We understand data better through pictures than by looking at numbers arranged in rows and columns. Representation of data in pictures is called visualization. Visualization answers important questions — ‘Who are my customers and what are their characteristics?’ ‘In which areas our sales are growing?’ ‘Why my sales are growing?’ Thus a combination of visual analysis and the power of data science elevates the data to a competitive advantage.

There are visualisation tools to organise and present information. One such tool is Tableau. It simplifies, energises and enlivens data science.

Natural storms are tracked by power and path.

You have to start with visual analytics. Here Tableau filters are used. There could be data story telling. You can use the power of R and Visual Analytics.

Tableau software enables you to drag and drop your data into beautiful visualizations. It is end-to-end, flexible interactive visual analytics software. It can be used to create interactive graphs, charts and maps. The other tools are QlikView, Datawrapper, Plotly, Sisense, Excel and Zohoanatytics.

Tableau is easy to learn and fast to deploy. It is superior to Excel when it comes to visuals and dash boards. It makes raw data easier to understand. It takes 2-6 months to master Tableau. It is a free public platform.Tableau does not require coding. If you know SQL, it could be valuable to use Tableau. Tableau allows far more interactivity and is easier to make plots with than Python coding. Python is best when working with a variety of data that requires advanced analytics. Tableau SDK can be implemented using C, C++, Jawa and Python. Tableau SDK supports Python 2, and not Python 3.

Tableau appeared first in 2005. It was founded in 2003 in Moutain View, California and is currently headquartered in Seattle, Washington. In 2019, the company was acquired by Salesforce for $15.7 billion. It is a spreadsheet application used to organise and format the data. It is worth learning. You can download free Tableau for students license or free Tableau for Teaching license. You can join Tableau forums to get your questions answered. You can collaborate with others.

We consider the dark web as that area of the web which is accessed by a special browser called Tor and which is known for its dubious activities. We should expand the meaning of dark web as any platform that provides the users anonymity and an opportunity to carry out dubious activities.

Most of these activities are not on Tor network, but on our regular network. These happen on cloud-based messengers such as Telegram and WhatsApp. People who operate here can provide an entire kit of confidential personal information — card details, internet banking details, user id and password. This kit is delivered to the interested person at home. Even a SIM can be sent to you to receive the OTP. It is easier to operate on these messengers than on Tor network.

Cyber frauds happen on social media rites such as Facebook or Telegram groups. It is thus necessary to monitor the entire web. Ramsonware too has emerged as a major issue. Companies keep password managers and keep backup of important data. Password managers automatically scan the dark web and alert you if any of the IDs have been compromised.

There is regular assessment of vulnerability. There is penetration testing. There are firewalls. Such monitoring can be outsourced to a third party.

Cookies were popular in confectionary industry. They travelled from Persia to Europe. Later in the 19th century, they appeared in California at the instance of the Chinese and Japanese immigrants there. It is a sweet and tempting snack.

Cookies then made a jump from cuisine to complicated computer science world. It happened because of the work of Lou Montulli, an American computer programmer who was busy creating the first web browser in 1992. Those days he worked for University of Kansas and later for Netscape. He concluded that keeping user data in his web browser was preferable to storing it. It pertained to e-commerce site selling things to a user. He names it a Magic Cookie.

The innocent web cookie later became the bone of contention when privacy issues were raised. It was realised that a cookie with a little piece of text on the web browser revealed your surfing habits and at times even the credit card payment details at the website. Europe took this seriously, and equated it with Jewish detection of the Nazis in 1930s through a census. They enacted a new law, The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which was enforced in 2018. It requires a web user’s express permission to use a web cookie. There are fines if you violate the GDPR.

The US too is thinking on the lines of Europe to enforce the data privacy.

What was once a childhood pleasure, a cookie, has come to acquire a thing to be feared reputation.

In metaverse, the financial support would come from cryptos backed by blockchain and smart contracts. The Web 3.0 economy will be borderless, secure, fast and decentralised. Most international banks already offer digital assets, exchange and custody platforms. These can be extended to the virtual world platforms. Banks can create their own metaverse offering new products and marketplaces and these could be tied up to the traditional infrastructure. Thus traditional financial services will rise to the digital opportunities and challenges. They will have to upgrade their technology with respect to blockchain, AR, VR and an innovative culture.

Indian government expects VPN providers to follow cybersecurity rules. It wants VPN providers to keep a detailed record of users including the IP address allotted and email address. It should indicate why they are using VPN. Of course, it is an assault on their privacy. It goes against the very idea of using the VPN.

