Career in Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence

Welcome to the world of yet another innovation of the ‘Information

Technology’ spurt; ‘Business Intelligence’ .

‘Business Intelligence’ is a term used to describe information related to the

past , current status and / or future projections of an organisation. It has
become a new face of quick, appropriate and relevant information about
business. More and more organisations are adapting to BI as an indespensible
tool.

Business Intelligence uses technology in form of application and its

implementation for the acquisition, integration ,consolidation, analysis, and
presentation of information related to all aspects of business.Business
Intelligence systems are data-driven . For this purpose BI uses data that has
been gathered into a data warehouse.

Data warehouse is a reservior of stored data of an enterprise in electronic

form. It yields, extraction, analysis, and reporting of information. Data
warehousing has the advantage of applicability to varied industry segments
like sales, manufacturing, finance to name a few. It gives an ease of data
retrieval, transform and enrichment.

Encoraging new enterants into Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing

involves an understanding the position ,its deliverables ,the aptitude required
for the BI environment, and technical skills playing with an the ever
increasing need to have quick and accurate business information . The
adaptation of business to technology and the large pool of young
professionals with varied and enriched domain knowledge create a perfect
picture for Business Intelligence as the new coveted choice of profession.

As business environment operates and grows and amount of data continues

to accumulate organizing it in a useful manner is crucial. This need for BI is a
continuing trend that has created a spectrum of opportunities.

Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing is one of the leading technology

growth areas and also one of the top technological needs for the future.
Business Intelligence as a profession has the advantage of multi disciplinary
expertise. People from various disciplines and domains can find a way into
this new career options. It offers numerous options, including planning,
design, development, deployment, maintenance and support.

Individuals who possess functional knowledge, e.g. in the area of logistics,

finance or manufacturing would be suited for a ‘Business Analyst’ role.
Industry-specific knowledge goes a long way to serve as a ‘Subject Matter
Expert’ understanding the jargon, practical applicability and the environment
that is unique to that particular industry. In addition to subject matter
knowledge, India has a pool of professionals who are also good at verbal and
written communication.

Technically qualified young graduates are a real need of the Business

Intelligence industry as Architects or software specialists. These professionals
have knowledge about Data Warehousing and its relevant software
technology. They work with the business analysts to design and configure
technology to support the information needs of the enterprise. They
collaborate with the other functional experts to implement the software so as
to meet the objectives of the Business Intelligence solution .

Business Intelligence is a dynamic field due to the changes in technology and

business information needs. It requires the professionals to be updated with
the current trends and knowledge. For its very disposition, the industry
requires all professionals to be upfront on the knowledge and technology
front. In this way it offers an ever-increasing growth spree in terms of
individual and professional growth

Business Intelligence is a mainstream IT discipline, allowing most

technologists to fit into this area with some training. So, it ‘the future career
option’ as it adopts people from a variety of backgrounds giving them
advantage of the new age IT spurt and utilising their domain knowledge and
skills for a bigger platform.

A plunge into the career of Business intelligence offers many opportunities in

various areas such as consulting firms, software organisations and also as
free lancers. Business Intelligence as a career has more to offer than stated
above. Remuneration in this field is very promising and satisfying and is on
the high end as compared to roles in a variety of industries

So, opportunities in this field are endless. All that is required is to create
awareness about the roles of various fuctional and professional background
this industry abodes. Information about the area of Business Intelligence can
be passed on by way of academia-industry interface and constant interaction
with the business schools and technical schools.

Initiative needs to come from the Business Intlligence fraternity towards

spreading awareness about the opportunities and primarily about the very
nature of this industry and the enviornment it opearates in. This can be done
through campus drives, pre placement talks and workshops organised in
various colleges and institutes. Another initiative can be in the form of short
term projects involving students on a stipend basis.