Business Analysts (BAs) are one of the highest in-demand professionals in the world today due to the rapid increase in the production of data. As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the requirement for Business Analysts will increase by about 14 percent by the year 2024. Besides, unlike most career options today, the role of an Analyst is one that cannot be automated, at least not in the near future so that is the reason a lot of folks are interested to know how to become a business analyst.
The following topics are covered in this extensive blog:
Watch this comprehensive YouTube video on Business Analysis and professionals in this domain designed especially for beginners:
Let’s start by understanding Business Analysis and Business Analyst definitions.
What is Business Analysis?
Business Analysis is a combination of several techniques and processes that are necessary to understand the business requirements and come up with specific solutions for business issues. In the IT world that we currently live in, solutions mostly comprise organizational changes and improvements in business processes, along with the systems development aspect.
Professionals in this field also perform Business Analysis to identify the enterprises’ status and figure out the business needs. This process also helps in validating and defining business solutions that result in fulfilling the objectives, goals, and requirements of these enterprises.
Now that you understand what Business Analysis is, let’s try to understand who Business Analysts are and what they do.
Who is a Business Analyst?
As per the definition, IT Business Analysts are professionals who are mainly responsible for bridging the gap between the business and IT with the help of Data Analytics. These professionals work on determining business requirements, assessing business processes, and delivering data-driven reports and recommendations to business stakeholders and executives.
These professionals act as the connector, moderator, and mediator who bring together the business requirements using IT resources. They show versatility in performing distinct business processes across various departments, including finance, technology, operations, architecture, engineering, etc.
Further in this blog, we will discuss what these professionals do and what the numerous BA roles and responsibilities are in an organization.
If you want to know more about business analytics, enroll in this professional Business Analytics Certification.
What does a Business Analyst do?
On exploring the journey of a Business Analyst, you must get yourself acquainted with numerous responsibilities you need to fulfill. Professionals in this domain are responsible for increasing business efficiency and the impact of several business operations.
These professionals act as bridges that fill the gap between various departments in organizations in each development stage. You may end up comparing their role to that of a liaison between the aim of the stakeholders of the organizations and the latest and advanced-level technologies.
To understand their roles thoroughly and get familiar with the same, let’s check out some of the most significant roles and responsibilities of these professionals.
Business Analyst Skills
To become an expert, there are a few Business Analyst skills that you need to have. Let’s read about the skills necessary to land a high-paying job in the field of Business Analysis:
- Analytical skills: Analyst professionals are required to process a vast amount of data, evaluate business expenses, and resolve complex issues in the organization.
- Technical knowledge: As a Business Analyst, it is not necessary for you to have programming skills. However, you need to have basic knowledge of the working of computers and other technical systems.
- Mathematical skills: Having expert-level skills in mathematics is one of the most significant skills that you need to have to become a Business Analyst. You must also be familiar with database programs, spreadsheets, financial analysis software, etc.
- You must upskill yourself in various Business Analysis tools, such as Trello, Jira, etc., for business assessment and collaboration.
- You should also know to perform stakeholder analysis, process modeling, requirements analysis, etc.
To learn more about Business Process Analyst, go through our blog on What Does a Business Process Analyst Do?
Business Analyst Salary
Business Analysts are not only one of the highest in-demand professionals in the world but they are also among the highest-earning ones.
As per Indeed, these professionals earn an average of US$80,000 per annum with an annual bonus of about US$4,000. Those with over 10 years of working experience are paid an average of about US$90,000 per annum.
According to Glassdoor, in India, these professionals earn approximately ₹650,000 per annum at the entry level, while experienced professionals can earn up to ₹1,300,000 per annum. For information, you can hop on our blog on Business Analyst Salary in India.
Now, you have read enough about who these professionals are, what they do, what their skills and qualifications are, the numerous job roles available for them, and more in this comprehensive blog. It is time for you to get ahead in your career by enrolling in one of the best online courses on Business Analysis from Intellipaat and mastering the skills required to become an expert in this field.
Want to learn more about business analytics? Enroll in this Business Analyst Course in Bangalore to do so.
Business Analyst Roles and Responsibilities
In this section, we will learn about their various roles and responsibilities in the organizations they work in. Some of these are mentioned below:
- Figure out various opportunities available for making improvements in the processes and operations of the organization
- Modify or design numerous IT and business systems
- Interact with SMEs and business stakeholders to identify their issues and demands
- Work on the basis of various protocols and procedures
- Compile, document, and analyze the needs of the organization
- Design technical solutions and solve business issues
- Document the technical and functional designs of the system
- Interact with developers and Systems Architects to ensure the proper implementation of the system
From the above list, you might have understood the various roles and responsibilities a Business Analyst needs to perform in an organization. Now, you will read about the qualifications required to become a professional in this domain.
Want to become a Salesforce Business Analyst? Check out our blog on How to become a Salesforce Business Analyst!
