What is Business Intelligence and How can I learn this skill?

Recent years have experienced massive growth in technology at a breakneck speed, enabling speedier procedures and bringing in massive amounts of data. Thereby, businesses are embracing business intelligence (BI), which uses software and services to turn data into actionable insights and assist them in making educated and tactical business decisions. So if you are planning to enter into this career then the ooportunities are endless.

As a business intelligence professional you will be required to manage data analysis and other critical information to provide a holistic view of business operations. Moreover, the focus is on building technical acumen to deliver data-driven business analytics that assists organizations in fixing problems as well as implementing efficient processes.

In this blog, we will discuss several aspects of this field as a professional career. Also, we will extend our discussion to ways of learning this skill. So, without further ado, let’s get started!

What is Business Intelligence?

Business intelligence (BI) is an umbrella concept for technologies and tools that we can use to improve the way we make business decisions. It is really about making available relevant information to the right people in an easy-to-understand manner, enabling informed decision-making at all levels. BI is all about how you pull together your information from spreadsheets, databases, business applications, and the Web to obtain better insight into business processes and operations.  We can use this new understanding of data to highlight potential issues, predict trends, uncover and understand relationships, and much more.

Business intelligence is more than a set of tools that we can use to make a person’s job much easier. There are various kinds of companies that provide such services and it is becoming important for business professionals to take help from these tools. The preliminary procedure of software selection is the most crucial process which deals with the selection of different platforms that are present in marketplaces.

Intended Audience

People who are willing to acquire executive spots in companies and organizations are the ones who can make the best out of this skill. Also, the Business intelligence market consists of several sub-markets, including data mining, data warehousing, and enterprise performance management. Therefore, anyone who is working in any of these domains can work on developing the skill of Business Intelligence. Further, BI is an essential skill and anyone who desires to have it on their resume can go for it. It is because BI is one of the biggest job sectors and is expected to expand even further.

Roles and Responsibilities of Business Intelligence Professional

The roles and responsibilities of a Business Intelligence Professional are –

• Working with the IT Team to launch new hardware and software
• Creating policies and procedures regarding collating and analyzing data
• Critically evaluating and screening data, plus profiling to identify any issues
• Developing new data analysis processes
• Assessing analytics on an ongoing basis
• Overseeing the data warehouse, including the collection and utilization of all data
• Extending knowledge of Business Intelligence to provide ongoing refinement of processes to improve operations

Now we have briefly overviewed Business Intelligence and discussed the skills and roles; we can shift our focus to the ways of learning this skill.

How to learn Business Intelligence Skill?

There are a plethora of business intelligence skill sets that you must focus on. Whether you are a seasoned professional, a student, or someone just looking to enter the field for the first time – there are opportunities available for all who seek to learn skills to excel in the field of business intelligence.

To learn Business Intelligence Skills, you should first get yourself acquainted with the following skills.

Skills Required for Business Intelligence

Business Intelligence (BI) is a very broad and complex field. In fact, it can be compared to a huge mountain which is not easily climbed by everyone. What is the main obstacle for BI professionals? The lack of required skills to implement BI solutions successfully. A well-defined set of skills is mandatory for the successful execution of BI projects in organizations. Here are the top skills required for becoming a successful BI professional, which can help you to develop your BI career.

Data Analysis

Data Analysis is a process by which we compile, structure, and interpret the data from various sources to yield the most significant and useful information. It may involve summarizing, visualizing, or modeling large quantities of data. A Data Analyst will typically extract meaning from raw data and draw conclusions that will provide insights to the business or organization (customer).

Problem Solving Ability

Problem Solving Ability represents the capacity to discern a person’s ability to successfully solve problems, including their level of creativity. It is an asset that is vital for anyone who possesses it, from problem customers to business owners.

One of the most interesting things about problem-solving is that it is so highly individualized. People who exhibit a high level of self-esteem and confidence about themselves as problem solvers are likely to recognize that problems are opportunities for acquiring new knowledge rather than threats.

Communication skills

Communication skills enable you to understand and be understood. The ability to communicate in a clear, appropriate manner is an essential skill that helps individuals and organizations reach their goals. To be effective communicators, we must have an understanding of the message we are trying to convey, as well as the needs and expectations of our listeners.

Most people, think of communication skills as a quality that is specific to sales and management. This means it is possible to communicate with people without having the required communication skills. You can make them understand your organization without having the essential communication skills. It’s possible you can lie in plain sight of others and have your lies swallowed hook, line, and sinker. The reason for this is due to the lack of communication skills in most people.

Detail-oriented vision and forward-thinking

Being detail-oriented and forward-thinking is a necessary attribute to succeed as an analyst or developer. While these may seem like the same thing, they certainly aren’t. Being detail-oriented can mean different things to different people. But at its core, it refers to your ability to pay attention to even the smallest pieces of information. Being forward-thinking means possessing the ability to imagine what actionable insight you might be able to arrive at if you view that same piece of information through a different lens.

