14 Key Insights from Big Data Conference South Africa


October 28, 2026

D H M S

Big Data and Business Analytics Innovation Summit

Over two days, the conference will bring together executives, data leaders, IT professionals, and domain specialists to explore how big data and analytics can drive innovation, competitive advantage, and responsible business growth in Africa’s private sector...
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Learn about the latest trends at the Big Data Conference South Africa.

Join us for the Big Data Conference South Africa, where industry leaders will share valuable insights.

Exploring Opportunities at the Big Data Conference South Africa

The Big Data and Business Analytics Conference 2026, taking place on 28–29 October 2026 at The Maslow Hotel, Sandton, Johannesburg, is set to be a premier gathering for forward-thinking organisations seeking to unlock the full potential of data in driving business transformation. Under the theme “Driving Business Transformation Through Data: Innovation, Governance & Sustainable Analytics,” the event brings together Africa’s leading minds in data, analytics, and technology to explore how organisations can harness data as a strategic asset for long-term growth and resilience.

The Big Data Conference South Africa will feature keynotes from top experts in the field.

In today’s fast-evolving digital economy, data is no longer just a by-product of operations—it is a core driver of innovation, competitive advantage, and informed decision-making. This two-day conference is designed to equip delegates with the insights, tools, and frameworks required to turn raw data into actionable intelligence, while balancing the increasing demands of governance, ethics, and sustainability.

At the Big Data Conference South Africa, expect to learn about the latest innovations.

Across the two days, attendees will engage with a carefully curated programme covering both strategic and technical dimensions of data and analytics. Day one (28 October 2026) focuses on innovation and business value creation through modern data architectures and advanced analytics. Sessions will explore data mesh and domain-oriented architectures, demonstrating how decentralised ownership models empower business units to treat data as a product and scale analytics effectively. The agenda will also delve into edge analytics for real-time decision-making, highlighting how organisations can process data closer to the source—such as IoT devices—to enable faster, more responsive actions across industries like manufacturing, retail, and logistics.

Don’t miss the Big Data Conference South Africa for networking opportunities.

Further discussions will examine hybrid and multi-cloud analytics platforms, providing guidance on how to balance performance, scalability, and cost across diverse data environments. Attendees will gain insights into augmented analytics and citizen data science, where AI-driven tools are enabling non-technical users to generate insights independently, accelerating decision-making across the enterprise. The day will also cover predictive and prescriptive analytics, illustrating how organisations can forecast trends and optimise outcomes, as well as data monetisation strategies, showcasing how businesses can create new revenue streams through data products and partnerships. Importantly, the programme will address analytics-driven sustainability and ESG reporting, aligning data strategies with environmental and social responsibility goals.

Key discussions at the Big Data Conference South Africa will revolve around data ethics.

Day two (29 October 2026) shifts focus toward governance, trust, and scalability—critical pillars for sustainable data-driven transformation. Sessions will explore trust, governance, and ethical analytics, equipping organisations with frameworks to ensure transparency, compliance, and accountability in data usage. With data privacy becoming increasingly important, the conference will also highlight privacy-enhancing technologies and federated learning, enabling secure collaboration across organisations without compromising sensitive information.

Engage with thought leaders at the Big Data Conference South Africa.

Delegates will gain practical insights into data quality, lineage, and master data management, essential for maintaining reliable and consistent data across business units. The programme will further examine scalable data infrastructure, including modern approaches such as data lakehouse, data fabric, and data vault architectures. Additionally, sessions on real-time streaming and event-driven analytics will demonstrate how organisations can process live data streams for immediate insights and rapid response.

Learn how to leverage data at the Big Data Conference South Africa.

The agenda also addresses critical business challenges through analytics for risk, fraud, and security, showcasing how advanced analytics can detect anomalies, prevent fraud, and strengthen organisational resilience. Finally, the conference will explore AI for business forecasting and optimisation, illustrating how machine learning can enhance supply chain efficiency, pricing strategies, and resource allocation to drive smarter, data-informed decisions.

The Big Data Conference South Africa aims to inspire the next generation of data professionals.

