Interview with Analytics Pioneer Ajay Ohri, Founder of DecisionStats.com

Ajay Ohri is a name synonymous with analytics and data science in India. As the founder of DecisionStats.com, one of the earliest and most popular analytics blogs in the country, Ajay has been at the forefront of the industry for over a decade. He has written several bestselling books on tools like R, evangelized open source technology for data science before it was cool, built thriving communities of data geeks both online and offline, and inspired scores of professionals to pursue careers in this fast-growing field.

I had the privilege of catching up with Ajay recently to dive into his journey, technical insights, entrepreneurship lessons, and vision for the future of AI and analytics in India. Here are the highlights from our deep-dive discussion.

Open Source Analytics Pioneer

Ajay started his career in analytics in the early 2000s, armed with degrees from top engineering and business schools like Delhi College of Engineering and IIM Lucknow. After working in analytics roles at companies like GE and Genpact, he took the entrepreneurial plunge in 2007 to start DecisionStats to share his passion for the field.

"I think I got tired and dissatisfied at the pace of my learning in analytics, the displeasure with which I was forced to indulge in managerial soft skills (a.k.a. politics)," Ajay recalled about his decision. "I was always wanting to get more, learn more, and to be honest & write more. A corporate job would place enormous restrictions on what I could blog or write upon."

At the time, analytics was still a nascent field, with expensive proprietary tools like SAS dominating the market. But Ajay was an early adopter of R, the open source programming language for statistics that has since become ubiquitous in data science.

"R was raw (this was 2007), SAS was expensive, even Open Office was not so good as it is now," he recounted. But the potential benefits of open source tools were clear – greater flexibility, faster innovation, and accessibility to everyone regardless of budget.

Through his blog posts, books, and meetups, Ajay played a key role in popularizing R and other open source tools like Python in India at a time when awareness and adoption was still low. His writing stood out for its hands-on, practical approach to teaching.

"I try to aim for simplicity and that‘s something which comes only if you have learnt to study and clear engineering exams at the last hour," Ajay joked. "These books were just diaries of my jugaad," referring to the Hindi word for innovative hacks.

Indeed, his books like "R for Business Analytics" (2012), "R for Cloud Computing" (2014), and "Practical Machine Learning with R" (2019) have become go-to guides for anyone looking to learn these technologies, selling thousands of copies and earning rave reviews. Ajay has a gift for making complex technical concepts accessible to a wide audience.

The Business of Data Science

While technology has always been Ajay‘s core passion, he has built a successful business around his expertise, productizing his knowledge through books, training, and consulting. DecisionStats.com has grown into a profitable venture with a small team, serving clients ranging from startups to large enterprises across India and globally.

Some key stats that demonstrate Ajay‘s reach and impact:

• DecisionStats.com attracts over 200,000 pageviews per month from 180+ countries, making it one of the most popular analytics blogs globally
• Ajay has over 62,000 followers on LinkedIn and 22,000 on Twitter, regularly ranking as one of the top analytics influencers in India
• His books have sold over 25,000 copies in print and digital formats
• The New Delhi R User Group he started has grown to over 7,000 members and holds regular meetups attended by hundreds

But the journey hasn‘t been easy, especially as a solopreneur without outside funding. In the early days, getting a steady pipeline of clients and revenue while juggling multiple hats was a constant challenge.

"Money was a constant challenge. I even went through a divorce because my ex wife did not (rightly) support my crazy move to startups," Ajay openly shared. "Getting a pipeline of work, leads for clients, converting leads to contracts and chasing people to pay me after work done were initial challenges."

He overcame these challenges through a combination of content marketing, organic search traffic, and good old-fashioned networking and referrals. Blogging was and still is a huge driver of leads, branding, and partnerships for DecisionStats.

"I picked up blogging, SEO, SEM, Web Analytics, social media, networked like crazy," Ajay said. "I stuck to my guns, was true and frank as my personality was, constantly turned down boring work, and kept my prices low and honest and my deadlines timely. This is how I met those challenges."

Importantly, he focused on building intellectual property and multiple income streams rather than trading time for money through services. His books, trainings, and speaking not only established him as a thought leader but provided scalable "passive" revenue to balance out the ups and downs of client projects.

Nurturing the Next Generation

Perhaps Ajay‘s biggest impact, however, has been the role he has played in nurturing the next generation of data science talent in India – through his content, communities, and constant efforts to give back and lower barriers to entry.

In 2012, he started the Delhi R User Group, one of the first data science meetups in the country. From a small gathering of a dozen people in a coffee shop, it has grown into a thriving community of over 7,000 members meeting regularly across New Delhi and beyond. The group has organized over 50 meetups featuring talks by data science leaders from industry and academia, hands-on workshops, and networking events – all free and open to anyone interested in learning.

"I enjoyed Meetups during my time in North America. There were no R meetups in India in 2012. So I started up one. I keep it ticking," Ajay said. "Some things can be worked on for passion and community also."

This passion for community building extends to his prolific writing, speaking at conferences, and teaching. Ajay is on a mission to make data science accessible to everyone, regardless of background or resources.

"More teaching and efforts to reduce barriers to learning analytics," he said of his goals. "I will like to die writing with my head on my laptop on my writing desk and on my epitaph they should throw a party and have a beer and say- he did what he loved."

The Future Is AI

Having been at the forefront of the analytics field for so long, how does this pioneer see the future of data science and AI evolving, especially in the Indian context?

"I think AI and ML will become increasingly important as we try to make sense of the massive amounts of data being generated today," Ajay shared. "Just like analytics evolved from basic reporting in BI to using statistics for insights and now AI/ML for predictions, I believe we will see AI become the default approach in most industries."

He sees massive potential for AI to solve some of India‘s biggest challenges in areas like healthcare, education, agriculture, and financial inclusion. At the same time, he stresses the need for responsible development and deployment of AI.

"With great power comes great responsibility. As data science leaders, it is our job to ensure that AI is used ethically and its benefits reach everyone in society, not just the elite," he emphasized.

Some key trends and predictions Ajay sees shaping the field in the coming years:

• Automated machine learning will make building models more accessible
• Deep learning and neural networks will become more prevalent
• Responsible and explainable AI will be a major focus to prevent bias and build trust
• AI will get embedded into every application and process and become "invisible"
• Data literacy will be an essential skill for every professional, not just data scientists

To prepare for this AI-powered future, Ajay advises aspiring data scientists to go beyond the technical skills and cultivate a lifelong learning mindset, problem-solving ability, and storytelling skills.

"The half-life of technical skills is getting shorter, so it‘s important to constantly upgrade yourself," he said. "But more than that, you need to be able to translate data into insights and communicate them effectively to decision makers."

He also stressed the importance of hands-on projects, open source contributions, and networking to break into the field. "Start building a portfolio of projects on GitHub, contribute to open source packages, attend meetups and conferences, find a mentor – these are all great ways to showcase your skills and build relationships in the industry."

Conclusion

Ajay Ohri‘s story is one of passion, perseverance, and purpose. From his early days as an analytics pioneer to his current role as a leading influencer and educator, he has made significant contributions to the growth and maturity of the data science field in India.

Through his technical expertise, entrepreneurial drive, and commitment to giving back, he has inspired and empowered thousands of professionals to pursue careers in this exciting field. His work has made cutting-edge tools and techniques accessible to the masses and built thriving communities of practice.

As data science evolves into an AI-powered future, Ajay remains at the forefront – constantly learning, creating, and pushing the boundaries of what‘s possible. We can‘t wait to see what he does next.