Why Business Analysts are a Key Role for Companies Undergoing Digital Transformation

As more organisations reposition, reprioritise and adapt to the new world of work, it’s no surprise that many are looking inward to ensure their competitive advantage and offering is tech-enabled and driven by a data-first culture.

A key role responsible for scaling this output is the Business Analyst (BA) – one of the fastest growing and most desirable job profiles in the UK and globally. The average salary of a BA is between £24-53k and there are over 400,000 in the UK alone. The growth of this role has seen a 2% year-on-year increase, thanks to organisations’ increased digitisation and reliance on data.

As you think about your organisation’s strategic priorities for the future, do you have enough Business Analysts at the ready to amass, digest, and draw meaningful change from a wealth of data? If not, here are five reasons you’re going to need Business Analysts to stay competitive.

1. They’re the bridge between business ideas and business capabilities.

As the main point person between IT and business units, BAs use analytic tools to gather, crunch and interpret data to tell a story. Since they’re often the main communicators between business leaders and more tech-oriented business units, BAs are often leading business change activities and are integral to articulating ideas while satisfying a balance of technological, financial and feasible business capabilities.

2. They’re constantly evolving to keep up and look forward. 

As more companies rely on data to advise on their operations, BAs have to be constantly looking to the horizon and staying agile when confronted with the pace of changing technology, updating legacy systems, and/or finding points of collaboration in siloed or decentralised organisations. Successful BAs come from a diverse background – as the ‘problem-solver’ in many use cases – BAs often have unconventional backgrounds (like odd jobs or vastly different college degrees) and as a result bring wield untraditional critical thinking skills.

3. They have a mix of hard technical skills and soft interpersonal skills.

BAs are trained to have a strong background in the technical aspect of the business, such as creating functional designs, sequence diagrams, process flows and more. However, organisations depend on them for their soft skills as well. On the other end of the spectrum, businesses rely on BAs to analyse, publish and communicate their data reports and trends in a way that’s both comprehensive and comprehensible.

4. Their versatility is key to organisations.

The responsibility of a BA takes many forms – part project manager, stakeholder relationship manager, marketer, UX designer and more – their adaptability and versatility make BAs an invaluable asset to organisations. Whether specifically placed in IT, organisational change, communication functions or otherwise, BAs are a highly flexible role. And thanks to their collaborative nature and responsibility, they add value to any department they operate in.

5. Their ear is always to the ground and they’re always looking forward.

As change-agents in an organisation, BAs are constantly monitoring internal and external influences, such as complex political, environmental, social or technological factors that may impact strategy and business streams of an organisation.

As organisations access more data and analytic tools than ever, Business Analysts are a necessary role to help decipher the future of businesses. Evaluating and solving business challenges is the strong suit of these professionals, which is why we partnered with InfinityGlobal.io to launch Accelerate, an academy programme that develops future-ready talent pipelines.

Together, we’ve identified and trained undiscovered talent whose aptitude for continuous learning and development make them fantastic resources for organisations in the financial or tech sector; moreover, these candidates are ready and hungry to jumpstart the next phase of their professional career.

With Accelerate, organisations on the lookout for amazing talent can engage in socially responsible, meritocratic recruitment to improve their diversity and social mobility agenda when welcoming an Accelerate graduate.

Find out more about our employed consultancy model, Accelerate.