This conference is designed for a diverse yet interconnected audience. C-level executives (CIOs, CFOs, COOs) will benefit from strategic insights into leveraging data for competitive advantage and organisational transformation. Data scientists, analysts, and AI practitioners will gain exposure to cutting-edge tools, techniques, and real-world applications. Business leaders and decision-makers will discover how to embed analytics into everyday operations to improve performance and outcomes. Heads of data infrastructure and IT professionals will explore modern architectures and platforms that enable scalable and resilient data ecosystems. In addition, risk, compliance, and governance professionals, as well as marketing, operations, and finance teams, will find value in understanding how to manage data responsibly while driving innovation. Data engineers and architects will also benefit from deep dives into infrastructure, pipelines, and system design.

Gain insights from pioneers at the Big Data Conference South Africa.

The benefits of attending extend far beyond knowledge acquisition. Delegates will leave with actionable strategies to integrate analytics into core business processes, enabling more informed and agile decision-making. They will gain exposure to cutting-edge technologies and architectures, including data mesh, edge analytics, and AI-powered tools, ensuring they remain ahead of industry trends. The conference provides a valuable platform to network with peers, industry experts, and data-driven leaders, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange.

The Big Data Conference South Africa will highlight transformative data strategies.

Attendees will also gain critical insights into emerging regulatory, ethical, and governance trends, helping organisations navigate the complexities of data privacy and compliance. Furthermore, the event will highlight opportunities for responsible data monetisation, enabling businesses to unlock new revenue streams while maintaining trust and transparency. Ultimately, delegates will build the capacity to foster a data-driven culture, balancing innovation with risk management and sustainability.

Be part of the Big Data Conference South Africa and expand your knowledge.

The Big Data and Business Analytics Conference 2026 is more than just an event—it is a catalyst for organisations ready to embrace the future of data-driven transformation in Africa. By bringing together strategy, technology, and governance under one roof, it offers a comprehensive platform for learning, collaboration, and innovation, empowering businesses to thrive in an increasingly data-centric world.

Attendees will discover new trends at the Big Data Conference South Africa.

SPEAKERS AND DATES

EVENT SCHEDULE

Enjoy the speeches from the best this industry has to offer!



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Welcome Speech & Event Opening

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Data Mesh & Domain-Oriented Architectures

Explore how a data mesh approach distributes ownership to business domains, empowering teams to treat data as a product and scale analytics with agility, collaboration, and domain-specific governance.

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Edge Analytics for Real-Time Decision Making

Discuss processing data at the edge (IoT devices, sensors) to reduce latency, enhance responsiveness, and enable real-time insights for industries such as manufacturing, retail, and logistics.

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Coffee/ Tea Break

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Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Analytics Platforms

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Examine strategies for combining on-premises, cloud, and multi-cloud data infrastructures to balance cost, scalability, resilience, and performance across enterprise analytics environments.

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Augmented Analytics & Citizen Data Science

Investigate AI-powered self-service tools that democratize data, enabling business users (non-technical) to generate insights, build models, and drive decisions without relying entirely on data science teams.

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Networking Lunch Break

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Predictive & Prescriptive Analytics for Business Growth

Highlight how businesses can use predictive models to forecast trends and prescriptive analytics to recommend actions — helping to optimize operations, reduce risk, and proactively seize market opportunities.

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Data Monetization Strategies

Unpack ways organisations can turn data into revenue streams: creating data products, partnering for data marketplaces, and leveraging analytics to generate customer value and business profitability.

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Analytics-Driven Sustainability & ESG Reporting

Show how big data and analytics enable businesses to measure and optimize environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance — aligning data strategy with sustainability goals.

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Trust, Governance & Ethical Analytics

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Focus on frameworks that ensure data governance, ethical model development, explainability, auditability, and compliance — building trust in data-driven decisions across the organization.

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Privacy-Enhancing Technologies & Federated Learning

Explore techniques such as federated learning, differential privacy, and encryption to analyze sensitive data securely — enabling cross-organizational collaboration without compromising privacy.

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Coffee/ Tea Break

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Data Quality, Lineage & Master Data Management

Dive into how maintaining high-quality, consistent, and traceable data (through lineage and MDM) underpins reliable analytics, compliance, and accurate reporting across business units.

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Scalable Data Infrastructure: Lakehouse, Data Fabric & Vault

Compare modern approaches to data architecture — data lakehouse, data fabric, and data vault — to support efficient ingestion, management, storage, and governance at scale.

