Knowledge is power. In today’s marketplace, understanding how to gather and interpret knowledge to be competitive is even more powerful.
C-suite leaders across the globe recognize the profit potential when they hire employees skilled in one of today’s fastest growing fields: business analytics (BA). No longer satisfied with simply collecting data, companies are seeking professionals who harness every available data point to improve processes, save costs or enhance revenues.
Oakland University has taken a proactive approach to preparing the next generation of experts. In 2012, OU’s School of Business Administration added the Business Analytics track to its Master of Science in Information Technology Management program. The
MSITM/BA track offers business professionals -- and recent undergraduates -- the opportunity to attain these in-demand skills through a specialized program.
The job market appears fertile. A 2011 study by the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that by 2018, the United States will face a shortage of more than 1.5 million managers, analysts and other workers steeped in analytics.
Focused, convenient, accelerated
The beauty of OU’s cutting-edge, business analytics-focused program is that it takes only one year to complete 10 specific courses. Half the classes are online, the other half are taught in a traditional classroom setting, explains Dr. Mohammad Dadashzadeh, chair, Department of Decision and Information Sciences at Oakland University.
The in-state tuition for all students – including international– is another distinct advantage. Students worldwide have taken note. The program is attracting applicants from India, Pakistan and Nigeria, as well as across Michigan and the United States.
All are drawn to the rigorous curriculum focusing on data warehousing, business intelligence, Big Data management, predictive and prescriptive analytics, and application systems analysis and design.
“We also have an excellent faculty to deliver this expertise,” Dadashzadeh says.
Experience counts
Oakland’s MISTM/BA students get hands-on experience thanks to a unique partnership with
MSX International of Warren, Mich. They complete a capstone project through an MSXI internship where they are charged with solving an analytics problem for a real-world client.
“By providing internships for Oakland University’s business analytics students, we're helping the next generation of workers build critical skills while providing sound data and analysis to help our clients innovate and make solid business decisions," says Brendan Walsh, vice president and chief information officer, MSX International.
Ali Bahreman of Las Vegas is one of those next generation workers. He graduated from OU’s MSITM/BA inaugural class in June 2013. He completed the online courses from home in Las Vegas, and traveled from Nevada for the on-campus courses. Through his capstone project for MSXI, he assisted with exploratory data analysis to develop a predictive model for extended warranty maintenance plan termination forecasting in car dealerships. MSXI’s Walsh was so impressed, he promptly offered Bahreman a consulting job.
“They saw a value in what I produced and know I am a hard worker,” Bahreman says.
In demand
MSXI’s patience is further proof that business analyst skills are high on an employer’s wish list.
Although Bahreman declined the job offer due to a scheduled extended vacation across the United States and Puerto Rico, MSXI left the door open for him. “They said they are willing to wait for me,” he says.
Michael McClure, director of west consulting services for QlikTech, a global data analysis firm, is currently an OU MSITM/BA student. Already employed in the field at an organization listed by Forbes as one of the top three fastest-growing tech firms in 2012, McClure’s reason for enrolling is two-fold: evaluate potential employees while also learning about new tools in the data analysis industry.
“Oakland’s MSITM/BA program really interested me because it’s uniquely focused on business analytics. There aren’t too many programs like that,” McClure says. “Business analytics is such an area of high growth, and Oakland University’s business school is right on the frontline.”
Gaining visibility
The School of Business Administration’s Master of Science in Information Technology Management/Business Analytics track is raising visibility for Oakland University.
SiliconANGLE, a news site for the technology industry, named Oakland as one of 11 universities that specialize in data science, analytics and business intelligence. It shares the list with such powerhouses as Carnegie Mellon University, Fordham University and New York University.
The Institute for Business and Information Technology named OU to its top 50 schools in its Information Sciences Job Index. The list identifies U.S. schools that have a substantial IS-centric major at the undergraduate or graduate level and stand out.
By Rene Wisely
