Discover how business analytics uses statistical technologies and methods to provide business performance insights for improved decision-making. Learn the different types of business analytics and how they are applied in various industries by business analysts.
Key Insights
- Business analytics applies statistical models and data analysis to address business problems. It involves a thorough analysis of an organization's data to improve decision-making.
- Business analysts, who understand both the business and the necessary technologies, are essential in transforming data into actionable insights.
- Learning business analytics through video tutorials is an effective and affordable method, offering flexibility and the ability to study at any time and from any location.
- Business analytics is a versatile skill set, useful in all businesses, from small startups to multinational companies, for solving complex problems, devising strategies, and communicating with stakeholders.
- Business analysts are typically good problem solvers with analytical mindsets, excellent communication skills, and time-management abilities.
- Business analytics is a high-demand skill in the job market due to the valuable insights it provides about customer patterns and business expansion opportunities, among other things. The salary for business analysts varies depending on the level of expertise and the industry they work in.
Business analytics involves applying statistical technologies and methods to historical data. This process provides insights into how a business has performed in the past, as well as how it is currently performing, which can be used to improve decision-making. Watching video tutorials online is a popular method of learning business analytics. Video content provides learners with a way to study business analytics from any location, at any time of the day. It’s a great way for beginners to explore this field before enrolling in a more structured course. This article will cover a range of videos, including what they teach and where to find them.
What is Business Analytics?
Business Analytics is a group of technologies and disciplines, such as quantitative methods, statistical models, and data analysis, which are used to solve business problems. It relies on iteratively and methodologically exploring an organization’s data using statistical analysis techniques to make better, data-driven decisions. This involves a practical application of statistical analysis geared toward uncovering actionable recommendations.
Many companies view their data as a business asset and continue to explore ways to use it for a competitive advantage. To be successful with business analytics, an organization must have good quality data, as well as Business Analysts who not only understands the business but also the technologies needed to transform its data into insights. Business Analysts seek to draw concrete conclusions about a company by finding answers to questions such as why certain events happened, what is expected to occur in the future, and what actions can be done in the present.
Most business analytics tasks are descriptive, predictive, or prescriptive. Descriptive analytics involves analyzing historical data to discover how an organization could respond to specific variables. Predictive analytics examines historical data to predict the likelihood of specific future outcomes. Prescriptive analytics is a combination of descriptive and predictive analyses; it involves formulating a process with which users can anticipate what is expected to happen, when it will occur, and why it will transpire. Business Analysts rely on tools and skills such as data mining, association and sequence identification, text mining, data aggregation, forecasting, optimization, and data visualization to gather and present these data-driven insights.
Read more about what business analytics is and why you should learn it.
What Can You Do with Business Analytics?
Business analytics is one of the most versatile skill sets you can bring to the professional arena. All businesses, from small startups to multinational companies, seek those with a background in business analytics who can work with data to solve complicated problems, devise useful business strategies, and clearly communicate with stakeholders. Most Business Analysts have a background working with technology and programming languages like C++ and Java, as well as various databases and testing methods. These individuals typically possess technical and business skills, making them high-demand among recruiters and employers.
Business Analysts are typically good problem solvers. They can analyze problems and apply critical thinking to propose innovative solutions that consider variables such as market trends. These individuals also tend to have an analytical mindset, which allows them to apply statistical models to analyze large datasets. Their analytic skills help Business Analysts perform tasks like understanding consumer buying decisions and behaviors and using this information to formulate a marketing strategy.
Business Analysts are usually expert communicators. They can clearly communicate their data findings and present these insights to different teams on both the business and technical sides. This often requires adapting their communication style to best reach different audiences. These individuals also possess time-management skills to balance multiple project deadlines and perform under pressure.
Why Are Video Tutorials Helpful When Learning Business Analytics?
Video tutorials are an effective and affordable way to study business analytics. The following are some of the reasons you may consider this method of learning:
- Many top educational providers record business analytics videos and post them online. This means you can receive quality instruction from reputable instructors without having to attend a full-time course or certificate program.
- Because video content is recorded beforehand, it provides a flexible learning option for those who have busy schedules. Business analytics videos can be watched at any hour of the day, any day of the week. They’re accessible from any location with an internet connection. This makes them a great learning resource for individuals balancing their studies with full-time work, family commitments, or travel.
- Business analytics videos are often much less expensive than other learning options. Whereas courses can cost hundreds of dollars and certificate study can be thousands, online videos are typically much less expensive. Some are even offered for free.
- For those who wish to take notes, business analytics videos can be watched repeatedly, rewound, and paused. This can facilitate retention.
- Video study provides a low-stakes way to get started learning business analytics. If you’re new to this field and deciding whether to pursue more structured or rigorous learning options, you can begin your learning journey by watching videos. These often provide a general overview of business analytics as well as the available career paths. Because these videos don’t provide access to an instructor, they may not be ideal for learning advanced analytics concepts. However, they are a great starting point.
Types of Business Analytics Videos
One of the best parts about learning business analytics via video is the sheer number of videos available on this topic. The following are some of the most useful videos currently available by top educational providers:
- Noble Desktop’s Intro to SQL provides an hour of instruction on SQL, one of the most widely used tools in business analytics. This video is intended for learners who are new to structured query language and are interested in learning how to use it to retrieve data from databases. This video offers an overview of SQL, why it’s used, and the reasons it continues to be a popular programming language in different industries. This video also includes a live demo on using a database and coding SQL queries.
- Simplilearn’s Business Analytics & Business Intelligence Full Course provides learners with more than 11 hours of instruction on the field of business intelligence, as well as the different tools used in business analytics and business intelligence professions.