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Networking Lunch Break

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Real-Time Streaming & Event-Driven Analytics

Discuss the design and implementation of streaming pipelines (e.g., Kafka, Flink), event-driven systems that process and analyze live data for dynamic decision-making and rapid business response.

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Analytics for Risk, Fraud & Security

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Examine how organisations can leverage big data and advanced analytics to detect fraud, monitor risk, and secure operations — turning security data into actionable insights.

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AI for Business Forecasting & Optimization(AI topic)

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Explore the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to build forecasting models, optimize supply chains, pricing, and resource allocation — enabling smart, data-driven operational decisions.


GET TO KNOW THE

EVENT SPEAKERS


Head Fraud and Financial Crime analytics | Business Intelligence Practitioner at Absa Group

Parvesh Chauhan

Programme Head at Standard Bank and Industry Leader in Data & Analytics

Varsha Ramesar

Executive, Head of Data Privacy, NTT DATA, Inc. at NTT Ltd | Global Data Protection Expert | Seasoned Data Protection Officer | Driving Ethical Data Practices for Organizational Trust

Ashleigh Meiring

Past Event

PAST SPEAKERS


Founder & CEO, High Risers | Helping Entrepreneurs Scale with AI | Global Keynote Speaker

Kutlwano Ngwarati

Senior Manager: Data Regulatory Reporting (Group Data Analytics) at Nedbank

Faith Sithole

Director : Insurance Analytics at KPMG | Data Analytics Leader | Transforming Insights into Action | Delivering Solutions to Global Clients

Mohamed Khan

FirstRand Foundation Chair in Financial Data Science FirstRand Foundation Chair in Financial Data Science at University of the Witwatersrand | G20 Presidency Delegate | Journal Editor

Prof. Moinak Maiti

Programme Head at Standard Bank and Industry Leader in Data & Analytics

Varsha Ramesar

Driving Value Through Data Science | 30 Under 30 | Young Data Professional of the Year 2025

Daniel Wertheimer

Co-Founder African Academy of Artificial Intelligence | GIBS Business School Marketing Lecturer | | Author: Harnessing the Power of AI in Africa & Messaging for Startups​

Greg Serandos

MD at Master Data Management - 20 years delivery of Data Governance, Data Quality and MDM solutions

Gary Allemann

Chief Information Security Officer at Iosis Laboratories

Ivan Sabljak

Head: Data & Analytics at Webber Wentzel | CDMP®️ | DCAM v2.2 | Passionate about Data, Analytics and User-centered Design

Simone Pozniak

Founder at People With Purpose Consulting I Corporate MC I Keynote Speaker

Nontuthuko Mhlungu

Head: IT Governance & Reporting at National Health Laboratory Service

John Mukomana

Director and Lead Data Architect | Data Architect at BI-Lab Solutions

Mgcobo Gwampi

Head of Data Governance at Absa Group | Group Compliance | Data Strategy| Data Governance & Management| Data Analytics & BI| Data Privacy & InfoSec| Keynote| Advisory Board Member| Lecture & Mentor

Dr. Sizwe Gwala

Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advocate and thought leader | Formerly global AI ambassador with Swiss Cognitive and Research fellow with Stellenbosch University

Johan Steyn

CEO at True I/O | Blockchain Innovation Leader | Keynote Speaker | Bridging Real World Asset Tokenisation & Digital Payments with Enhanced Usability

Vincent Maher

Director Data Science at Dentsu SSA. #DataGap #BigData #DataScience

Paul Stemmet

Head of Digital Marketing: Multichoice Group | Digital Transformation| Martech | Growth Marketing Ex Simply Black | Ex WPP I Ex Publicis |Ex Dentsu | IAB Council | Mental Health Ally

Nivasha Pillay

Head of Centre of Excellence -Internet of Things and Security at MTN

Kenneth Matau

Speaker, Strategist, Coach and Mentor at Custodiet Advisory Services | CSO at SLVA Cybersecurity

Steve Jump

Founder and CEO of The AI Shop; Co-founder of Zindi

Ekow Duker

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Limited seats available, please book on time to secure your spot.

Location

EVENT TICKET

For Individuals
R 8999INCL.VAT
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