Data science is here to stay, according to Zac Mathew, Director of Analytics at hMetrix LLC. Mathew joined theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s Media production team, at the HP Big Data Conference 2015. However, he also pointed out that data science should be combined with business acumen to help solve business problems.

Mathew commented that while Big Data allows a company to store a lot more data and to mine as necessary, data scientists still need business acumen to guide them. He also noted that “being a small company, we are nimble and agile.”

Initial insight is key

Mathew advised that better parameters will result in fewer errors. He also emphasized that “initial insight is key” when it comes to working with data. That’s where hiring the right people come in. Mathew described hMetrix as “technology agnostic,” meaning that unless a company can define its business problem, the technology will not be much help. To that end, a data science department will need to first define its business problem. Then, it should hire the right people to fix that problem. That staff will in turn find the right technology to achieve their goal.

As a healthcare company, its clients include, but are not limited to, employers, providers and payers. hMetrix is utilizing HP’s Vertica to handle its Big Data. Mathew reported that Vertica has “improved response time 70 times over.” Vertica has also “eliminated one level of bureaucracy” by removing the step of preparing the data by silos. Mostly, hMetrix is dealing with healthcare claims, which can generate number of a patients, performance feedback and patient statistics to its clients.

Watch the full interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the HP Big Data Conference 2015.

Photo by SiliconANGLE