Who is a Business Analyst? Salary, Skills & Career

In today’s competitive market, where businesses seek to increase their efficiency while reducing cost, business analysts have become an important component of their operations.
Let’s take a closer look to understand who business analysts are and what it takes for a career in business analysis.

Who is a Business Analyst?

Business analysts (BAs) help maximise business efficiency through data-driven decisions. They act as a bridge between the information technology and the business by employing data analytics to assess operations, determine requirements and provide data-driven suggestions to the executives and stakeholders.

What Does a Business Analyst Do?

Business analysts, as per definition, are responsible for developing new business models by working closely with finance and IT (Information Technology) teams. The detailed day-to-day responsibilities of business analysts include:

• Understanding a business requirement, including the processes through which it accomplishes the work.
• Compiling suggestions for the company on strategy adjustments, new potential technologies, and room for another improvement.
• Leading the analysis and design team for implementing any new technology-based business idea.
• Managing the business project development, monitoring execution, and ensuring timely deliveries.
• Communicate the changes with the team and recommend procedures.
• Connecting with other business leaders to help them understand the impact of changes on the organisation’s goal.
• Analysing the findings and creating suggestions for strategic and functional improvements in the business idea.
• Considering the opportunities and possible risks linked to suggestions.
• Staying up to date on the latest technique and IT advancements to automate and modernise the current systems.
• Working closely with clients, technicians, and administrative staff.

What are the Skills Required to Become a Business Analyst?

The key skills that a business analyst need is:

Business Processing and Planning Skills

A firm understanding of finance, accounting, and business principles helps a business analyst to understand the project scope, identify the resources required and implement the design.
Also, depending upon the industry, the knowledge of business analysis methods: Agile Business Analysis, Six Sigma, or Rational Unified Process, could help to get familiar with specific methodologies.

Technical Skills

Knowledge of technical skills like computer programming, SQL, big data, and database management helps business analysts manage data and present the results correctly.

Data Analysis Skills

Gathering, tracking, and analysing performance metrics are the prime requirements of a business analyst. A good understanding of data analysis and visualisation tools like, Tableau, Excel, and BI Tools can be beneficial.

Communication Skills

A business analyst often communicates with different people within an organisation, including the team members and upper management staff. The ability to present the ideas clearly and convincingly, both verbally and in writing, is a significant asset for the business analyst.

Analytical Skills

Business analysts should possess strong analytical skills to process an extensive amount of data, estimate business expenses, and fix complex issues in the organisation.

Critical Thinking Skills

Business analysts usually have to process immense volumes of highly complex information regularly. Hence, well-developed critical thinking skills are crucial for successful business analysts.

Leadership skills

One critical responsibility of a business analyst is to direct the team members, forecast the budget and help the team members with their problems. Leadership skills can give an edge to the role.

How Much Does a Business Analyst Earn?

The salary of a business analyst in India starts from ₹ 3-4 Lakhs and goes up to ₹ 15 Lakhs [Source]. The average annual salary is somewhere around ₹ 7-8 Lakhs [Source]. These numbers can increase depending on the job’s speciality and industry.

Salary for a business analyst can also vary depending on location, educational qualification, and experience.

What Does it Take to Become a Business Analyst?

Most business analysts possess a bachelor’s degree, often in finance, accounts, statistics, business administration, programming or data science. But this may not be a feasible option for everyone, especially for those looking to make a mid-career transition.

Nonetheless, they can still acquire an understanding through certification courses or formal training.

Emeritus India’s online data analytics courses can help you acquire the relevant skills to get your foot in the door and begin your journey to becoming an efficient business analyst.

You can explore data analytics and business strategy courses that Emeritus India offers and sign up for any of them.