Business analytics is no longer a priority for tech companies alone. In 2022, McKinsey estimated that it could create approximately $1.2 trillion a year in value for government entities. A recent EY study found that 93% of companies said they plan to increase investments in the area of data and analytics.
“People realize that’s the way the world is going,” says Daniel Guetta, an associate professor and director of the Business Analytics Initiative at Columbia Business School—and if professionals want to succeed in their jobs, they need to have at least a basic comprehension of how data functions and how it can be leveraged in decision-making.
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With demand for this expertise growing across sectors and the technology surrounding it becoming more convoluted every day, there’s incredible value in having a degree in business analytics. Companies are also paying top dollar for this expertise, with Glassdoor reporting that business analysts with MBAs make, on average, around $104,000 annually.
Here’s what an MBA in business analytics entails and why it might be worth considering.
What is big data, and how does it relate to business analytics?
Business analytics is the use of technical tools and frameworks to mine data for insights that can drive value for an organization. Guetta likes to think of the field as a spectrum.
On one end, you have data analytics, data science, and business intelligence, which, while highly dependent on the company and context, generally involve collecting, storing, and then sorting through data to make informed decisions around marketing, sales, operations, or other areas of the business. “I have a big data set—it’s too big for Excel, or maybe it’s not too big for Excel, but it’s kind of complex—and I just want to ask very simple questions out of it,” Guetta says.
Conversely, you might have more complex concepts like predictive analytics and machine learning that focus less on comprehending the present and more on forecasting and preempting what’s to come. “All points in that spectrum are incredibly useful, incredibly important in different ways,” he adds.
Big data—a large, diverse data set that’s often difficult to process with simple computational tools—plays a role in many of these categories, particularly in emerging tech like AI, which can’t operate without a complicated array of inputs.
Is a business analytics concentration truly worth it?
While some analytics skills can be taught on the job, a more formal education will give you the credibility and confidence to incorporate data into your workflows. And it’s not just for those who are good at math and engineers: “I cannot think of someone today in 2024 who can’t at least benefit in some way from knowing a little bit about coding,” Guetta says, adding that his students range from aspiring product managers to venture capitalists.
“I can think of at least three or four students in the last two years who work in museums who’ve decided they wanted to take this class and just understand how this works and what’s happening and where it’s going.”
Peter Fader, a professor of marketing at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania who’s taught the topic for more than three decades, agrees that anyone could benefit from an MBA in business analytics. “You’ve been in an organization, two, or three, and realized all the dysfunction and opportunity to improve—a well-taken MBA can be immensely helpful,” he says.
A master’s in business analytics vs. an MBA in business analytics: What’s the difference?
Specializations like business analytics used to really only be reserved for master’s or PhD programs. However, business schools are beginning to recognize that they must incorporate data and engineering concepts into their curriculum if they want their students to be competitive in today’s job market.
The difference between a master’s in business analytics and an MBA in business analytics comes down to what’s taught and how deep the lesson plans go. “The MS programs, depending on where and how they’re taught, are going to be a whole level way beyond the analytics courses we see in the MBA,” Fader says.
In a business analytics MBA program, you might take some courses on statistics, data analysis, and emerging tech like AI, but you’ll also spend as much time, if not more, on business foundations such as accounting, people management, and supply chain. An MS in business analytics, meanwhile, may include classes where you get really technical and mathematical.
At Columbia Business School, Guetta says, the business analytics specialty can be broken into three buckets. The first is fundamentals, where you learn about “what’s going on under the hood” of specific technologies and ideas. The second is tools, where you know how to deploy software and programming languages like SQL. And the third is applications, where you’re taught to apply business analytics knowledge and tools to marketing, real estate, sports, and other areas.
Master’s degrees also tend to be a better fit for recent college graduates or young professionals, while an MBA may make more sense for someone who’s already fairly established in their career and/or is looking to make a major switch. “Most MBA programs are going to require a few years of experience after your undergrad,” Guetta adds.
Another option is a dual MS/MBA, which Columbia, along with other legacy institutions like Harvard and Emory, offer. “You get the best of all worlds—you get the very rigorous engineering training, and you also get the MBA training,” Guetta says.
Business analytics MBA programs
If an MBA in business analytics is piquing your interest, consider the following (not at all exhaustive) list of institutions with in-person, virtual, and/or hybrid offerings. Note, too, that some business schools call it a master’s instead of an MBA, while others provide concentrations and certifications in business analytics through their MBA programs.
The takeaway
Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a finance professional, or a nonprofit worker, having a business analytics background can help you make smart, data-informed choices for your company or team. It will not only make you an easily marketable candidate for job openings or promotions, but it will ensure you’re staying on top of the latest innovations and tech. An MBA program is an ideal place for those who want to mix business acumen with engineering, while a master’s degree will help you further hone your technical skill set.
Whatever route you decide, Fader recommends researching and asking around about a school’s job placement success rates and services. “Having that kind of transparency and putting the conversation in the hands of the students and alums themselves—and not letting the institution filter it—would be really, really helpful,” he says.
Guetta suggests finding an MBA cohort that provides a broad range of business analytics courses or even partners closely with an engineering school. Lastly, exercise muscles that help you learn quickly. Business analytics, he says, has “changed unrecognizably in the last two, three years, and it’s going to change unrecognizably in the next two, three years. The ability to pick up things as they’re thrown at you, to pick up new topics, to pick up new trends, is going to be invaluable in the field.”
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