Who is a Business Intelligence Analyst? – The Complete Guide
Business intelligence analysts play a crucial role in the success of an organization. Do you know why? They help derive growth by analyzing the complex business data of an organization. It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 BI analysts in the US in the present world scenario.
With the rapid development of technology, a career as an analyst for business intelligence is in great demand. In this blog, we will learn about their roles, responsibilities, qualifications, salary, and more.
Business Intelligence Analyst: An Overview
A business intelligence analyst analyzes complex business data and provides valuable insights. They play an important role in organizing, gathering, and managing huge sets of data. They also examine current market trends and patterns to make effective strategies that help businesses flourish.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Business Intelligence Analyst
It is impossible for organizations to understand the operations, identify trends, and make informed strategic decisions without BI analysts. The role of a BI analyst is to intercept and comprehend complex data to offer understandable and actionable insights.
The analysis deduced from the complex data helps in decision-making within an organization. The following points explain the responsibilities of a BI analyst in an organization:
- Analyzing the organizational data that includes financial, employment, and expenditure reports.
- Utilizing statistical techniques and predictive modeling to forecast future business trends and outcomes.
- Monitoring key performance indicators and tracking the performance of various business functions and processes.
- Compiling data about the reported issues and finding specific solutions.
- Performing cost-effective analyses on important projects.
- Working closely with stakeholders across different departments, including executives, managers, and IT professionals.
- Continuously seeking ways to enhance data quality, reporting processes, and analysis methodologies.
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How to Become a Business Intelligence Analyst?
The following qualifications can help you gain BI analyst skills.
- Education: A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field like business administration, computer science, information systems, statistics, mathematics, or a related discipline is usually required. Some senior business intelligence analyst positions may require a master’s degree, especially for specialized data science roles.
- Analytical Skills: You need strong analytical skills to gather and interpret data, identify trends and patterns, and make informed recommendations. It is essential to be proficient in data analysis and business intelligence tools and techniques, statistical analysis, and data visualization.
- Technical Skills: A solid understanding of database concepts and proficiency in querying and manipulating data using SQL is vital. Adequate knowledge of programming languages like Python is also required.
- Warehousing Knowledge: Familiarity with data warehousing concepts and techniques is important for understanding how data is collected, stored, and structured within an organization.
- Business Acumen: You should have a good understanding of the organization’s goals, operations, and industry. You will also need to translate data insights into actionable recommendations that align with the company’s strategic objectives and contribute to improved decision-making.
- Communication and Presentation Skills: You will be required to present complex data findings to non-technical stakeholders. Strong communication and presentation skills are essential to effectively convey insights and recommendations.
- Problem-Solving Abilities: You may encounter various challenges when working with data. Hence, the ability to think critically, identify problems, and develop creative solutions is crucial for this role.
- Domain Knowledge: It is crucial to have domain knowledge related to the industry as it allows you to better understand the data and make more informed decisions.
Business Intelligence Analyst Salary
The average salaries of business intelligence analysts in different countries are as follows:
| Country | Average Salary (per year) |
| United States | $87,537 |
| United Kingdom | £52,249 |
| Australia | $106,000 |
| Canada | $80,812 |
The average salaries of BI analysts in India based on experience are as follows:
| Business Intelligence Analyst Roles (India) | Average Salary (per year) |
| Entry-Level | ₹5,00,000 |
| Mid-Senior Level | ₹8,00,000 |
| Senior Level | ₹14,18,494 |
Future Scope of Business Intelligence
Business intelligence is changing how businesses strategize and compete in the global market. We must understand the latest trends to know what the future holds for BI. Here are some of the future trends in business intelligence:
- BI as a Service: It is a concept focused on providing business solution tools and cloud-based services as part of subscription models to businesses. It will help companies utilize data analytics to gain insights without the need for large investments.
- Data Governance: Organizations will invest in developing data governance frameworks to handle large amounts of data while maintaining data integrity and security.
- Collaborative Business Intelligence: There will be an increased emphasis on collaborative BI platforms to ensure cross-functional analysis by various stakeholders or teams on the same datasets.
- Integration With AI and ML: With the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning, BI will be able to provide practical decision-making suggestions and real-time insights, locate untapped opportunities, and more.
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Conclusion
A business intelligence analyst is a professional who has the responsibility of analyzing complex business data. They play a crucial role in an organization by organizing, gathering, and managing huge sets of data. You can become a business analyst by having appropriate qualifications, knowledge, and experience in the field.
Are you aspiring to be a business intelligence analyst? Share with us in the comments section if the information in the blog was useful for your career aspirations. Also, check out this blog on top jobs for commerce students.
Business intelligence is a good career because of the increasing demand in various industries due to advancements in technology.
A bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, like business administration, computer science, information systems, statistics, mathematics, or a related discipline is usually required. Some senior business intelligence analyst positions may require a master’s degree.
It can be a high-paying job if you have good experience and skills. The analysts in senior positions can make about ₹9,00,000 to ₹1,15,00,000/year.
To start a career in business intelligence, you can pursue an undergraduate degree in business administration, data science, economics, or any relevant field. Next, you can apply for an internship to gain some experience. To further enhance your skills, you can take up a certification course and apply for your dream job.
The salary of a business intelligence analyst in top organizations ranges from ₹15 LPA – ₹22 LPA.
Business intelligence is not an IT job as it focuses on making intelligent business decisions by using the right strategies, processes, and technology. A BI Analyst retrieves and analyzes data using the latest tech.
The salary of an entry-level business intelligence analyst in India is ₹3.1 LPA.
