Understanding the Roles: Business Analyst vs. Business Intelligence

Business analyst? Business intelligence? These sound like very similar things, but there are some key differences between them. Both can be rewarding careers that can help you with your personal and professional goals.

Which one should you choose? University of Massachusetts Global can help you pursue a degree that can lead you down either of these paths, including online self-paced learning for those with a busy schedule. Understanding the difference between a business analyst and business intelligence analyst can help you choose the right course of study and the right electives to take you where you need to be.

What Is a Business Analyst?

A business analyst works for a company in-house, or as a consultant, to gather and analyze the company's data, identify needs, and recommend solutions. Business analysts work with IT and management, because they need to handle data and all of their solutions should be driven by it. In many cases, business analysts are hired to identify and solve a specific problem on a contract or consultant basis.

Business analysts may specialize in cybersecurity or work at a strategic level, but their ultimate goal is to go into a company's data and look for solutions for its problems, to reduce the element of surprise, and to make businesses more agile and adaptable. They focus on the future, predictive insights, and solutions.

What Is Business Intelligence?

Business intelligence, on the other hand, analyzes all the data a business generates and presents it in ways that help executives make decisions. A business intelligence analyst is not so much presenting solutions as showing trends and actionable insights. In other words, business intelligence focuses on a company's present and current operational data.

That data is typically presented through visual formats, allowing leaders to get an accurate idea of the health of their company. Much of this is done using business intelligence tools, but human insight can help spot problems with the data and improve the presentation.

Business intelligence is typically focused more in the IT department because of the high level of automation involved. They do not, again, provide solutions, only information. Their goal is to present the data needed in a way that is clear to all stakeholders so it can be properly acted on.

When thinking about business analyst vs. business intelligence analyst, you should think about your skills, aptitudes, and interests.

Skills Needed for a Business Analyst

Business analysts need a variety of skills, starting with the ability to understand and parse complex data. Skills needed include:

• The ability to understand and parse complex data. This is the central skill and anyone who wants to be a business analyst needs to have a knack for this and enjoy it.
• Good written and verbal communication skills to deliver information clearly and absorb input from stakeholders.
• A highly creative mindset so you can think of solutions that other people in the organization might not have come up with.
• Strong problem-solving skills. You need to be a solutions-oriented person who gets excited about finding the answer to a problem or mystery.
• Good management skills. While analysts don't manage others per se, you need these skills to get the right information from everyone involved in the project so you have the data you need to propose the right solutions.
• High levels of organization and teamwork. Analysts work with a variety of people and need to be able to form a good working relationship regardless of personalities and manage not only their own time but that of other people.
• The ability to liaise between IT and the rest of the organization, working with everyone from management to junior staff members.

Skills Needed for a Business Intelligence Analyst

Business intelligence analysts work at a more technical level. You need to have:

• The ability to properly collect and prepare data. "Garbage in, garbage out" isn't just a tired catchphrase. It's a maxim, and data cleansing is vital.
• Knowledge of data mining to search for patterns in the data. While AI tools can often find patterns, there is, as yet, no substitute for the trained human eye.
• The skills to analyze the data and understand it so you can present it correctly. Know enough of what the data means to explain it to others.
• The knowledge to the right presentation and/or visualization of the data to help stakeholders better make use of it.
• Good communication skills to present the data to stakeholders and help them understand what it means.
• Solid business knowledge so you can understand the company and its goals. You need to be able to adapt quickly to a company and industry so you can provide them with your specialized skills.
• The IT skills to use, understand, and troubleshoot high-level automation software. Many business intelligence analysts have at least some software development experience so they can understand and potentially customize software for their company.
• The ability to help choose business intelligent tools, and train others in how to use them. This also includes the ability to get up to speed quickly so you can stay ahead of others when using a new tool.
• A solid understanding of the ethics of data handling, as you may end up handling the personal data of customers or employees.

Both jobs require a solid understanding of both data and business processes, and excellent communication skills.

Path to Becoming a Business Analyst

Many business analysts start with a bachelor's degree in business administration. This degree provides a solid foundation in accounting, analytics, finance, and marketing, so you understand how the business you work for functions and what solutions they might be looking for. Some programs offer an emphasis in data analytics.

Then, once you get a few years of hands-on experience, software development may be a good choice because it gives you application and coding knowledge as well as an understanding of how projects operate. The key is to get a feeling for business and data. Working for a wide variety of companies can help, especially if you plan on following the consulting path. You will learn how to handle different situations and will be better prepared to come in and get up to speed on business operations from outside.

Once you've gained some real-world experience and are ready to move up in your career, getting a master's degree is a great next step. While some get a MBA with a Data Analysis emphasis, others may choose a masters specialized in GIS and Data Analytics. UMass Global can help you with the right master’s degree to move forward with your career and thrive.

Path to Becoming a Business Intelligence Analyst

Business intelligence tends to be more technical. Many business intelligence analysts still start with a bachelor's degree in business, others choose computer science or a technical field such as data science. Some companies may require certain certifications to be considered for employment.

When it comes to real-world experience, you may choose to work in business, but many business intelligence analysts start their career in IT. Many companies promote from within because they want a solid knowledge of the specific company so you know what data to gather and present. It can take months, or even years, for outsiders to gain that precise, business-related knowledge. Because of this, business intelligence analysts tend to choose an industry they have an interest in and want to spend a lot of time dealing with. It also makes it hard to go straight into work as a business intelligence analyst without other hands-on business or IT experience.

Once you have this experience, you can choose to pursue an MBA. Either of UMass Global's data analytics programs are ideal for you, improving your knowledge of both the data side and the business side. You can also use these as a stepping stone to moving into other areas of data analysis or information technology.

Which Career Should You Choose?

If, after all of this, you aren't entirely sure how to choose business analyst vs business intelligence, take the quiz below to get more insights:

Regardless of which you choose, UMass Global can help. We offer flexible online learning for working students, and the ability to turn what you already know into credits. We also offer financial aid for graduate students to help you afford your tuition. Our goal is to help you continue your career. Check out our variety of undergraduate and graduate programs designed for working adults like you and start on the next stage of your career today.