A virtual private network (VPN) conceals the online identity of the user. It establishes a safe and encrypted connection between a user’s device and the internet. As if there is an invisible cloak that keeps you and the data safe. It prevents third parties from tracking the activities and mining the data.

When internet is used without VPN, the data goes to the ISP. A VPN routes the data through a VPN server. This the data before hitting the internet passes through the VPN server and not directly through your device, say a phone or laptop. VPN in fact masks IP address and the data is safe from hackers, government or anyone who keeps an eye on it.

Big corporates use VPNs. Lawyers, researchers, journalists, security experts, activists use VPNs. In India there are 2.7 crore VPN users (Atlas VPN). Almost 45 per cent of internet usage in India happens through VPN (Global VPN Usage Report, 2020).

VPN providers are shifting their India-based VPN servers to other countries such as Singapore to overcome this.

Operations Chief, Accenture contends that any company in the market will have to harness five forces in the next decade.

First of all, there has to be total enterprise reinvention. Such an enterprise will have a digital core. There are components of cloud and SaaS in it. The infrastructure must be secure and scalable. An organisation has data and must know how to deal with this data. Can it be harnessed and used in the most valuable way? The core in industry functions such as finance, purchasing, HB, supply chain among others require transformation. As we know, finance is largely automated and digitised. Consider the evolution of business processes and how impact can be made with cloud technology and data.

Second force is talent. Third force is metaverse. Fourth force is sustainability. Lastly, there is constant pace of change of new technology.

Cryptos have been used as payments for data theft and blackmailing. You can call this ransom payments. Cryptos are treated as digital gold. In gaming, cryptos are treated as assets. Cryptos become assets in metaverse. These are used to pay off smart contracts. DeFi has underlying crypto assets.

Brands and Cryptos

Brands like Gucci and Balenciaga have started accepting cryptos at the stores in North America. Initially, in 2014, even Microsoft accepted bitcoin to top up Microsoft account and pay for its various services despite Bill Gates’s misgivings about cryptos. Warren Buffet too is averse to cryptos. Musk blows hot and cold on cryptos. Musk was ready to accept crypto payments for Tesla but backtracked when environmental activists raised a hue and cry. Later in 2002, Tesla announced it would accept DogeCoin. Wikipedia used to collect donations in cryptos but discontinues the practice on the basis of environmental considerations.

No longer AI is associated with science fiction. It has registered its presence in business operations and at homes. Though it has been adopted in business recently, as a concept it emerged as early as 1956. It took decades to develop the concept and make it a technical reality.

AI is now treated as a supplement to human intelligence and not as something that supplants human intelligence. It facilitates decision making, and hence is useful in a wide range of industries.

Ai is capable of analysing and assessing massive volumes of data. It can be used to simulate the potential repercussions of each action.

Between 2022 and 2030, AI will be growing at a CAGR of 38 per cent. The global AI industry is estimated to reach $1600 billion by 2030, and in India to reach $8 billion by 2025.

Metaverse is a virtual world where people live, work and play through their avatars. An Indian restaurant chain, the Olive Group, has entered into this alternative universe. Oculus app called Quest now offers VR headset. Sony and MS spend more and more on VR-based headsets.

Indian companies too dabble in metaverse. Accenture has created the Nth floor abroad. Here it recruits new people, holds meetings and conducts training. Accenture says these are early days of metaverse, and soon companies will adopt this concept. Accenture conducted an innovation contest globally in metaverse. It expects to induct new hires across the globe. The possibilities are limitless and HCL believes in this. HCL has created Meta Labs.

The first users will be B2C players. Tanisque, a jewellery brand of the Tatas, has launched Romance Polki jewellery line on the metaverse. The jewellery can be tried on avatars. Another segment which will fast adopt metaverse is that of fashion and e-commerce. The offline shopping experience can be simulated online in e-commerce. It is going to be a big game changer. Film industry celebrities and fashionistas will accelerate the adoption of metaverse.

People use filters on Snapchat. They use AR on cell phone. They change their face. They send a funny photo to their peers. This is a fore-runner of metaverse. It is not far from where we are right now.

Brands make use of the existing metaverse platforms such as Sandbox or Roblox. Consumers can buy these brands and use them on their avatars or even resell them.

Some brands just associate themselves with an event. If there is metaverse wedding brands like Coke can participate. Thirdly, some brands try to explore, and create their own metaverse, e.g. Qatar Airways.

Cadbury tried metaverse dinner date experience on moon for Valentine Day this year. Tata Tea premium and McDowell celebrated Holi with a metaverse party.

Metaverse is used to share new experiences, rather than immediate monetisation, though it has tremendous potential of monetisation in future.