Business Analyst Qualifications
To pursue a Business Analyst career path, there are a few qualifications that need to be fulfilled, and there are a few that you may wish to meet to get ahead in your career. One of the qualifications that you must possess to enter this profession is to have a bachelor’s degree in any field.
Although, having a degree in any of the fields of economics, computing, numeracy, and business is more preferred by company recruiters. Further, you must gain a professional qualification in this field by taking up a Business Analyst course and completing it from a well-known organization.
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You have learned about the qualifications you need to get into this profession. Now, let’s figure out the various skills that you must have to become a successful Business Analysis professional in a well-reputed organization.
How to Become a Business Analyst?
The way businesses work is changing every day and Business Analysts are becoming more and more crucial to companies. There is a wide range of roles and responsibilities that they have to take on. There are some things that you can do to become a Business Analyst:
- Fundamentals of Business Analysis
You have to learn to identify the needs of a business. To do this, you need to learn how Business Analysis works. You can do this by undertaking a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, etc., or by taking up an online course.
- Data Analytics
As a Business Analyst, you’ll be dealing with a huge amount of data. You’ll need to learn how to analyze this and extract useful information from it. Learning Data Analytics will help you get a clear understanding of this field.
- Projects
Once you’ve learned Data Analytics, you can start working on projects. This will help you gain practical experience in the field and make you feel more confident.
- Presentation
As a Business Analyst, you need to be able to present your visualization to people. There are various tools like Tableau, Plotly, etc., that can help. Learning them and practicing them will be of great help to a budding Business Analyst.
- Portfolio
You can use online platforms like GitHub to display the work you’ve done using the various tools you’ve learned under Business Analysis. A good portfolio does a great deal in demonstrating your capabilities as a Business Analyst.
- Jobs
Once you’ve acquired all the skills and have set up a portfolio, you can start applying for all the relevant job opportunities.
Learn the difference between Business Analysts and Data Analysts in our Business Analyst vs Data Analyst blog.
Business Analyst Certifications
There are several certifications available for professionals who wish to learn Business Analysis and build a career in this popular IT domain. Based on your requirements and the demands of the job you apply for, you can sign up for any of the following certifications offered by some of the top organizations:
- IIBA Certified Business Analyst Professional (CBAP)
- PMI Professional in Business Analysis (PBA)
- IIBA Agile Analysis Certification (AAC)
- IIBA Entry Certificate in Business Analysis (ECBA)
- IQBBA Certified Foundation Level Business Analyst (CFLBA)
- IIBA Certification of Competency in Business Analysis (CCBA)
- IREB Certified Professional for Requirements Engineering (CPRE)
in this blog, let’s discuss numerous jobs available across organizations for these professionals.
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Business Analyst Jobs
Major companies across the globe, such as Amazon, Salesforce, Xiaomi, Deloitte, Google, and more, are looking to hire Business Analysis professionals with proficient skills and experience in this domain.
Along with learning about the job opportunities available for these professionals, you need to get familiarized with the various job roles and the job descriptions of BA as per different companies.
Learn more about Business Impact Analysis: If you are unfamiliar with BIA, take some time to research and learn more about what it is and how it can benefit your business.
Business Analyst Job Descriptions
There are over 40,000 Business Analysis jobs available for professionals in the United States, according to the jobs posted on LinkedIn. The United Kingdom has 5,000+ job opportunities for these IT professionals. India, alone, has more than 7,000 job openings available for entry-level and advanced-level Business Analysts. Below are some job descriptions of different companies, so that you can get an overview of what companies expect from an Analyst professional at distinct job roles and positions.
BA Job at Salesforce, Seattle
Business Analyst
Salesforce – Seattle, WA
Some of the things you will be doing…
- Create and manage effective, scalable, and easy to understand dashboards and reporting solutions to help understand the business and identify insights useful and actionable for the Cloud team and business leaders
- Manage special projects and create financial models as assigned to help drive opportunities and business initiatives
- Liaise with Finance, Enterprise Applications, Marketing, and Development teams
- Assist in the creation of communication materials and presentations to support analysis, implementation of programs, and to identify business process improvements
- Act as a champion of Tableau products, and as a subject matter expert in their use and in the use of data sources
Source: LinkedIn
BA Job at Amazon, Bangalore
Business Analyst
Amazon – Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Responsibilities:
- Identifying, developing, and executing data analysis to help marketing, product, and category functions create more business impact
- Presenting written recommendations and insights to key stakeholders
- Shaping and informing key metrics indicators by which leadership will assess its performance
- Learn and understand a broad range of Amazon’s data resources and know-how, when and which data sources to use
- Deep dive into massive data sets to answer key business questions using MS Excel, SQL, and other data manipulation languages
Source: LinkedIn
Check out our Business Analyst Interview Questions blog and boost your career in this popular IT field.
Conclusion
A career as a Business Analyst is really promising. They help companies extract useful information in this jungle of data. They use insights and data analysis to help businesses improve.
A good Business Analyst should have:
- Leadership Skills
- Analytical Skills
- Mathematical Skills
There are many Business Analyst jobs available in the world today, and it is only going to increase in the future.