As Big Data gets bigger, demand is soaring for professionals with business analytic skills.
According to Statista, the total amount of data consumed around the globe is expected to more than double in the next five years, from 79 zettabytes in 2021 to more than 180 zettabytes in 2025. That’s zettabytes – as in 180 trillion gigabytes.
In an era when Big Data is getting, well, much much bigger, demand is soaring for professionals who can make sense of all that information while applying insights to increasingly complex business problems. GMAC reports that 62% of corporate recruiters plan to hire MSBA graduates in 2021, up from 47% in 2020.
Business schools are responding to the market demand. The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University announced a new full-time Master’s of Science in Business Analytics just this month while Michigan Ross announced its new MSBA in August. They’re the latest B-schools to join the wave of top business schools that have embraced business analytics in recent years.
But not every professional has the time, resources or desire for a full-on degree in business analytics. That is why Code Spaces compiled its Top 10 Business Analytics Online Certifications, Courses and Trainings in 2021. The courses were selected by industry experts and were designed by top business schools and companies. (Code Spaces is a platform helping connect online learners with courses, certifications and tutorials in business, development, design, information technology and more.)
The round-up below highlights the six courses from Code Spaces list that were developed by business schools and are taught by their faculties. Courses are offered through the online education platforms of Coursera.org or edX.org.
WHARTON SCHOOL
- Course: Business Analytics Specialization
- Offered through: Coursera.org, an online platform offering courses designed by top universities and companies
- Level: Beginner
- Duration: 20 weeks with 2 to 5 hours of coursework per week
How are business decisions made using big data? In Wharton’s Business Analytics Specialization, students will learn how to analyze and explain data insights for a variety of business challenges. A final capstone project allows students to apply what they’ve learned to a real-world data set.
“This Specialization provides an introduction to big data analytics for all business professionals, including those with no prior analytics experience. You’ll learn how data analysts describe, predict, and inform business decisions in the specific areas of marketing, human resources, finance, and operations, and you’ll develop basic data literacy and an analytic mindset that will help you make strategic decisions based on data,” reads the Coursera description.
The specialization includes five courses:
- Customer analytics
- Operations analytics
- People analytics
- Accounting analytics
- Business analytics capstone
DUKE UNIVERSITY
- Course: Excel to MySQL: Analytic Techniques for Business Specialization
- Offered through: Coursera.org
- Level: Beginner
- Duration: 5 courses (4 to 6 weeks each) with 3 to 5 hours of coursework per week
How do you formulate relevant data questions to inform strategic decisions? Duke’s specialization teaches students frame their business challenges as data questions to produce data-driven solutions. A capstone project designed around optimizing revenue from Airbnb residential properties asks students to explore and justify improvements to Airbnb processes.
“You’ll use powerful tools and methods such as Excel, Tableau, and MySQL to analyze data, create forecasts and models, design visualizations, and communicate your insights,” reads the Coursera description.
The specialization include five classes:
- Business metrics for data-driven companies
- Mastering data analysis in Excel
- Data visualization and communication with Tableau
- Managing big data with MySQL
- Increasing real estate management profits: harnessing data analytics
