Why Business Analytics is So Important

As a postgraduate program, business analytics is relatively new. However, the concept dates back to the late 19^th century and was notably used by car manufacturer Henry Ford, who would measure the time it took to make each component on the assembly line in his factories. Business analytics has developed vastly since then though, with the rise in computing power allowing for increasingly complicated analysis to take place.

Now, business analytics is used in most of the world’s major companies and is particularly valuable in Silicon Valley, where tech start-ups are keen to exploit any data-driven advantages which will help them break into the mass market. Some larger businesses may not have their own in-house business analysts, but there are also a notable range of business analytics companies which offer their services on a consulting basis.

Due to the rising interest in business analytics in the tech sector, more and more business schools have begun to offer a master’s in business analytics. This rise has largely been driven by American universities and schools, which explains why the majority of institutions in the QS Business Analytics Rankings are from the US.

The latest ranking of business analytics degrees was topped by Sloan Graduate School of Management at MIT in the US. Containing over 70 institutions, you can explore the QS Business Masters Rankings: Business Analytics 2020 table here, and compare different schools on the five indicators used to compile the ranking.