BUSINESS ANALYTICS

Well this was a first, to write a blog for an assignment. Given that the blog had to be connected to the subject of Business Analytics, but the feel of freedom associated with writing a blog made me excited. And then it puzzled me, what could I write? How could I write something that would solve both of my purposes?

I racked my brain for quite some time, when it finally stuck me, I was going to try and explain what business analytics is.

Well that would be easy I thought until I realized a simple fact I had no idea myself. So Google it had to be.

The name sounded simple Business Analytics; it has to do something with analysis of businesses. And with that as my starting point I moved on. A couple of searches and a few websites proved me to be quite close to the truth. But as with beauty it is never appreciated until it is polished and presented same is the case with the knowledge.

So what is Business Analytics, it is defined as the practice of iterative, methodical exploration of an organization’s data with emphasis on statistical analysis. What this means is that it is not a one step process but is instead carried out in various steps. And there will be repetitions of several steps as we try to understand statistical relations deeper and deeper. Second it is a methodical process meaning that the steps are not carried out in random but instead there is a method to the whole process, and the method should be clearly defined in our minds before we start with the process. And the last part of the definition talks about it being an exploration of the data of the organization. As with any exploration in any world we would be requiring some tools and for the purpose of business analytics we use statistical analysis as our tools. Well that’s quite an explanation for a single line definition.

Now what is the use of Business Analytics, in today’s competitive world where uncertainty is accentuated with every moving minute businesses are looking forward to some objective guidance. This is precisely what data and study of data does. Business Analysis is predominantly used by companies where decision making is data driven. Why are we comfortable with this approach of decision making based on data? I believe it is so because this data is collected from recent past and hence serves as a reference. Also if data analysis is done properly it serves as a completely objective source of reference.

Beyond this I also learned in the class that unlike the meandering flow of this article Business Analytics is a precise form of knowledge wherein details play a crucial part. And that the analysis in itself is not sufficient for taking decisions, one needs to have a feel about the business. To put this point in perspective the most fruitful decisions in the business scenario are made when analysis is taken into account along with experience, intuition and understanding of the business dynamics.

Group- HR1

Author- Abhas Srivastava