We are becoming more and more aware of the vast amounts of data created, stored and commoditized by us and about us as individuals going about our daily lives. Consider, then, the truly astonishing volumes of data generated by business, and there is no doubt that we live in a world of Big Data.
Data can be manipulated to create impactful business imagery. And data can tell stories by way of meaningful analysis and assessments to aid business decision-making. As always, though, the devil is in the details. Knowing where to look and what to parse is essential – understanding how to manipulate data, interpret it, present it, draw meaningful conclusions from it – now, that’s the trick.
More a skill, actually.
According to one report, between 60% and 73% of all data produced by an enterprise is untapped for analysis. To make better use of so valuable a company resource, firms are increasingly turning to the skill sets of business analysts to derive actionable insights from these vast troves of data.
What is a business analyst? BAs are highly skilled professionals adept at providing expertise, analysis and key insights that help leaders make informed decisions. BAs are expert in understanding and manipulating complex datasets, applying statistical analysis software, data mining tools, query and reporting tools, and data visualization tools to identify patterns and trends and relationships in the data. As a result, they have become key partners to management consultants in service of their advisory clients. At Blue Monarch Management we deliver on that value proposition through the exceptional team of BAs now on staff.
Our BA team brings the expertise to scour through big chunks of data, years of data, to consolidate it and find patterns. The BAs are objective in their assessment of data, applying a more rigorous lens to find trends and metrics and KPIs that reflect the client’s true circumstances and actual needs.
As one of our business analysts remarked, “BAs transform raw data into useful and actionable insights. We can transform numbers into images. But to get to there we first must work with our advisory team to understand the KPIs and metrics that will be meaningful to our clients. On that basis we extract the data and “clean” the data using such tools as PowerBi or Tableau. At all times, we recognize data’s intrinsic (face value and structured) and extrinsic (functionally useful) nature. This duality closely mirrors the business analyst’s approach to the client need vs that of the advisor – and both are required to shape a useful client deliverable.”
In talking about our BA team, Blue Monarch’s CEO Jeff Peterson shared these thoughts: “The introduction of the Business Analyst role was a strategic move for us that goes back to our earliest planning days. The industry of management consulting has shifted such that large companies have brought strategists in-house – a work element that used to be the Consultant’s bread and butter offering. The dimensions of competition on which good strategy is developed have changed as well. To boost the quality, depth, and insight of our strategic advisory work, we had to bolster our ability to conduct research and understand analytics and data. Management Consultants tell stories and use those stories to shape the business transformation narrative. Our BA team brings to our client work real depth and quality. And while its still early, our BAs have begun to strengthen our work in strategy and change by introducing data modeling, advanced analytics, and data visualization to our toolbox.”
Big Data is increasingly becoming Bigger Data, with no end in sight. And while the expertise with the data tools and techniques our BA team brings to client needs is important, it is the interplay between analyst and advisor that delivers the truly exceptional value.
