Today’s business leaders have more data than they know what to do with, which creates the opportunity to gain an advantage over their competitors. Now that artificial intelligence has made it easier to gain real-time insights from data, many companies are just missing one thing: qualified data analytics professionals who can dig through this data and uncover insights.
For rising graduates with a passion for data, obtaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) can help position you perfectly to fill this void in the job market. Programs like the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) online MBA with a Business Analytics Specialization program teach students cutting-edge techniques in AI and data analytics, putting graduates on a fast track for career advancement. Explore how today’s business professionals harness real-time data analytics to improve business decision-making.
Introduction to Real-time Analytics
Real-time business analytics uses advanced technology — like artificial intelligence — to gather, process and analyze data as it’s generated. This process provides companies with instant insights that can be used to make better decisions.
Historically, most companies analyzed data from previous periods to help fuel decision-making. For example, a company might look at sales data from the previous year to anticipate consumer demand for the same period this upcoming year. If sales were slow last summer, then the company might ramp down production leading into next summer. However, this strategy has two main issues:
- The data is old, so the insights do not respond to current trends.
- It can take a long time to gather these reports.
Comparatively, real-time analytics offers a continuous flow of data that lets companies react quickly to economic, market or customer changes. Companies no longer have to wait for weeks or months before digging into historical data. Instead, today’s leaders can leverage the data that flows into their company daily. This widespread use of real-time analytics is changing how many companies make decisions.
How Can Real-time Data Analytics Drive Agile Decision-Making and Strategy?
Many modern companies aspire to be data-forward and empower their employees to make better decisions using both internal and external data sources. To achieve this, Tableau suggests that companies employ a six-step process:
- Identify business goals.
- Survey business teams for key sources of data.
- Collect and prepare the necessary data.
- View and explore data.
- Develop insights.
- Act on and share insights.
This six-step process serves as a framework to help virtually any company or department start making data-driven decisions. However, some companies go one step further by monitoring and adapting to changes as quickly as possible. These organizations — known as agile organizations — aim to anticipate and embrace change. Agile organizations often rely heavily on technology as well as an employee culture of rapid learning.
Many organizations aspire to be agile, but few actually achieve it. Tableau’s data shows that 70% of data initiatives fall short because companies invest in technology without creating a data-centric employee culture. In other words, companies have the technology necessary to fuel data-driven decision-making, but they lack data-centric business professionals. For rising graduates, this signals an immense opportunity.
Leverage Real-time Analytics for Business Success With an Online MBA in Business Analytics Degree
The beauty of data-driven decision-making is that it applies to virtually every department. No matter which vertical you end up in — finance, human resources, marketing, etc. — you’ll likely benefit from knowing how to make data-driven decisions. This valuable skill set is why many rising professionals obtain an MBA before entering the workforce. An MBA prepares students for a management path by helping them learn to make complex business decisions.
For those looking to specialize in analytics, programs like SIUE’s online MBA in Business Analytics offer a great solution. Students in this program will learn the insights necessary to thrive in business while also obtaining skills that prepare them for data-centric roles like business analytics manager, customer insights analyst or management analyst.
In SIUE’s program, students learn about solving high-level business problems, strategic management and current strategies for making data-driven decisions. Students can complete this degree in as few as 12 months.
Learn more about Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s online Master of Business Administration with a Business Analytics Specialization program.
