If you love working with data but aren’t sure you want to spend your life tucked away coding, you may find Business Intelligence to be a rewarding career. This career field is growing as more companies begin to realize the value this role can bring to an organization. But what exactly does Business Intelligence mean? Read on to learn more about this career and the steps you can take to procure a job in it.
Business Intelligence – Making Sense out of Noise
Most businesses take in large amounts of data. When properly understood, this data can be used to make changes that raise profits and cut out losing products. Advertising departments take in information on how customers respond to new campaigns. Sales departments keep track of who buys what when. A large business takes in a dizzying amount of information – too much to easily work with. This is where Business Intelligence comes in.
As a business intelligence analyst, your role is to work with the information the business collects and maximize the mechanisms they use to collect it. Much of your work will be done with complex databases that can house many terabytes of information. You will help translate this information into usable reports and analyses through reporting and spreadsheet programs.
But don’t get the idea that this job is all about hiding away and mining through data. A huge part of your responsibility is working with other departments to help them achieve their goals. You will use your knowledge of data collecting and analyzing to help these departments understand what types of information will best help them succeed. Therefore, being successful in Business Intelligence requires both the technical skills to effectively deal with massive amounts of data and the communication skills needed to successfully create solutions with colleagues.
Getting a Career in Business Intelligence
Starting your career in Business Intelligence requires a certain type of education and background. Understanding computer science is critical in this field. You should be comfortable coding and enjoy doing it as it is the core of many of your tasks. Understand how relational databases work – this will give you the flexibility to create the tools you need to reach your goals. A solid understanding of SQL will also help. Finally, having an understanding of the theory behind reporting software will allow you to be comfortable with whatever program your company provides you.
An interest in and understanding of the business side of the job is also important. Because this job requires you to provide understandable and useful information to your colleagues, you must be able to see things from their point of view. Going into this job with a business degree can be extremely helpful. If you have experience in a particular industry, this knowledge will help inform your analysis and allow you to provide better information.
Education and experience in IT and business look great on a resume and will help you get an interview. However, there are personality requirements to meet if you want to get called back. Employers are looking for employees that are people-oriented and positive to fill Business Intelligence roles. Having strong communication skills is a must, both written and verbal. Finally, be prepared to prove that you can take a creative and innovative approach when coming up against obstacles. This field is constantly growing and changing, so you need to convince the interviewer that you have what it takes to grow and change with it.
Business Intelligence is an engaging field for anyone interested in programming and business. If you have what it takes for this career, you will find yourself with a job that allows you to have a real and immediate impact on the company you work for.
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