Business acumen

Business acumen is a term that we use to refer to the specific skills that we need to make sound business decisions. People often contrast it with technical know-how, as business acumen focuses on the knowledge of the marketplace. This means that while you might have the ability to analyze financials and formulae well, you might need to cultivate your business acumen to drive financial growth in your organization. It is the ability to understand business, financial and economic factors. It makes real business opportunities for companies and individuals by solving problems and creating profitable situations.

Market Demands of Business Intelligence Professional

The market for business intelligence professionals is expected to grow in the next few years. With various industries exploring new ways of working, big data analytics will be a key component of future success. Business intelligence is playing an integral part in most global businesses. By 2021, the business intelligence market will reach $25 billion with a compound annual growth rate of 7.6%. The business intelligence industry is making up for a large portion of the market and will continue to grow in the upcoming years.

Business intelligence is not something that we have discovered lately. It has evolved as the business needed it to. The stock market is one of the industries where BI finds a very important role to play. The first usage of it was required by Wall Street for gathering information about stocks and companies. It helped them to keep track of what the competitors were doing. Also, the revenue generated among other things. Over the years, BI has become an essential part of analyzing and streamlining business operations like never before.

Average Salary of Business Intelligence Professional

The average salary of Business Intelligence professionals can vary significantly from country to country. Most professionals working in the field are software developers, data resource analysts, or project managers. IT skills tend to be among the most valued by employers all over the globe.

In the IT field, the demand for business intelligence professionals is high. There are numerous companies that have projects to be completed and business intelligence happens to be their top priority. As such, there are many jobs opening up in this industry. However, there are a few factors that we must consider to estimate the average salary of a business intelligence professional. These can be factors like experience, additional skills, country or location of employment, and competence of an individual.

An individual who is a fresher or has experience of about 4-5 years can earn up to Rupees 4,52,000 per annum. And a business intelligence professional with experience of over 5 years and under 10 years can go up to an average of Rupees 8,75,000 per annum. And for people with experience over 10 years, the figures go up to an average salary of Rupees 12,36,000 per annum.

Recommended Educational Qualifications

Although there are no mandatory educational qualifications for a Business Intelligence Professional, having a few skills like a basic understanding of computer science and business analysis can be quite helpful. Skills like these provide a foundation for advanced business intelligence skills to develop. Hence, it is recommended that a candidate who is looking for a career as a Business Intelligence Specialist should have a bachelor’s degree in computer science or business intelligence.  A candidate must also have an understanding of SQL.  

Once you acquire these basic skills, we can move to advanced steps. This will include registering for hands-on training to certification course. After completion of the course, you can go for the exam. And if your pass it, you will earn a credential that will be helpful in starting your career in BI.

Vskills Certified Business Intelligence Professional

The Certified Business Intelligence Professional program is for business users with the expertise to effectively leverage BI and data analytics technology to enable decision-making. It provides an educational foundation for these users to acquire knowledge, best practices, methodologies, and toolsets that help them select, implement and successfully operate BI solutions that help them realize value from analytical insights.

The Certified Business Intelligence Professional (CBIP) certification is specifically designed to help you create a new career in business intelligence. The CBIP program is recognized by the Small Business Association (SBA), and other leading organizations, as well as IT professionals.

Things you’ll learn through this course –

• Introduction
• Then, Integration
• Further, Data Management
• Also, OLAP (Online analytical processing)
• Dashboards
• Data Warehousing
• Also, Data Mining
• Data Analytics
• Value Proposition
• Then, Requirement Assessment
• Design
• Implementation
• Furthermore, Post-Implementation
• Performance Measurement
• And lastly, Advanced BI

Test Details

• Duration: 60 minutes
• No. of questions: 50
• Maximum marks: 50, Passing marks: 25 (50%).
• There is NO negative marking in this module.
• Online exam.

Benefits of Certification

• Firstly, Government Certification
• Secondly, Certification valid for life
• Thirdly, Lifelong e-learning access
• Then, Free Practice Tests
• Further, Earn the tag of ‘Vskills Certified’ On Monsterindia.com
• Lastly, Earn the tag of ‘Vskills Certified’ On Shine.com

Business Intelligence Learning Resources

We shall now discuss some of the most useful resources that will help you learn and prepare better starting from basic concepts to advance level execution.

Online Tutorials

Online Tutorials by Vskills are a free resource for those who are willing to take a certification. You can access the tutorials on the site of Vskills. Here, you will get a detailed description of a specific course that you willing to take. You’ll get a list of resources that you can utilize to learn and prepare for the exam. Also, you will get guidance about the course outline and syllabus of a particular course.

Practice Tests

The importance of Practice Tests in learning a new skill is often underestimated. Taking practice tests will help you imprint the knowledge in your brain, make sure you don’t forget it, and develop a habit of creating test-based questions. The importance of practice tests is not defined only by the fact that they improve your preparation level, but also by the fact that the more you prepare for an exam, the less you will have to review it in the end. Mastering a difficult subject is much easier if you study and test yourself as often as possible. You can try a free practice test to examine your level of understanding of this domain.

Prepare for Job Interview

These job interview questions on Business Intelligence will help you to crack your interview whether you are a fresher or looking to upgrade your career. These interview questions are solely designed to serve the purpose to enrich you with knowledge.