The business world continues to evolve and expand every year.
With new technologies and trends, business leaders have realised that there is no more place for guessing. They need to rely on data to make the best decisions that will drive their businesses into the future.
This is where business management and intelligence come into play. Companies need business intelligence professionals with management skills now more than ever.
In this article, we will look at business management and intelligence and the top skills these professionals need to drive business success. We will also discuss how you can become a business intelligence consultant to build a fulfilling career.
What is business management and intelligence?
Business management refers to managing a company’s processes so work can be done more efficiently and the business can gain more profits. It focuses on coordinating and administrating several tasks, resources, and activities so work can get done on time and within scope.
Business intelligence enables organisations to make good decisions and implement better business processes. It collects up-to-date data and analysis it to look at trends and patterns and recommend effective growth strategies.
Thus, business intelligence directly impacts what processes the company should follow and how teams must be managed to achieve results.
Discover the different career paths of business intelligence.
Top 8 business management skills leaders need
Although it may look different from company to company, business intelligence professions need management skills. This way, they are more likely to advance to leadership roles later in their careers. Here is a list of the top management skills they need.
1. Problem-solving
The main task of business intelligence (BI) professionals is to analyse data. During their data analysis, they need to determine potential issues that may occur in the future and work on plans to solve these problems.
This means they need excellent problem-solving abilities to produce appropriate business strategies to enhance the company’s future profitability and performance.
2. Communication
Determining and describing what a particular data set means to a specific company department and how it will affect its processes is fundamental to business intelligence.
Business intelligence analysts need to know how to effectively communicate their findings to less technical people so they can understand and start working on the solution.
Furthermore, having excellent communication skills could help the business intelligence professional advance to managerial positions in the future. In fact, News 24 lists communication as one of the top five skills every South African manager needs.
3. Attention to detail
By its nature, business intelligence is highly detail orientated. BI professionals often need to work with tiny fragments of information and turn them into actionable insights.
They should be able to pick out the most significant parts of what may seem inconsequential to others. They must also find connections between data and information others may not see.
4. Critical thinking
As a BI professional, you need to be able to ask the right questions, gather the most relevant information, and think through solutions. You need to think critically and consider alternative systems to develop the best possible action plan.
For this, you should be open-minded and look at different perspectives to devise unique ways to solve the problem.
5. Data analytics
Interpreting data is the number one responsibility of business intelligence. To achieve this, analysts must understand what the data means and why it matters to the business.
As a business analyst, you may analyse data from various sources and origins. You will need analysis skills to interpret the data effectively and within a relatively short time.
Your analysis skills will especially be helpful when you need to identify and interpret complex company data.
6. Data management
Linking to the previous skill, you also need to know about the entire data management process to coordinate the data effectively.
This includes how to identify, collect, interpret, store, and manipulate the data from multiple sources in a way that is not only easy to understand but also accurate and secure.
7. Technical skills
Business intelligence is a highly technical business industry. Using technology and knowing how to manage it will help you go through the process faster.
This does not mean that you need to know all the tools and software on the market, but having a good understanding of how to use these technologies can be a plus and work to your advantage. This includes basic knowledge of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and more.
8. Time management
The business world is extremely fast-paced. Therefore, all business professionals need good time management and organisational skills to complete the work on time.
Being smart with your time will help you get work done faster and allow you to make better decisions that benefit the company.
As a result, the company you work for will see you as a valued team member and could even appoint you to higher-level roles.
How to become a business intelligence consultant
Your first step to becoming a BI consultant is to earn an undergraduate bachelor’s degree.
Since business intelligence is data-driven, you can study for a bachelor’s degree in several fields, including business administration, systems technology, data science, or economics.
Note that a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration opens the door to many additional business careers.
Next, you must apply for an internship or entry-level position to gain relevant experience. This can happen after you have finished your studies or while studying (if the school offers distance learning options).
REGENT offers distance learning options so you can study while working.
Then, after you have gained adequate experience, you can advance your business career to achieve higher-level positions and more income potential.
Study a Bachelor’s of Business Administration with REGENT
Does a career in business intelligence sound exciting and like a good fit for you?
Learn more about how you can get into the lucrative world of business management and intelligence with our Bachelor of Business Administration.
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