A Guide to Choose the Best Business Analysis Course !

Do you have a clue as to how important data is to a business? Every document in a company and every file opened in a computer of a company contains data and mostly, these are unstructured data without an organized base. Data keeps on increasing every minute in this fast-paced world.

It’s predicted that by the end of 2025, there’ll be over 150 trillion gigabytes of data inside businesses, and all this data will surely have to be structured, cleaned, and then analyzed. This is where the role of a Business Analyst comes into play.

What does a Business Analyst do?

The main function of business analysis in any organization is to capitalize data. Through capitalizing on data, organizations can prepare for what’s about to come in the future (be it threats or opportunities) and then take proactive measures to achieve the organizational objectives.

For this Business Analysts use quantitative data and using these data they identify trends, relationships between diverse variables, future events, and even the behavioral changes of customer groups. Valuable insights drive any organization towards success, and without data, this will be a nightmare. Business Analysts mainly deal with the IT divisions (technology teams) of companies, but the valuable information they generate have a direct and strong impact on all the stakeholders.

Some of the major responsibilities of a Business Analyst can be listed as follows:

• Identifying issues that disturb the objectives of a business organisation and coming up with lucrative solutions

• Gaining reliable information from clients, customers, and other stakeholders and making decisions

• Actively interacting with the development team to design solutions to solve business problems

• Providing feedback on software applications to keep them in line with the organisational requirements

• Taking part in business meetings with stakeholders and take timely decisions to problems faced by the organisation

• Building new models to support decisions of organisations

Are Data Analysts different from Business Analysts?

Business Analyst jobs are much more crucial than those of Data Analysts. Although both these job positions deal with data and help business organizations to make data-driven decisions, Business Analysts are more into strategic decision making. They give recommendations when a business faces a challenging situation, whereas Data Analysts just work closely managing and structuring them.

• Business Analysis is a career path that lets you face new challenges more often but builds your confidence as a professional.

• Business Analysts mostly work independently and play a vital role when it comes to solving organisational problems

• BA also get paid well in the UK and every part of the world and the numbers can vary based on the company you choose to work for and even the years of experience you have.

How to get started?

The best way to kick start your career as a Business Analyst is by taking a course. Business Analyst training is not an easy task because there’s so much that an individual should learn if he/she wants to be competent. If you take a course it increases employability and you can confidently demand higher pay because it helps improve knowledge and skills.

Here are some aspects you should be focussing on when selecting the Business Analytics course,

1. Personal aspects

Before selecting the Business Analytics course, decide if it’s really needed! Do this investment only if you have a strong desire to go up the ladder in the field of Business Analysis. Assess the competencies, passions, and skills you have and see if they are in line with the Business Analytics course you are going to follow.

Note – what drives success is passion! If you are not passionate about what you do as a career, you’ll probably get fed up with it after a certain amount of time.

2. Logistical aspects

Think of logistical needs such as where and when before selecting your course. There are both in-person and online courses nowadays, but if you prefer flexible schedules, less commutes and modern learning experience the online courses suit you the best. Online courses help you access the lessons at any time from anywhere in the world, and that saves your traveling costs as well.

3. Budgetary aspects

Taking a course for Business Analytics is an investment that you do. So, before deciding to say yes to a specific cost, know everything about its total cost. See if you can pay the amount in installments, and if the course requires you to pay examination fees separately.

If you are already employed, and just want to improve your knowledge, maybe you can ask your manager if the company would sponsor you. Some companies do because they know it will be an investment in the future.

Once a course is complete, you then have the necessary skills and knowledge. The next steps would be to get a Business Analyst Certification and then consider a degree programme. All these upgrades will help you to enhance your employability and create a good demand for you in this competitive job market.

Here’s another thing you can try doing while you are taking the course,

• Read about the business world

If you are going to be a Business Analyst, you should have a solid knowledge of the business world. Read books, magazines, and research articles and get to know what’s going on in the corporate world. This may help in improving your logical and critical thinking abilities.

• Practise Microsoft Excel

MS Excel is a powerful tool when it comes to dealing with information. Its graphs and reports will help you greatly when you are on the job, so you better be familiar with this tool from now itself.

• Have good interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills such as negotiation skills and communication skills are extremely important for a Business Analyst. If you have good presentation skills, then that would be a plus point as well.