musa, Co-Founder at Black In Data

Q&A with Sadiqah Musa, Co-Founder at Black In Data

Sadiqah Musa, Co-Founder at Black In Data, is also an experienced Senior Data Analyst at Guardian News and Media with a demonstrated history of working in the energy and publishing sectors. She is skilled in Advanced Excel, SQL, Python, data visualization, project management, and Data Analysis and has a strong professional background with a Master of Science (MSc) from The University of Manchester.

As people become more aware and concerned about their data, the need for a regulating body will emerge, and organizations’ accountability will be mandated.



MEDIA 7: Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself? What inspired you to pursue a career in Data Analytics?
SADIQAH MUSA: My name is Sadiqah Musa, I am a Co-Founder of Black in Data, a movement I started to push for inclusivity and diversity in the Data Analytics Industry. My current role is as a Senior Analyst at Guardian. Data Analytics found me as  I originally started my career as a geophysicist, focusing on the exploration of the oil and gas industry and analyzing seismic data. When people ask me, what inspired me to pursue a career change to Data Analytics, I always give an honest and real answer. I didn’t have a sort of epiphany moment where I realized Data Analytics was the new future and therefore I needed to be part of that game, instead, it was simple. At the time when I was considering other career options, there was a huge bust in the oil and gas industry, this is fairly standard and part of the ‘Boom Year, Bust Year’ cycle, however, I wanted a career to give me more stability. Therefore, Data Analytics was this new stable career field, which also allowed me to bring my technical skills of analyzing seismic data for 8 years and general comfort with the skillset I had already had.


M7: What impact do you think analytics & big data will have in the next 5 years?
SM: I think two major things will happen in the next 5 years: There will be a push in Machine Learning Algorithms and discussions around the Ethics of AI. In terms of Machine Learning Algorithms, this is something that is already happening, but not on a scalable platform/level. The platforms we currently use to create machine learning algorithms are open-source and free, but you will need additional expensive software to turn all of your algorithms into a real, tangible product. At the moment, I'm noticing a shift in this situation, with the software becoming more accessible. As a result, I believe there will be a greater shift in machine learning and natural language processing in the future, where the algorithms will recognize speech and perform functions independently. Discussions on the Ethics of AI are also being held, but as the AI industry continues to grow so will our concern about its morality. A particular area is the biases within the algorithms that people have created, this is an industry that is not being regulated. When we look at things like facial recognition data, we can see that millions of images of our data are being stored without our knowledge. As people become more aware and concerned about their data, the need for a regulating body will emerge, and organizations’ accountability will be mandated.


Some companies and sponsors appear as incredibly supportive and in alignment with our organization however, they fail to provide the financial support needed as well as offer their resources to push our organization further.



M7: What have been your two biggest challenges as a co-founder at Black in Data, and how did you tackle them?
SM: Our biggest challenge has been a reluctance to follow through with the discussions regarding implementing change and diversify the workplace. Whilst we have inspired a lot of initial interest and support regarding our movement, the difficulty lies within having our sponsors or facilitating companies commit to tangible change and action. However, we have been working to resolve this and openly having these discussions with our proposed sponsors. Also, another challenge we face, as many non-profit organizations must face, relates to our finances. Some companies and sponsors appear as incredibly supportive and in alignment with our organization however, they fail to provide the financial support needed as well as offer their resources to push our organization further.


M7: You have recently partnered with CodeUntapped, Frocentric_tech and Google Digital Garage. Could you please tell us about some of the developments that all of you at Black in Data are excited about?
SM: At Black, In Data we are most excited about our latest partnership with CodeUntapped. It is a partnership where we get people from BID, put them into a training scheme with CodeUntapped and then put them into Jobs with amazing Organisations. The training scheme lasts for 6 weeks, is completely paid and by the end of the training scheme, the candidates are placed into the physical role that they have been training for. Once contracted for roughly 9 to 12 months, training continues. The usual outcome is securing a permanent role with the company. With Frocentric, this is an exciting person of the color networking data-industry site. It strives to connect all the different tech sectors to one platform where we can all network and support each other. It ranges from Black Founder of Data Science, AI Companies and Data companies and bringing them together to break down the compartmentalized and fractured industry. Finally, Google Digital Garage is an incredible platform that enables us to provide soft skills training ranging from CV writing to Google Digital analytics.


Traditionally people used to consume their news via structured platforms, however social media is allowing you to get the raw content from the people that are being the most impacted.



M7: What do you see as the most noticeable change right now happening in the workforce, encouraged by the rise of social media and digital technologies?
SM: The most noticeable change happening in the workforce is down to the impact of social media being used as a tool for awareness and awakening. Traditionally people used to consume their news via structured platforms, however social media is allowing you to get the raw content from the people that are being the most impacted. This has been fantastic for people of color, trying to educate on their lived experiences, share them and finally bringing it to the fore so that organizations have to address it. Topics typically neglected as well as deemed taboo have now been brought to light, forcing companies to evaluate their workplace treatments and biases.


