Businesses today are flooded with data. You need people who can translate this data to make decisions for your business. But this is easier said than done. There’s a lot more to data processing than just creating graphs and presentations to make it work.
Data is unstructured, unprocessed, and sometimes unreliable. The analyst’s role is to collect data and clarify the big picture for stakeholders. That’s why the role of Business Intelligence Analyst is so coveted. But what does it take to become a BI (Business Intelligence) Analyst? We’ll take a closer look, but first let’s understand the role of a BI Analyst.
What does a Business Intelligence Analyst do?
Simply put, business intelligence analysts help businesses make decisions. Extract the data you need using tools like SQL, implement statistical techniques like regression and ANOVA, and uncover insights using tools like R and Python. On a typical day, an analyst can be found –
1. Data collection and analysis
Data resides in large databases both inside and outside of your organization. Collecting data is the main task of the analyst. Data can include sales data residing in a company’s CRM, market data available in market research reports, or repositories such as public surveys. Collecting and cleaning data takes a significant amount of analyst time.
2. Interpretation of data
BI analysts use statistical methods and other tools to find patterns in data. Interpretations are communicated to stakeholders as graphs or presentations using visualization tools such as Power BI, Tableau, etc.
3. Collaboration and communication
BI analysts spend time collaborating with people across the organization, including senior managers, executives, and other teams to understand business requirements and translate them into insights and business recommendations.
4. Monitoring and optimization
If you’re building a data solution, part of your role will include monitoring and optimizing the solution’s performance.
5. Ensure data security and compliance
Data security is receiving increasing attention. BI analysts play a key role in ensuring data security by implementing protocols and taking steps to protect information.
Now you know what a day in the life of a Business Intelligence Analyst is like. Understand what it takes to become #1.
Become a Business Intelligence Analyst: 5 Key Skills to Master
From soft skills like communication to hard skills like SQL, you need these five skills to become a sought-after business analyst.
1. SQL
SQL (structured query language) allows analysts to access data stored in relational databases. Knowledge of SQL is required to retrieve data from the database for further processing. Some of the actions include creating SQL queries, running functions to group and manipulate data, and joining tables.
2. Data exploration
Collecting large amounts of data and seeing patterns within that data are important skills for BI analysts. Techniques such as clustering and classification can help you explore your data and prepare it for further analysis.
3. Statistics
The data obtained is processed using statistical techniques such as regression to uncover insights. This is typically the penultimate step in an analyst’s workflow. Depending on how unstructured the data is, analysts employ data cleaning techniques such as: Data normalization Or manage missing values in your data. This process is essential before analyzing the data.
4.R and Python
It’s great to know both R and Python. Knowledge of either language is often sufficient. These languages help analysts implement statistical techniques to decipher the data they collect.
5. Predictive analytics
Techniques such as forecasting using machine learning techniques such as linear regression and time series, based on historical data, can help predict future outcomes. Understanding predictive analytics and knowing how to predict future outcomes for your business is an important skill for BI analysts to master.
6. Collaboration and communication
Communicating ideas to key stakeholders and team members is critical for BI analysts to excel in their careers. You’ll often collaborate with people across the organization, including developers and engineers. Clear submission of objections is essential to resolving issues. It is equally important to clearly explain your ideas so that all parties are on the same page as you.
conclusion
Business Intelligence Analyst is a coveted role in the industry. If that’s what you’re trying to do. Get started today by learning the important skills mentioned above. Accelerate your career as a BI analyst by supplementing your learning with hands-on experience on industry projects.
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