DISTINGUISH BETWEEN IT BUSINESS ANALYST AND NON - IT BUSINESS ANALYST?
1. What is an IT Business Analyst?
An IT Business Analyst can be roughly translated as a software and communications business analyst. This role serves as a bridge between IT and business management models.
Specifically, professionals in this role analyze business requirements using technical skills and propose solutions from a deep technology perspective. The goal is to use IT expertise to solve business problems, thereby increasing efficiency and boosting competitive advantages.
The IT BA's job also involves collaborating with internal teams, clients, and partners to find the most optimal direction. Encouragement is given for new business models or reforms in processes/systems/policies.
Therefore, those responsible for this role are not simply technical people; they also need to be creative and innovative.
2. What is a Non-IT Business Analyst?
A Non-IT Business Analyst, or simply BA, is also known as a business analyst. The role was created to help businesses effectively utilize data sources, converting them into valuable chains for the organization.
This position acts as a "filter" for data, making more reasonable and accurate decisions. Hence, these professionals need a parallel understanding of both technical and business expertise.
This helps guide changes in processes, improve products, upgrade services, etc., thanks to data interpretation skills.
In addition to professional capabilities, BAs are also required to have presentation and communication skills, as they have to present and explain their analyses and proposals to leadership, investors, partners, and various departments.
Convincing people to understand and agree with initiatives is also a challenge for them.
3. Difference between IT BA and Non-IT BA?
Career Focus
The easiest way to distinguish these two roles is by their titles. While IT BAs focus on technical aspects, Non-IT BAs look at things from a business perspective.
Scope of Work
To maximize their professional capabilities, IT Business Analysts mainly handle projects related to information technology and are often employed by software companies. Non-IT BAs have a more diverse scope, such as business process analysis, opportunity forecasting, and business strategy proposal.
Job Objective
IT professionals, with their strong technical mindset, are usually required to improve systems, products, or services.
On the other hand, BAs are expected to help leadership expand and improve business activities, unrestricted by domain.
4. Required Skill Sets for IT BA and Non-IT BA
With different focal points, the skill requirements for each profession also differ.
4.1. Skills for IT Business Analyst
- Excel, PowerPoint
- Data analysis tools
- Data modeling
- Framework and template tools
- Software development, debugging
- Writing queries, data modeling skills, sequence diagrams...
- Communication skills, presentation, persuasion
In parallel with that are soft skills – also a factor that helps you enhance your competitiveness in recruitment or promotion:
- Communication skills
- Presentation skills
- Persuasion abilities
4.2. Skills Required for a Business Analyst
Technical skills may not be heavily emphasized for the BA position. However, some important specialized skills still need to be present:
- Gathering and processing information
- Reading and analyzing data
- Presenting and reporting
- Understanding how to use core tools and software
In the current job market, there are also many business analysts with a strong technology background. At this point, what they need to focus on leans more towards the business side and the organization's development:
- Negotiation, dialogue, and debating skills
- Analytical and problem-solving mindset
- Business structure
- Analyzing stakeholders such as customers, investment, costs, etc.
- Building, maintaining, and growing relationships
