The impact of data analytics is changing the world, be in business, sports or our day-to-day activities. While we gain access to more and more information every day, the need for enterprises to understand and analyse this data becomes increasingly important. As such, technology development firms are creating better tools to be used by businesses to gather, understand and use the researched data for their operations.
Read on to gain a conceptual overview of potential opportunities for big data in decision making.
What is the importance of data in business decision making?
Big data typically refers to large volumes of information systems which can be analysed and create important insights to help businesses make better decisions. For instance, cognitive computing analyses data to streamline in-office processes and operations in both the public and private sectors. Big data applications can also be used to improve the overall management of a business.
How are companies using big data and analytics?
Big data includes a mix of structured, semi-structured and unstructured real-time data, consisting of OLAP, ETL and information. Business firms and professionals extract useful information from big data to help inform business decisions. It is not only used by companies to make real-time decisions for improving business results but big data also adds a competitive advantage over different firms in the marketplace. Furthermore, data analytics plays a major role in creating a framework for managing data in decision making, thereby assisting business owners to make better decisions for their firms.
What skills are required to analyze data to support business decisions?
While handling large volumes of data may sound very technical, becoming proficient in the practice will increase the efficiency of your business. The key to drawing real value from data analytics is to determine how successful your data-driven decisions are. It is essential to have a sound understanding of your data metrics and measurements, such as page views or conversions, which will help you determine the areas of business that are growing and should therefore be focused on more. As a decision-maker, you should revisit your ideas to clarify whether the:
- Data is truly representative;
- Assumptions based on the data leads to desired results;
- Use of independent variables or a different analytical approach can change the results.
From structuring business objectives and identifying key areas of achieving those strategies to analysing data, the role of a data analyst is very varied and they are, therefore, required to have certain foundational skills. In order to become a more data-driven professional who can turn data into insights, you should acquire skills in the following areas:
- Statistical programming skills (use of R, Python, SQL and Microsoft Excel);
- Critical thinking;
- Handling industry-standard analytics tools;
- Presentation skills;
- Machine learning ability;
- Predictive modelling skills;
- Data targeting skills.
What is the role of data analytics in business decisions?
Data analysis is important in business as it helps us understand the problems faced by an organisation and effectively use data to solve these issues. Data consists of facts and figures, and data analysis organizes, interprets, structures and presents that data into useful information. This context can then be further used by decision-makers to enhancing productivity and increase business profits. Following is a list of the advantages of big data technologies for business:
- Improves business efficiency;
- Framing better market strategies;
- Reduces cost in terms of infrastructure;
- Quicker and better decision-making;
- Value-added products and services;
- Builds a strong brand ecosystem;
- Enhanced industrial knowledge;
- Welcomes profit-making opportunities.
Data can effectively improve overall management and eventually change how businesses operate for the better. With the continuous improvement of data technology, the demand for educated business professionals who specialize in data analytics is increasing rapidly. Toronto School of Management (TSoM) offers a wide range of courses that are primarily focused on big data and business data analytics. If you are interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the concepts that big data entails, then apply for the Diploma in Data Analytics Co-op programme today!
