There is a growing demand for business analysts in the IT industry. The business works in close liaison with the IT Company; the latter is trained to cater to the needs of the business. The key role of a business analyst is to act as a mediator between the business needs and the IT resources to enhance the efficiency and productivity of the business. A Business Analyst Certification, also known as the Certification of Capability in Business Analysis (CCBA), is a formal recognition conferred by the International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA) to professionals who possess the requisite skills and expertise to be recognized as a business analyst.

Need for business analysts in the IT sector

With the rapidly changing market and cut-throat competition, modern industries and organizations are adopting core business practices to sustain their profitability and marketability. In such a scenario, the requirement of a business analyst has emerged as the need of the hour. A business analyst determines the requirements of the project and communicates it to the stakeholders, partners, and facilitators, thus aiding the business in economically executing technology solutions. In the IT sector, a business analyst belongs to the product development team and is responsible for analyzing the business domain, documenting its systems and processes, outlining the needs of the business, and matching the software being built with a software business model. There are three main reasons why companies need and hire business analysts:

1. Business analysts play a vital role in communicating the intricacies of a business project to the technical staff and make sure that the staff across all departments of the organization understands the importance of the project being implemented.
2. As the world is moving towards complete digital transformation, the corporate world is not spared. Business analysts make the process of digital transformation simpler by serving as a crucial link between developers and clients.
3. Business analysts serve as practitioners of change management to ensure that the staff understands and adopts the changes that come with implementing a project.

What is a business analyst?

Before we understand the importance of a Business Analyst Certification, let us address the most pertinent question – who exactly is a business analyst? Well, the primary role of a business analyst is to bridge the gap between the stakeholders of a business and the IT sector. Business analysts take the help of data analytics to evaluate processes, ascertain business requirements, and deliver data-backed reports and guidance to the stakeholders and executives. Based on data, business analysts determine how alterations to methods, software, hardware, products, and services can bring about improvement and efficiency while maintaining the technological, financial, and functional feasibility of the changes. Whether it is dealing with evolving technologies, crumbling processes, old legacy systems or poor user satisfaction, the duties of a business analyst varies with the issues faced by the organization. A business analyst has a strong understanding of how to identify business problems and solutions as well as expertise in budgeting, forecasting, monitoring, planning, and reporting. Business analysis has four levels:

• Strategic planning – this includes an assessment of the vital activities of the organization.
• Business/operation model analysis – this includes the identification and evaluation of the business policies and procedures of the organization.
• Process definition and design – this includes modeling of the business process.
• IT and technology business analysis – this level constitutes the needs and rules of technical systems in the IT field.

Roles and responsibilities of a business analyst

A Business Analyst Certification entails that you are aware of the many hats that a business analyst wears. The various roles and responsibilities of a business analyst are part of the core business of the company, and a business analyst must ensure the successful working of the core business processes. Also, a business analyst ensures that the processes are organized in such a way that they can be modified and applied to all parts of the company. He/she determines the functional efficiency of the current processes and the faults that need to be fixed and avoided in the future. The several roles of a business analyst have been listed below:

• Engaged in modifying and designing business or IT systems.
• Collaborates with the business to recognize and identify the scope of improvement in business processes and operations.
• Understands the problems and requirements of the business stakeholders through close interaction.
• Responsible for gathering and analysis of documents related to business needs and requirements.
• Providing technical solutions to business problems.
• Documenting the technical and functional design of the system.
• Works in close association with developers and system architects to ensure proper implementation of the system.

Need to get certified and take up a course

Business analysis is an emerging discipline in IT. IIBA, IQBBA, IREB, and PMI are some of the organizations that offer Business Analyst Certification programs that can recognize your skills as a business analyst. Some of the advantages of obtaining this certification include:

· A formal recognition from IIBA or a reputed global body

· Knowledge of the principles and practices of business analysis

· Better career opportunities and job satisfaction

· Certified business analysts draw around 16% more salary than non-certified professionals

· An excellent opportunity for individuals who want to shift into management from the technical field

· Candidates gain a broader perspective on business analysis that will help them to solve practical business issues

· Obtaining a business analyst professional certification demands long hours of preparation, practice, and tests. Thus, while hiring companies know that certified business analysts have invested sufficient time and effort into getting certified and are capable of undertaking challenging projects.

· Tests and practices included in the course curriculum provide conceptual clarity to the candidates for effortless application at their workplace.

All in all, certified business analysts have a definite competitive edge over their non-certified counterparts.

Summary

A recognized certification is an authentic assessment of one's capabilities and is a significant head start towards landing a job in the field of business analysis.