Ever wondered how a company can comprehend the data it generates? What seems like a simple task of filling in your details of name, email id and phone number are considered a sales lead and has a lot of money, time and human resources working behind the scenes.
All the things that you put in your eCommerce cart, the articles that you view and the suggestions that you receive are a part of the algorithms working with the data that you have fed it.
The team that decodes, segregates, analyzes and interprets the data is called a business analytics team. A business analyst is someone who coordinates between departments to collect, distribute and manage the data.
In current times, with most of the transactions happening online and with the amount of data pouring from all over the world in such volumes, one can be sure that a career in business analytics is a bright one. A good business analyst possesses the following analytic skills –
Out of the box thinking – Being able to identify patterns beyond machine learning and number crunching by computers requires a keen eye and creative thinking.
Creative perspective – Juggling numbers, analysing the next move of the customer or the competitor and deriving inputs from it requires creative thinking.
Clarity – Having a clear idea of desired outcomes and representing the data in such a manner that the management can easily understand and take decisions on the basis of the data presented by you requires clarity of thought and a deep understanding of what is the desired outcome of the data.
Descriptive – If you have an understanding of the past and present scenarios in the business, and can represent it in a way of comparison, charts or graphs, it is known as descriptive analytics.
Prediction – In order to be a highly sought after business analyst one should be able to assess the future performance on the basis of historical data. This is known as predictive analytics.
Prescriptive analytics – One should be able to formulate strategies on the basis of data to achieve good business results and stay ahead of the competition.
Harvard Business Review named Business Analytics as an attractive job field of the 21st century. The average salary for a business analyst is Rs. 7 lakh PA.
Let’s take a look at the top trending careers in Business Analytics:
- Data architect – A highly technical role. As a data architect, an individual is engaged in ensuring that the data is relevant, accurate and accessible to the organization and its employees wherever and whenever they need it.
- Data Analyst – A data analyst collects, segregates, analyzes and represents the data extracted from the departments of the organization to help the management in decision making.
- Chief Technology Officer (CTO) – It is an executive-level position, engaged and responsible for making decisions based on the data, to ensure a smooth user experience, stay ahead of the competition and technological efficiency across the organization.
- Market research analyst – Data generated through CTA forms, enquiries, marketing campaigns needs to be analysed effectively to understand the efficacy of the marketing strategies implemented. Hence, a market research analyst needs a good working knowledge of statistical software and techniques to monitor and forecast the effectiveness of such strategies.
- Data analyst or Data scientist – A data scientist is engaged in collecting, analyzing and representing the data using statistical methods in such a way that the top management can derive meaningful and valuable insights to plan their strategy.
- Management analyst or consultant – Using the data generated in each department of the organization to understand which department is facing problems, in which area and analysing the data to come up with solutions for a smooth and seamless working between the departments.
- Machine learning engineer – Machine learning engineer is currently in its infancy stage. Machine learning engineers collaborate with the data science team to build programs and create algorithms to deliver data-driven products and services that enable machines to make decisions, take action and enhance the user experience without any human interference.
In conclusion, it can be said that Business Analytics is a booming sector and anyone wishing to dip their toes into the ocean of data analytics now is the right time to do so. To enter the field of business analytics, possessing the knowledge and understanding of what business analytics is all about, is necessary.
MITSDE offers a Post Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics to deep dive into the field and gains the degree to enter an organization as a business analyst. MITSDE’s PGCM in Business Analytics is designed by industry experts to help the students stay up to date with the latest trends, the industry required skill sets and upcoming opportunities in the sector.