- For those who are new to business analytics, WakeTech’s Business Analytics Full Crash course is a good starting point. This video offers more than two hours of instruction on core business analytics topics, such as the history of this field, its primary uses, data sources, and applications.
- Online educational provider 365 Data Science’s Introduction to Business Analytics course is designed to provide learners with a foundation in fundamental concepts and approaches to business analytics. This two-hour video helps individuals work with various techniques and analyses, such as variance, correlation, and time-series. It also provides instruction on machine learning and deep learning analysis.
- Geek’s Lesson Business Analytics Full Course is designed to teach learners basic business analytics skills and terminology. Those who watch this two-hour YouTube Video learn commonly used business analytics skills like unions and joins, automation, T-distribution, hypothesis testing, and aggregation.
Why Learn Business Analytics?
A background in business analytics is currently one of the most in-demand skills employers seek in candidates. Because the digital world continues to evolve and grow, more professional opportunities are available for those with business analytics training to make sense of it all. Each engagement and customer transaction that occurs in cyberspace leaves behind a trail of information that can be profitable for those with a background in analytics.
Virtual transactions and engagement records consist of data streams of objective facts about customers. These offer insights into customer activities, purchases, and interests. Companies that understand the value of this data rely on Business Analysts to find and analyze this information, as well as to propose ways the organization can profit from this knowledge. In addition to the valuable information it provides about customer patterns, business analysis can also offer insights into whether a business may be in a position to expand, as well as how effective its internal procedures are for product launches.
Even though business analytics is a relatively new field, the process of using mathematics to analyze measurements to make business improvements has been used since at least the nineteenth century, when Henry Ford used it to monitor the time employees needed to build each component of his cars. Currently, business analytics is used by many in the tech sector. As more data becomes available to businesses every day, this field is expected to continue its rapid growth.
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How Difficult is It to Learn Business Analytics?
If you’re new to business analytics, you may wonder how difficult it will be to become a skilled Business Analyst. Technically speaking, business analytics isn’t considered an especially difficult field. Nearly anyone with a math background can train to become a Business Analyst. However, this field draws on more than just technical skills. Most successful Business Analysts also have a background in logic, business strategy, teamwork, and communication. In addition, many Business Analysts elect to complete postgraduate study, such as a master’s degree or a certificate in business analytics. This requires a solid understanding of fields like engineering, statistics, and science. The speed at which you learn business analytics skills will likely depend on your background working with data and data tools. The more familiar you are with statistical concepts and logic, the easier you may find it to learn business analytics.
Learning business analytics is an exciting process that draws from various tools, software, and applications. Business Analysts rely on these tools for tasks like creating decision models, tracking requirements, and managing projects. The following is a breakdown of some of the most commonly used tools for business analytics, as well as the cost associated with using them:
- Microsoft Office provides Business Analysts with several helpful applications and tools they will regularly need, such as Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint. Excel, in particular, is an essential tool for management tracking and is commonly used by mid-sized operations. Subscriptions to Office are available for businesses starting at $6/user/month for Business Basic. Microsoft 365 Apps for Business costs $8.25/user/month. Business Standard is offered for $12.50/user/month. Business Premium can be purchased for $22/user/month. In addition, a free Microsoft 365 trial is also available for those who want to get a feel for working with this suite before committing to purchase.
- Tableau is the most widely used business intelligence platform currently available. This visual analytics platform was created to help people manage and explore data and to extract and share the insights they uncover. This powerful end-to-end analytics platform is available for different price points. Tableau Creator is offered for $70/user/month, Tableau Explorer costs $42/user/month, Tableau Viewer is $15/user/month, and Tableau Public is free to download. In addition, a free Tableau trial is also available for those who want to explore this product before purchasing it.
- SQL, or structured query language, is a domain-specific programming language used to maintain data from relational database management systems. It is available for free for Testers and Developers who intend to use it only for non-production purposes. Microsoft also offers a free trial of SQL Server 2022 public preview.
Read about how difficult it is to learn business analytics.
Learn Business Analytics with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop
If you want to study business analytics, Noble Desktop offers several excellent classes to prepare you to work as a Business Analyst. Noble’s Business Analyst Certificate is available in both the in-person and live online format. Participants in this hands-on course learn how to work with tools such as Tableau, SQL, PowerPoint, and Excel to analyze and visualize data. All participants receive live, project-based instruction from industry experts and can retake the course for up to one year to revisit the material.
For those who want to learn more about working with big data, Noble also has an in-person and live online Data Analytics Certificate. All participants receive one-on-one mentoring with tuition. This course is available in the full-time format that spans six weeks, as well as the part-time format of 24 weeks of evening classes. This project-based course covers core data analytics concepts and skills like collecting, wrangling, analyzing, and visualizing data. In addition, participants prepare for a career in business analytics or data analytics by reviewing case studies that incorporate both predictive and prescriptive analytics.
Those interested in comparing learning options can also browse Noble’s in-person and live online data analytics and data science classes to find the perfect class.
How to Learn Business Analytics
Master business analytics with hands-on training. Business analytics refers to the use of data to assist with making business decisions, such as investments or policy changes.
- Data Analytics Certificate at Noble Desktop: live, instructor-led course available in NYC or live online
- Find Data Analytics Classes Near You: Search & compare dozens of available courses in-person
- Attend a data analytics class live online (remote/virtual training) from anywhere
- Find & compare the best online data analytics classes (on-demand) from the top providers and platforms
- Train your staff with corporate and onsite data analytics training