During the last meeting, we had an introduction to Business Analytics. The discussion included its definition, uses, what it means to be a Business Analyst, and examples of what an analyst does, theoretically and in work. From my understanding, Business Analytics revolves around turning data using tools and processes into information that is useful for business decisions. Decision making in fields such as business, customer relationship and sales, and even in sports, in calculating player statistics. Business Analytics is used interchangeably with terms such as Data Science, Machine Learning, and Business Intelligence as it all deals with data and uses it to make good decisions.
With its rising popularity in the world of work even if it existed as early as the 1930s, there is no denying its high demand in different industries due to the need for evidence-driven problem solving and decision making. However, being a Business Analyst is no easy profession. It requires a diverse list of hard and soft skills, the motivation to overcome challenges in analyzing data, and the curiosity to constantly look for new things to discover. The role of a business analyst is trifold, you can interpret, predict, and advise using the information uncovered.
Moreover, ways on how you can manipulate data was also discussed in the last meeting. I was able to revisit functionalities found in different analytical tools such as filtering, aggregation, and the use of pivot tables. This review was necessary because as an aspiring analyst to know how to interpret data is just one thing, you also need to know when to use certain functionalities to arrive at the information that you need in solving problems.
Looking back during my experience as an intern, I realize that most of the work I did was things analysts do. I was once asked to create a monthly sales summary for the different branches of the company. Using the raw data, I sorted and filtered through the numbers by what was needed and created pivot tables to display the sales of assorted products under their branches. The report I made was used as a reference by my supervisors during their weekly meetings to assess how the branches were doing in terms of class and in deciding what steps moving forward were needed for its improvement.
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