How to Become a Business Intelligence Analyst in Nigeria

Do you aspire to become a business intelligence analyst in the Nigerian business world and seek insights into the expectations of the role? If yes, then this piece holds valuable information for you.

A business intelligence analyst is tasked with analyzing diverse data to assist business owners, stakeholders, and managers in making well-informed decisions. The contribution of a BI analyst to the success and overall performance of a business is highly significant and should not be underestimated.

The purpose of this article is to guide you through what it takes to become a business intelligence analyst. You’ll find the steps you’ll need to take, the skills you must have, and your job description when you become one. All you’ll need to do is learn them.

So, are you ready to access the knowledge you need to succeed in your career? I guess you are, so let’s get started immediately.

Who is a Business Intelligence Analyst?

A business intelligence analyst specializes in using the analytical tools and methodologies available to analyse relatively large data sets, extracting only the needed information from them. Business owners then use the results obtained from the analysis to make informed decisions that will improve the performance of their businesses.

Steps to Becoming a Business Intelligence Analyst

There are steps you can follow to become a business intelligence analyst. These steps are crucial to the actualization of your goal. Let’s consider the following six steps:

1. Obtain a bachelor’s degree

So, the first thing you need to get to become a business intelligence analyst is a bachelor’s degree. This could be in business administration, information science, computer science, mathematics, economics, statistics, or any other related field. A degree in any of the aforementioned fields will serve as a solid foundation for you and aid your performance as a business intelligence analyst.

2. Develop technical skills

You need to be familiar with business intelligence tools. These could be data visualization and data mining tools needed to perform well in your role. Examples of these software programs include Power BI, Tableau, Python, SAS, etc. Becoming proficient in software like this will prepare you for the role you seek or are currently in. 

Read Also: Top 6 Business Intelligence Software

3. Obtain professional certifications

There are different professional certification bodies for business intelligence and data analysis that you can explore. These certification bodies include IBM-certified data analysts, Azure data scientist associates, and Tableau desktop specialists. They can help validate your abilities and improve your credibility in the field. 

4. Gain practical experience

You’ll need to look for avenues through which you can gain practical experience in business intelligence and data analysis. This is to further strengthen any knowledge you may have in that area and find application to a real-life scenario. You can obtain practical experience through an internship training program or a personal project. Engaging in these channels to further strengthen your abilities is crucial to becoming a BI analyst.

5. Pursue advanced degrees

Although not mandatory, you can still pursue advanced degrees such as a master’s in business analytics, data analysis, or any other related field. Bagging a master’s degree offers access to more business intelligence and data analysis knowledge, which can open you up to opportunities to advance your career further.

6. Seek a business intelligence analyst position

So, after you’ve gained knowledge in business intelligence analysis, you should begin searching for places where you can apply such knowledge. This means applying for BI analyst positions at any company that’s interested in your services. This will allow you to always practice what you know and offer value to those who seek your expertise.

These steps may not be followed exactly as written above, because different individuals may desire to pursue advanced degrees before seeking to gain practical experience, and vice versa. So, it’s best to pick what works for you. 

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Essential Skills Needed by a Business Intelligence Analyst

it is essential to have a combination of hard and soft skills to excel as a business intelligence analyst. These skills enable effective data analysis, communication, problem-solving, and organizational abilities. Furthermore, being detail-oriented and possessing strong presentation and time-management skills are crucial.

1. Data collection and integration

As a BI analyst, one of your duties is collecting and integrating data. Data collection for your analysis could be from databases, external sources, or data warehouses that you can extract, transform, and load (ETL). This data has to go through the ETL process before it can be deemed usable for successful analysis.

2. Proficiency with data analysis tools

As a BI analyst, you must be proficient with data analysis tools. You should be knowledgeable of business intelligence platforms like Tableau, Power BI, or QlikView and in programming languages like Python and SQL.

3. Data analysis and visualisation

Collected data that has gone through the ETL process has to be analyzed. Your job is to use different methods of analysis that suit the particular data you’re trying to analyze. The results of your analysis should have a visual representation so that they can be easily understood and make sense to anyone who looks at them. Such visual representations include different charts and graphs. 

4. Developing reports and interactive dashboards

Being a BI analyst means you create reports and interactive dashboards that’ll give stakeholders useful business insights and help them make intelligent decisions. You’ll also have to be proficient in using business intelligence technologies to help you develop those reports.

5. Data quality assurance

It’s your job and responsibility to ensure that the data you’ll use for analysis is credible, reliable, accurate, and complete. You’re to validate the quality of the data so it doesn’t affect the analysis and the results obtained. You need to offer a level of assurance to your stakeholders about the data you will analyse.

6. Communication and collaboration

When it comes to communication and collaboration, you’re expected to be great at them. This is because you’ll need to always communicate difficult terms in a simple way that your stakeholders can easily understand. Also, you’ll need to collaborate with stakeholders, business managers, and IT personnel at one point or another to know what they want and offer them useful insights.

7. Business review and recommendation

It is also your job to make reviews on the performance of a business based on the analysis you’ve carried out. Through the analysis, you can pinpoint areas that will need improvements. From there, you can advise on business insights and recommendations for improving the company’s performance.

Additional skills that are beneficial for a business intelligence analyst include:

• Leadership
• Critical thinking
• Great at working within a large and diverse workforce
• Ability to collaborate and brainstorm with your team members
• Competence in data mining and analytics techniques
• Knowledge of database design principles
• Problem-solving 

Job Description of a BI Analyst

The job description of a BI analyst is quite comprehensive but also dependent on the directives of the employer. Although there might be slight changes in what is expected from a BI analyst, there are common roles they play in a corporation.

From analyzing large data sets to interpreting the information and properly communicating the results to stakeholders who need them to make crucial decisions for their businesses, these are just a few. The essential skills you need will be mentioned in the job description.

Conclusion

The specific role of a business intelligence analyst within a company is closely tied to the company’s requirements and the data that needs to be analysed to obtain meaningful results. The outcomes derived from the analysis should be visually appealing, ensuring that even individuals without extensive knowledge in the field can easily comprehend them.

Consistency, perseverance, and a commitment to continuous learning are key factors in achieving excellence in business intelligence analysis.

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Edited by Emmanuel Odebiyi

About Author

Ominigbo Ovie Jeffery

I am an enthusiastic content and creative writer. I harness opportunities to make fact-based, fictional and SEO-enhanced creative content that are captivating, interesting and worthwhile.

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