Defining business analytics: an empirical approach

Figures & data

Figure 1. Relative interest in key search terms Google Trends.

Figure 2. Relative interest in key terms Google Ngram.

Figure 3. Comparing analytics and business intelligence search terms.

Figure 4. Comparing interest in two Master’s degree programs.

Table 1. Top 15 business analytics practitioner definitions.

Source	Business analytics definition
1. Gartner IT glossary (2018)	“comprised of solutions to build analysis models and simulations to create scenarios, understand realities and predict future states”.
2. SearchBusinessAnalytics (2018)	“practice of iterative, methodical exploration of an organization’s data, with an emphasis on statistical analysis. Business analytics is used by companies committed to data-driven decision-making. BA is used to gain insights that inform business decisions and can be used to automate and optimize business processes”.
3. Wikipedia (2018)	“skills, technologies, practices for continuous iterative exploration and investigation of past business performance to gain insight and drive business planning”.
4. Galetto (2018)	“study of data through statistical and operations analysis, the formation of predictive models, application of optimization techniques, and the communication of these results to customers, business partners, and college executives”.
5. Techopedia (2018)	“all the methods and techniques that are used by an organization to measure performance. Business analytics are made up of statistical methods that can be applied to a specific project, process or product”.
6. Study.com (2018)	“is the statistical analysis of the data a business has acquired in order to make decisions that are based on evidence rather than a guess”.
7. Techadvisory (2014)	“to gain insights into the state of the company, and even drive future decisions based on existing data”.
8. Management study guide (2018)	“is a methodology or tool to make a sound commercial decision”.
9. Beal (2018)	“is the combination of skills, technologies, applications and processes used by organizations to gain insight into their business based on data and statistics to drive business planning”.
10. Business dictionary (2018)	“process of determining and understanding the effectiveness of various organizational operations. Business analytics can be either focused on internal or external processes. Different specializations exist, encompassing most major aspects of business, including risk analysis, market analysis, and supply chain analysis”.
11. Pratt (2017)	“a technology-aided process by which software analyses data to predict what will happen (predictive analytics) or what could happen by taking a certain approach (prescriptive analytics). BA is also sometimes called advanced analytics”.
12. Schaer (2018)	“allows your business to make predictive analysis rather than reacting to changes in data”.
13. Gabelli School of Business (2018)	“involves applying models, methods, and tools to data, producing insights that lead to informed business decisions”.
14. Wells (2008)	“the application of logic and mental processes to find meaning in data”.
15. Lynda (2018)	“allows us to learn from the past and make better predictions for the future”.

Figure 5. Business analytics definitions – text analysis.

Figure 6. Text analysis of top 15 definitions.

Figure 7. Word Cloud results from 12 Master’s in business analytics program descriptions.

Figure 8. Master’s in business analytics program description phrase analysis.

Table 2. Summary of Google searches.

Term	Google
“Business Analytics”	8,600,000 results
Define “Business Analytics”	668,000 results
“Define Business Analytics”	14,300 results
“Business Analytics Definition”	21,800 results

Table 3. Summary of academic literature searches.

Search terms	Google Scholar	EBSCO	JSTOR	Web of Science
“Business Analytics”	2001–2018 17,400 results 2002–2008 1840 results	(Title and abstract) 2001–2018 462 results (Academic Journals); 118 results 2002–2008 2 results (Academic Journals)	Open search 2001–2018 117 results (Academic Journals); 2002–2008 16 results (Academic Journals) (title and abstract search) 1 result (Academic Journal)	2001–2018 486 results 250 (Academic Journals); 2002–2008 5 results
Define “Business Analytics”	2001–2018 121,000 results 2002–2008 18,400 results	NA	35 (Academic Journals)	18 (Academic Journals)
“Define Business Analytics”	2001–2018 32 results 2002–2008 0 results	NA	NA	NA
“Business Analytics Definition”	2001–2018 8 results 2002–2008 0 results	NA	NA	NA

Figure 9. Business analytics academic journal papers 2001–2018.

Figure 10. Industry sectors for UCD MSc business analytics projects.

Figure 11. Methods used in UCD business analytics projects.

Gartner. (2018, May 19). IT glossary. Retrieved from https://www.gartner.com/it-glossary/business-analytics.

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SearchBusinessAnalytics. (2018). Definition: Software applications – Business analytics. Retrieved from https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/business-analytics-BA

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Wikipedia. (2018). Definition. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition

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Galetto, M. (2018, March 8). What Is Business Analytics? NGDATA. Retrieved from https://www.ngdata.com/what-is-business-analytics/

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Techopedia. (2018). Definition – What does Business Analytics (BA) mean? Retrieved from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/344/business-analytics-ba

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Study.com. (2018). What is business analytics? – Definition & strategy. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-business-analytics-definition-strategy.html

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Techadvisory. (2014). What is business analytics. Retrieved from http://www.techadvisory.org/2014/01/what-is-business-analytics/

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Management Study Guide. (2018). Business analytics – meaning, importance and its scope. Retrieved from https://www.managementstudyguide.com/business-analytics.htm

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Beal, V. (2018). Webopedia – business analytics. Retrieved from https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/B/business_analytics.html

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Business Dictionary. (2018, May 20). Business analytics: Definition. Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/business-analytics.htm

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Pratt, M. (2017). What is BI? Business intelligence strategies and solutions. CIO. Retrieved from https://www.cio.com/article/2439504/business-intelligence/business-intelligence-definition-and-solutions.html

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Schaer, B. (2018). Hitachi solutions – What is business analytics? Retrieved from https://us.hitachi-solutions.com/blog/business-analytics-infographic/

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Gabelli School of Business. (2018). Define Business Analytics. Retrieved from https://www.fordham.edu/info/21535/business_analytics

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Wells, D. (2008). B-eye-network business analytics – Getting the point. Retrieved from http://www.b-eye-network.com/view/7133

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Lynda. (2018). What is business analytics. Retrieved from https://www.lynda.com/Data-Science-tutorials/What-business-analytics-BA/647676/719245-4.html

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