Business Analytics and Intelligence

Module 1
Syllabus

INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS ANALYTICS: What are business

analytics? Historical Overview of data analysis, Data Scientist vs. Data
Engineer vs. Business Analyst, Career in Business Analytics.
Opening Case
Most of us have likely been to a zoo, seen the animals, had something to eat, and bought some souvenirs.
You probably wouldn't think that managing a zoo is very difficult; after all, i's just feeding and taking care
of the animals, right? A zoo might be the last place that you would expect to find business analytics being
used, but not anymore. The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden has been an "early adopter and one of the
first organizations of its kind to exploit business analytics.! Despite generating more than two-thirds of its
budget through its own fundraising efforts, the zoo wanted to reduce its reliance on local tax subsidies
even further by increasing visitor attendance and revenues from secondary sources such as membership,
food, and retail outlets.
The zoo's senior management surmised that the best way to realize more value from each visit was to offer
visitors a truly transformed customer experience. By using business analytics to gain greater insight into
visitors' behaviour and tailoring operations to their preferences, the zoo expected to increase attendance,
boost membership, and maximize sales. The project team —which consisted of consultants from IBM and
Brightstar Partners, as well as senior executives from the zoo— began translating the organization's goals
into technical solutions. The zoo worked to create a business analytics platform that was capable of
delivering the desired goals by combining data from ticketing and point-of-sale systems throughout the
zoo with membership information and geographical data gathered from the ZIP codes of all visitors. This
enabled the creation of reports and dashboards that gave everyone from senior managers to zoo staff
access to real-time information that helped them optimize operational management and transform the
customer experience. By integrating weather forecast data, the zoo is now able to compare current
forecasts with historic attendance and sales data, supporting better decision making for labour scheduling
and inventory planning. Another area where the solution delivers new insight is food service. By opening
food outlets at specific times of day when demand is highest (for example, keeping ice cream kiosks open
in the final hour before the zoo closes), the zoo has been able to increase sales significantly.
In addition, attendance and revenues have dramatically increased, resulting in annual return on investment
of 411%. The business analytics initiative paid for itself within three months and delivers, on average,
benefits of $738,212 per year. Specially
• The zoo has seen a 4.2% rise in ticket sales by targeting potential visitors who live in specific ZIP codes.
• Food revenues increased 25% by optimizing the mix of products n sale and adapting selling practices to
match peak purchase times.
• Eliminating slow-selling products and targeting visitors with specific promotions enabled an 18%
increase in merchandise sales.
• The zoo was able to cut its marketing expenditure, saving $40,000 in the first year, and reduce
advertising expenditure by 43% by eliminating ineffective campaigns and segmenting customers for
more targeted marketing.
Because of the zoo’s success, other organizations such as Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma,
Washington, and History Colorado Center, a museum in Denver, have embarked on similar initiatives. 12
Introduction
• Business analytics or analytics is the use of data, information technology,
statistical analysis, quantitative methods, and mathematical or computer-based
models to help managers gain improved insight about their business operations
and make better, fact-based decisions.

• Business analytics is “a process of transforming data into actions through analysis

and insights in the context of organizational decision making and problem
solving”.

• Examples: leading banks use analytics to predict and prevent credit fraud.
Manufacturers use analytics for production planning, purchasing, and inventory
management. Retailers use analytics to recommend products to customers and
optimise marketing promotions.
Data Scientist vs Data Engineer vs Business Analyst
Data Scientist
• Data Scientist is the one who analyses and interprets complex digital data. While
there are several ways to get into a data scientist’s role, the most seamless one is
by acquiring enough experience and learning the various data scientist skills.

• A data scientist develops and implements data-driven solutions to overcome

business challenges.

• These skills include advanced statistical analyses, a complete understanding of

machine learning, data conditioning etc. Transform raw data into actionable
insights.
Data Scientist

• Data scientists need to have mastery over programming languages like Java,
Python, SQL, R, SAS, to name a few. Additionally, one needs a working
knowledge of Big Data frameworks like Hadoop, Spark, and Pig.