M7: What is your advice to the young women who are starting out their careers in Data Analytics?
SM: The most important thing to do is ensure that you have all of the necessary technical skills, such as being extremely proficient in Statistics, which is a critical component of Data Analytics. One thing I was never told about that I now realize is the significance of, is being able to do storytelling with Data. Usually, you might just think analyzing your data and presenting your findings is enough but you need to master how to explain your findings very well. It is also easy to second-guess yourself, so you need to be confident in your ability and trust yourself. Ultimately, I’d say be kind to yourself. Growing up, I was exceptionally scared of failure but it is all those mistakes that have shaped me into the analyst that I am today!

ABOUT BLACK IN DATA

Black in Data is a collaborative movement for people of colour, striving to promote equality of opportunity and representation within the data industry. Diversity and equality at work is crucial not only for social justice, but also for the development of a flourishing data and technology industry, able to adapt in a dynamic world. The face of the workforce is changing, and  every industry benefits from the greater breadth of knowledge, skills and personal experience that this greater diversity brings. Black in Data aims to energise and accelerate this pace of change.

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InterSystems Introduces Two New Cloud-Native Smart Data Services to Accelerate Database and Machine Learning Application Development

InterSystems | January 12, 2024

InterSystems, a creative data technology provider dedicated to helping customers solve their most critical scalability, interoperability, and speed problems, today announced general availability of the InterSystems IRIS Cloud SQL and InterSystems IRIS Cloud IntegratedML® services. These fully managed cloud-native smart data services empower developers to build cloud-native database and machine learning (ML) applications in SQL environments with ease. With Cloud SQL and Cloud IntegratedML, developers can access a next generation relational database-as-a-service (DBaaS) that is fast and easy to provision and use. Embedded AutoML capabilities allow developers to easily develop and execute machine learning models with just a few SQL-like commands in a fully-managed, elastic cloud-native environment. Shaping a complete data management portfolio for mission-critical applications As part of the InterSystems Cloud portfolio of smart data services, Cloud SQL and Cloud IntegratedML provide application developers with access to InterSystems proven enterprise-class capabilities as self-service, fully managed offerings on Amazon Web Services (AWS), while providing a fast and seamless on-ramp to the full suite of capabilities in InterSystems IRIS® data platform. InterSystems IRIS is a next-generation data platform designed for organizations implementing smart data fabrics that provide powerful database management, integration, and application development capabilities. By consolidating these capabilities into a single product, InterSystems IRIS accelerates the time it takes to realize value from data, simplifies overall system architectures, and reduces both maintenance effort and costs. “We are excited for the capabilities of InterSystems IRIS to be exposed through these new, easy to deploy and easy to use services,” said Scott Gnau, Global Head of Data Platforms at InterSystems. “With native support for AutoML, we give developers the power to build comprehensive, predictive, and prescriptive applications.” Fully managed, enterprise-class reliability with InterSystems IRIS Cloud SQL Cloud SQL makes it easy for application developers to leverage advanced relational database capabilities as a fully managed, secure, scalable, high performance, highly available cloud-native database-as-a-service (DBaaS). Cloud SQL delivers the following benefits for SQL developers: Extremely high performance, especially for ingesting and processing incoming data and performing SQL queries on the data with low latency at scale Fast and easy to provision and use Ability to easily connect client applications via JDBC, ODBC, DB-API, and ADO.NET drivers Automated security, data encryption, and backups Automation of machine learning tasks with InterSystems IRIS Cloud IntegratedML Available as an additional cloud managed service for InterSystems IRIS Cloud SQL customers, Cloud IntegratedML extends the capabilities of Cloud SQL to enable SQL developers to quickly build, tune, and execute machine learning models with just a few SQL-like commands, without moving or copying data to a different environment. A significant advantage of Cloud IntegratedML is the elimination of the need to transfer or replicate data to an external platform to build ML models, or to move ML models to a different environment for execution. Cloud IntegratedML delivers the following benefits for SQL developers: Automation of machine learning processes and resource-intensive tasks such as feature engineering, model development, and fine-tuning Seamless integration of models developed and trained with Cloud IntegratedML within Cloud SQL, facilitating real-time predictive insights and prescriptive actions in response to events and transactions This comprehensive suite of smart data services establishes the InterSystems Cloud portfolio of smart data services as an optimal choice for SQL developers seeking a robust, high-performance database solution tailored to their needs. The new Cloud SQL and Cloud IntegratedML services are available through InterSystems Developer Hub. About InterSystems Established in 1978, InterSystems is the leading provider of next-generation solutions for enterprise digital transformations in the healthcare, finance, manufacturing, and supply chain sectors. Its cloud-first data platforms solve interoperability, speed, and scalability problems for large organizations around the globe. InterSystems is committed to excellence through its award-winning, 24×7 support for customers and partners in more than 80 countries. Privately held and headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, InterSystems has 38 offices in 28 countries worldwide. For more information, please visit InterSystems.com.

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