When Spreadsheets Aren’t Enough: How Data Analytics is Revolutionizing the Finance Industry

For financial strategists and decision makers, the big data revolution can be a double-edged sword.

More and more information is available, coming from an exponentially growing array of sources – but capturing it isn’t an easy task. Old-school solutions just can’t keep up with the influx.

Important data that should be driving financial decision-making can come from social media, real-time market feeds, customer feedback, sales reports, or clickstream data from websites.

The information can be broad in nature, pointing to general trends. It can also be business-specific – for example, data on the number of patients with a particular type of insurance, or data about how much of a certain product was purchased online, as opposed to a brick-and-mortar store.

Processing all this information requires more than a spreadsheet. Increasingly, businesses are recognizing the need for trained business analysts and data scientists who understand how to differentiate the signal from the noise.

“Numbers and data should drive financial decisions that administrators make for the mission, vision, and value of their respective organizations,” says Dr. Michael Fain, director of doctoral programs at Capitol Technology University. The university offers business analytics degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, designed to provide students at different phases of their careers with the tools they need to organize big data and recommend strategies for success.

Capitol’s technical master’s in business administration in business analytics and data science program is offered 100% online and caters to working professionals. All of the classes for the business analytics and decision sciences PhD program are also offered 100% online, with a short residency requirement for completion.

 “We teach you how to take data, or numbers, and plug these numbers in to help leadership come up with a strategic plan,” Dr. Fain said.

“Data and business analytics is the degree right now,” he said. “It is cutting edge. It subscribes to best practices. And I think that whatever formulas leaders have used to guide their strategic plans, whether it be for one year or five years, it’s not been until they’ve started using these concepts and paradigms involving data analytics that we can really see some substance in terms of decisions that are made.”

Our world today is data-driven. The company that isn’t taking advantage of that data is going to fall behind the one that is. Becoming the financial resource that companies need is no longer only about having the business knowledge and financial skills to recommend smart company practices. Today, you need to know analytics.

With a degree from Capitol, you’ll be equipped with that knowledge. Want to learn more? Request information on our graduate programs here, or click here to learn more about our bachelor’s degree program.