• Understanding the basics of technologies such as Deep learning, Machine

learning, and one can also propel their career in this role.
Responsibilities of a Data Scientist

The responsibilities one has to shoulder as a data scientist includes:

• Manage, mine, and clean unstructured data to prepare it for practical use.
• Develop models that can operate on Big Data
• Understand and interpret Big Data analysis
• Take charge of the data team and help them towards their respective goals
• Deliver results that have an impact on business outcomes

Data scientists are highly in demand at companies like Facebook, Citibank, Intel,
Amazon, Schneider, S&P Global, Moody’s.
Skill set of a data scientist
Data Engineer

• Data engineers build and optimise the tools, platforms and other IT infrastructures
that data analysts and scientists use to perform their work. They use their software
engineering, programming, product development, networking and cloud
computing skills to build and manage data warehouses, pipelines and data lakes.

• Every company requires accurate and accessible data sets. Data engineers ensure
the appropriate storage, transformation and accessibility of all data. They also
ensure that stored data is secure and compliant with regulations.

• A data engineer builds and maintains the data infrastructure other data team
members use to perform various tasks.
Responsibilities of a Data Engineer
• Data Mining for getting insights from data
• Conversion of erroneous data into a useable form for data analysis
• Writing queries on data
• Maintenance of the data design and architecture
• Develop large data warehouses with the help of extract transform load (ETL)

Data engineer can get hired from major companies such as Google, Apple,
Cognizant, Spotify, Microsoft, AT&T, CISCO, and FLOWCAST, to name a few, as
well as product companies like Intel and Amazon.
Business Analyst

• The job of a business analyst is a less technical. It is an entry-level role, and one
need to have an understanding of tools such as SAS Miner, Microsoft Excel,
SPSS, and SSAS. If anyone has a basic knowledge of Python, SQL, R, SAS, and
JavaScript, it would be a plus point.
Responsibilities of a business analyst
• Collecting information from a database with the help of query
• Enable data processing and summarize results
• Use basic algorithms in their work like logistic regression, linear regression and so
on.
• Possess and display deep expertise in data munging, data visualization,
exploratory data analysis and statistics
Business Analyst

• As a data analyst, one can get into entry-level roles at companies like Infosys,
24/7, Oracle, Southwest, Walmart, VISA, Capital One, Credit Suisse, etc.
Data Scientist vs Data Engineer vs Business Analyst

Data Scientist Data Engineer Business Analyst

Responsible for developing Develop, test & maintain Pre-processing and data gathering
Operational Models architectures
Carry out data analytics and Understand programming and its Emphasis on representing data via
optimization using machine learning complexity reporting and visualization
& deep learning
Involved in strategic planning for Deploy ML & statistical models Responsible for statistical analysis
data analytics & data interpretation
Integrate data & perform ad-hoc Building pipelines for various ETL Ensures data acquisition &
analysis operations maintenance
Fill in the gap between the Ensures data accuracy and Optimize Statistical Efficiency &
stakeholders and customer flexibility Quality
Career in Business Analytics
The career options in business analytics are as follows
Business development manager
• The typical job description of a business development manager includes assisting with
and identifying growth opportunities for companies, both in terms of revenue and brand
recognition. It’s crucial for business development managers to have a comprehensive
understanding of market trends, foundational drivers of the organization, as well as
competitors within the appropriate industry.
Business systems analyst
• A business systems analyst oversees and inspects a company’s overall business systems
by compiling data and determining opportunities for growth and improvements. This role
works closely with end users and management to gain a better understanding of a
company’s database and how it could be used more efficiently. Within this information
technology job, experience with software and hardware is valued.
Career in Business Analytics
Data architect
• The responsibilities of a data architect typically include building and managing an
organization’s database. This role can involve visualization and design solutions,
as well as securing database solutions, preparing data reports, and evaluating
management framework. The duties of a data architect are largely centered around
applied math and statistics.
Statistician
• For statisticians, some of the primary duties of the role include collecting and
organizing data by creating surveys, questionnaires, and opinion polls. From there,
a statistician dissects the information on an analytical level and draws conclusions
based off of the data collected.
Career in Business Analytics
Application architect
• Businesses rely on application architects to obtain and manage documentation regarding
application design processes, software architecture, testing guidelines, and integration.
Within this role, it’s essential to have a complete understanding of the whole system,
including the interactions between abstract components, limitations, and coding
requirements.
Market research analyst
• A marketing research analyst is responsible for studying trends and market conditions and
then analyzing data on competitors and, most importantly, consumers. A background in
analytics is sought within this role because the information collected helps businesses
recognize which products and services people are looking for and what price they are
willing to pay for it.