Careers in Business Analytics

The Era of Business Analytics

Organizations have been using business analytics for many years. Managing and analyzing data have always offered greatest advantages for organizations of all sizes and across all industries. Businesses have struggled a long way to find pragmatic approach to capture data about the products, services and customers. Business was pretty straightforward when companies sold a handful of products to customers who bought the same product in the same way. But over a period of time, the companies and the market they participate have grown into complex systems. To survive or gain a competitive advantage, companies are adding more product lines and have diverse ways of delivering the products to its customers. With markets becoming more dynamic, the role of a business analyst in an organization is becoming increasingly important.

While data is important, the right data is essential. One may get overwhelmed by the increasing amount of data being collected. Understanding what is important to business helps business analyst to evaluate what data counts or should be counted. The term Business Analytics defines technology that uses data analysis to understand business issues in a way that can guide decision making. The use of Business Analytics have provided companies with competitive edge.

Definition of Business Analytics

In that sense, then, “business analytics” can be defined as the broad use of data and quantitative analysis for decision making within organizations. It encompasses query and reporting, but aspires to greater levels of mathematical sophistication. It includes analytics, of course, but involves harnessing them to meet defined business objectives. Business analytics empowers people in the organization to make better decisions, improve processes and achieve desired outcomes. It brings together the best of data management, analytic methods, and the presentation of results—all in a closed-loop cycle for continuous learning and improvement.

Business analytics makes extensive use of statistical analysis, including explanatory and predictive modeling, and fact-based management to drive decision making. It is therefore closely related to management science. Analytics may be used as input for human decisions or may drive fully automated decisions. Business intelligence is querying, reporting, online analytical processing (OLAP), and "alerts." In other words, querying, reporting, OLAP, and alert tools can answer questions such as what happened, how many, how often, where the problem is, and what actions are needed. Business analytics can answer questions like why is this happening, what if these trends continue, what will happen next (that is, predict), what is the best that can happen (that is, optimize).

Basic Domains within Business Analytics

Application of Business Analytics techniques is in almost every field, whether profit making or nonprofit making organization. One can find the use of techniques in government organizations for better decision making and control. In some countries police departments have successfully used analytics for avoiding/detecting crimes. Here are few domains of Business Analytics.

• Marketing Analytics
• Financial Services Analytics
• Human Resources Analytics
• Supply Chain Analytics
• Retail Analytics
• Pricing Analytics
• Risk & Credit Analytics
• Telecommunication
• Transportation Analytics
• Fraud Analytics
• Sports Analytics
• Insurance
• Aviation
• Shipping

Opportunities Abound

One can find that the impact of Business Analytics spans the entire organization which speaks about its scope in almost every organization whether profit making or no-profit making. Successful analytics are essential in every business discipline: Planning, Research & Development, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Finance, Manufacturing, and Information Technology. Opportunities for Business Analysts have grown manifolds as organizations have started adopting data driven and technology focused approaches.

1. Scarcity in Business Analytics Expertise

A survey has reported that analytics skill are most difficult to find. A global consulting firm has reported that U.S. alone would face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 individuals who possess business analytical skills and an additional 1.5 million managers with the skill set to implement the results. Indian industries are not lagging behind as one can find more and more of them have started adopting Business Analytics to create a competitive edge.

2. Career Opportunities

One can look for a career as

I. Business Analyst
II. Data Miner & Statistician
III. IT/Systems Management
IV. Business Manager (Domain Expert)
V. BA Strategy Consultants,
VI. Business Intelligence and Performance Management Consultants,
VII. Advanced Analytics and Optimization Consultants,
VIII. Enterprise Information and Management Consultants,
IX. Enterprise Content Management Consultants

The Analytics Highway at Vivekanand Education Society Institute of Management Studies & Research (VESIM). A Two Year Full Time PGDM Programme in Business Analytics

There is an increasing demand for Business Analytics, but on the other side the companies face problems of hiring the right talent due to shortage.  There is an increasing demand for graduates/post graduates who have learned the analytical approach to decision making. To bridge this gap, VESIM is introducing a two year full time Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) in Business Analytics in collaboration with SAS, a company well known for its Business Analytics software. At VESIM, we realize that the need of the time is to develop business professionals to manage complex business analytics ecosystems. The new breed of professionals will enter the workforce with an understanding of how to leverage data to inform decisions and drive organizational innovation.

We are exploring innovative ways to align more with the industry needs and look at how students can be primed for not only today’s business but also for future work practices. Today’s HR managers, recruitment consultants and employers insist on hiring management graduates equipped with “thinking tools”. They want students to learn how to gain competitive advantage, not only by solving current problems and finding answers to the existing questions but also using data and analytics to deal with complex problems in a holistic way.

VESIM has introduced a two year full time PGDM programme in Business Analytics which spans over six trimesters. The programme is an intersection of business management and technology. Students shall get an opportunity to learn 20 modules of Business Analytics on SAS Platform – a complete programme designed to create data scientists.
 

By Dr. Sachin Deshmukh
Professor & Area Chairperson – Business Analytics
Vivekanand Education Society Institute of Management Studies & Research