{"id":4895,"date":"2023-07-27T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-27T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theforage.wpengine.com\/?p=4895"},"modified":"2024-08-05T16:50:50","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T20:50:50","slug":"business-analyst-vs-data-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theforage.wpengine.com\/careers\/business-analyst-vs-data-analyst","title":{"rendered":"Business Analyst vs. Data Analyst: What’s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What’s the difference between a business analyst vs. data analyst? In some organizations, these roles are interchangeable. However, business analysts<\/a> generally take a more comprehensive role, bridging the gap between data analysis and a business’s goals. On the other hand, data analysts<\/a> typically focus on digging through vast amounts of data and providing insights for a company to use in decision-making<\/a>. For instance, a data analyst often handles in-depth data analysis, and a business analyst applies their findings to the business as a whole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Business Analysts?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Business analysts work at the intersection of information technology (IT) and business, empowering companies to make and implement data-driven decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day-to-day for a business analyst involves trying to “understand business needs [and] identifying opportunities for improvements in processes and operations,” says Dave Savio, data scientist<\/a>, machine learning engineer, and founder of Artifactory.ai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A business analyst must be able to analyze large sets of data and communicate their findings effectively to key stakeholders to drive these insights and decisions. At the same time, they need to ensure that any solutions created align with the larger business goals and strategies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are Data Analysts?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Data analysts have a broad profession \u2014 some focus on finding business solutions in data, while others may work on verifying the quality of data. Regardless of the specific role, data analysts must be able to sort, clean, and analyze data effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the data, a data analyst needs to be able “to identify trends, patterns, or insights,” says Savio. “Their goal is to translate data into actionable information.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some day-to-day responsibilities of a data analyst may include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n