Business analytics and the people that derive them, business analysts, are incredibly popular entities in this day and age. Business intelligence and data analytics is one of the fastest growing markets in the current economy, especially in terms of the enterprise software landscape. The simple reason behind that is that as all industries become increasingly digital, the availability of data creates more and more job opportunities for business analysts to measure and analyze the information.
Just because new technologies have been created leading to the digital nature of everything in business, doesn’t mean that the data derived is particularly useful. This is because data in its raw form isn’t very valuable. It needs human thought processes to turn it into useful insights about the company, industry or market. Without business analysts and business analytics tools, companies have no way to decipher the data that technology presents them. This creates a huge opening for business analysts in this modern day and age, when everything is digitalized but no one really knows what it all means.
Business analytics come in handy when data from multiple sources is being analyzed, when advanced analytics or statistics are being combed through to find patterns and hidden sets of data, when KPIs must be monitored and trends must be referred to, when decisions must be justified or changed based on the current available information or when information has to be shared in a positive way with stakeholders via reports or dashboards. All of this pertains to data and analytics, but needs a human touch for maximum benefit. That’s why the business analysis field will seemingly never be obsolete.
It’s also important to differentiate the (slight) difference between business analysis and business analytics, as they are both relevant and experiencing a period of growth in this technological age. Business analytics refers to a myriad of different skills and processes that analyze past business techniques to gain insight and planning for the future, to determine what will provide the maximum ROI. Business analytics makes use of data-centric programs, statistical analysis, online analytical processing and more. As technology grows, business analysis grows with, ever adapting to the times and subsequent ways of finding out more and more information about how to make the best possible business-related decisions. Similarly, it refers to the strategy of identifying needs for a business via software-systems, strategic planning, policy development and organizational change. There are several central responsibilities that characterize a business analyst’s work, these include: the investigation of business systems, organizational structures and staff development, the evaluation of actions that could improve business operations including process redesign and IT work and development and the documentation of business requirements that relate to information technology.
In summation, whether you’re interested in business analytics or analysis, now is the time to pursue a career in the field, as burgeoning technology creates more and more job opportunities. Before you start looking, contact Pierson Requirements Group, for the proper business analysis training that will make you more marketable and get you the career of your dreams.
