Why an MBA and data analytics go hand in hand

An MBA with a focus on data analytics is a powerful and valuable combination in this era of big data.

According to research, industry spending on data-related costs is set to increase, on average, by nearly 50% by the end of the 2019-21 period, versus 2016-18 (McKinsey Global Data Transformation Survey, 2019). As data efforts ramp up, the demand for managers who are able to establish a data-driven culture is also growing.

Our new Master of Business Administration with a specialisation in Data-Driven Leadership has been designed to meet this demand. It will equip you with the ability to lead and manage an organisation’s data resources and innovation capabilities.

Whereas business analytics courses tend to be focused solely on the intersection of business and data analytics, the data-minded MBA provides a more holistic foundation in business. Integrated into the curriculum are three specialisation subjects that will give you a non-technical background in data analytics and how it can transform a business.

If you’re looking to upskill, a thorough understanding of analytics as part of an MBA, can be a major advantage in any industry.

Here’s why they go hand in hand…

Gain a foundation in business to better leverage data as an asset

To create a data-driven culture within an organisation, a company must be willing to invest time and money into advancing technology and understanding the methods of big data, data analytics and data science.

There also needs to be a push towards organisation-wide access to data to enable effective decision making. The more inherent analytics becomes to a company’s operations, the more diverse perspectives are brought to the table when it comes to addressing business challenges.

To facilitate this culture calls for a professional who possesses a mix of business and data analytics skills. From a management perspective, it requires an ability to step up in a leadership capacity and negotiate and persuade various stakeholders – all key skills taught in our globally-acknowledged MBA course.

For more information about studying an MBA, you can read our ultimate guide.

Develop strategic thinking informed by data

Data is useless unless a business can take advantage of it. For an organisation to achieve success it needs a management team capable of creating and executing innovative and well-informed strategies with a medium to long-term outlook.

In the hands of a professional with an understanding of data analytics, data can reveal business opportunities that are currently going untapped.

As part of the MBA, subjects such as Dynamic Strategy and Disruptive Innovation will help you establish and develop general strategic thinking and planning skills.

You’ll then be able to build on this through your MBA specialisation subjects such as Strategic Value of Analytics and Data-Driven Design Thinking. Here you’ll learn how data-driven insights can help inform, and in fact elevate business strategic planning.

Communicate data insights with confidence

The vast amounts of data that all companies now generate can seem complex and confusing.

That is until they are transformed into compelling arguments that can help companies solve challenges, better meet customer needs, streamline processes and operations, and boost profits.

To communicate these benefits effectively to the decision-makers of a business requires a mix of data-specific and generalist business skills.

One of our Data-Driven Leadership specialisation subjects, Business Analytics Life Cycle, takes you through a non-technical demonstration of how data is transformed into insights, including data visualisation.

The next step is then to be able to communicate these key findings and insights with confidence to the wider business. This is where an MBA is extremely valuable; soft skills such as communication and persuasion are taught across various subjects.

Access a greater range of career opportunities

Graduating with an MBA that incorporates data-driven leadership capabilities, will set you on the path to becoming a data leader in any industry that you’re passionate about.

Not only will you have the business knowledge and skills for a whole range of general management roles, but you’ll also meet the criteria for the growing number of roles that have a data-related strategic requirement.

These roles focus more on creating a data-driven culture rather than technical skills and driving innovation in business.

Find out more about how our MBA – Data-Driven Leadership specialisation can equip you with the right combination of skills to make a real impact on business performance.