In 2024, do you think a business can survive with no digitization? Clearly not. In the current business environment, digital transformation has become a make-or-break for businesses to stay competitive. But digital transformation is not just being on Facebook, Instagram, or having a website—or using only CRM and marketing software. This ongoing process involves integrating digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing how organizations operate and deliver value to their customers.
The role of business analysts (BA) has traditionally focused on gathering requirements, analyzing processes, and bridging communication gaps between technical teams and business stakeholders. However, as digital transformation accelerates, the BA’s role is evolving to meet new demands.
How? In this article, we will explore the changing landscape for business analysts and how their responsibilities, skillsets, and contributions are expanding to support digital transformation.
What is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is more like the complete redesign of your business. It involves the integration of digital technology into various aspects of a business for better service delivery, customer satisfaction, team performance, operational efficiency, etc. While the emphasis is on the adoption of new technologies, it also requires significant shifts in mindset, strategy, and skills across an organization.
Some core aspects of digital transformation include:
- Technology adoption—to integrate advanced tools and systems, such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data analytics, into daily operations.
- Data-driven decision-making—to utilize data insights to inform business strategies and make decisions that improve efficiency and customer satisfaction.
- Customer-centric approaches—to focus on improving customer experiences through personalized services, efficient processes, and innovative products.
Digital transformation helps organizations remain competitive in fast-paced industries. According to an MIT study, digitally mature companies are 26% more profitable, generate 9% more revenue from their physical assets, and achieve 12% higher market valuations than their peers. However, companies do face challenges, such as overcoming resistance to change, managing data securely, and bridging skill gaps. This need for new skill sets creates opportunities for roles like business analysts to evolve and provide the support businesses need.
Traditional Role of Business Analysts
Historically, business analysts have played excellent roles in helping organizations understand and optimize their processes. Their traditional responsibilities included:
- Requirements gathering—collaborating with stakeholders to identify and document project requirements.
- Process analysis—analyzing existing processes to identify inefficiencies and recommending improvements.
- Stakeholder communication—serving as a bridge between technical teams and non-technical stakeholders.
- Solution Validation—testing solutions to ensure they meet business needs and addressing issues preemptively.
They have relied on tools like SWOT analysis, cost-benefit analysis, and comprehensive documentation methods to inform decision-making. In a traditional project-based setting, BAs focused on achieving efficiency, productivity, and cost savings within defined project scopes.
But with the passage of time, especially since the last decade, their responsibilities have moved beyond their traditional roles. In their new roles, they play an important role in the digital transformation of businesses.
The Changing Role of Business Analysts in Digital Transformation
Digital transformation demands a more agile, tech-savvy, and customer-oriented approach—and all these lead to a redefined role for BAs.
Below are some of the ways their responsibilities are shifting:
Shift from project focus to product focus
A decade or couple ago, BAs were often assigned to discrete projects with a beginning and an end. However, digital transformation has created a shift towards a product-oriented approach, where they work continuously on developing, refining, and enhancing products to meet evolving customer expectations. Thanks to this shift, BAs now focus more on ongoing improvement and iterative development, and that makes them active contributors to the product life cycle rather than one-off project participants.
Increased involvement in technology and data
Modern BAs are expected to have a solid understanding of data analytics, automation, and other technologies. Data-driven insights are increasingly used to shape business strategies, requiring BAs to analyze and interpret data effectively. Knowledge of tools like Power BI, Tableau, and Python helps BAs leverage data to inform decisions, optimize processes, and find areas for digital innovation.
Note that business analysts must not necessarily—or always—be proficient in data analytics. To overcome the gap, what they need to be proficient in is collaborating with data scientists to extract insights for building the solution they’re driving.
Emphasis on agile and cross-functional collaboration
Digital transformation often relies on Agile methodologies, which emphasize iterative progress and flexibility. Business analysts must now work closely with cross-functional teams, including IT, marketing, data science, and UX design, to drive transformation efforts. This collaborative environment indeed demands new skills, such as adaptability, effective communication, and real-time problem-solving. But, working within Agile frameworks, BAs contribute to quicker product delivery and the ability to respond swiftly to market changes.
Key Skills Business Analysts Need in the Era of Digital Transformation
To succeed in digital transformation initiatives, BAs must acquire a range of specialized skills, from technical proficiency to strategic thinking. The list below is not exhaustive, as much depends upon the peculiar needs of businesses in different industries. But generally, a BA must possess the following skills to drive the digital transformation efforts like a pro:
Technical acumen
As technology becomes central to business strategies, BAs need a strong foundation in technical skills. Familiarity with data analysis tools, such as Power BI and Tableau, or even basic programming skills in languages like Python (which is easy to learn for them), allows BAs to interpret data and provide actionable insights. Understanding automation, AI, and digital tools is becoming essential for BAs who wish to remain relevant in the digital age.
Analytical and strategic thinking
It is no no-brainer—strategic thinking enables BAs to align digital transformation initiatives with organizational goals. Analytical skills are crucial for making sense of vast amounts of data and drawing insights that inform decision-making. For instance, using predictive analytics, a business analyst can forecast trends and recommend proactive strategies, thus ensuring digital initiatives contribute to long-term business success.
Change management and communication skills
This aligns more with the traditional role we discussed above. With digital transformation comes the need for change management. BAs often play an important role in managing organizational change, including overcoming resistance, communicating the value of new tools and processes, and ensuring all stakeholders understand the project goals and objectives. Effective communication skills help business analysts translate complex technical concepts into relatable, understandable terms for diverse audiences.
Customer-centric mindset
A customer-centric approach is becoming increasingly vital, especially for consumer-centric companies or those that prioritize user experiences—which almost all companies at the moment want to do. BAs must understand customer needs, preferences, and pain points to design solutions that enhance user satisfaction. This shift in focus aligns with the broader goal of digital transformation to create excellent, memorable, and user-friendly experiences.
Future Trends for Business Analysts in Digital Transformation
As digital transformation progresses, the roles of business analysts, like other professions, will continue to evolve. Based on what’s happening today, here are some trends that are likely to shape the future role of BAs:
Integration of AI and machine learning in BA processes
AI and machine learning are poised to enhance BA roles, particularly in predictive analysis and automation. With AI, BAs can analyze large datasets quickly and accurately, which enables them to make data-driven recommendations and automate repetitive tasks.
Increased focus on cybersecurity and compliance
As companies digitize more processes, cybersecurity, and regulatory compliance will become not only necessary but complex. Business analysts are—and will need to be—involved in ensuring that digital initiatives adhere to data protection regulations like CCPA, GDPR, and other regulations that may be required in the future.
Rise of specialized BA roles
With the evolving demands of digital transformation, specialized BA roles are emerging, including Data Analysts, Product Analysts, and Digital Transformation Specialists. These specialized roles allow analysts to focus on specific areas within digital transformation, with targeted expertise and support for organizational goals.
Final thoughts
No longer limited to traditional requirements gathering and process optimization, BAs are now integral to technology adoption, data-driven decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration. To succeed in this evolving landscape, BAs must continuously learn and adapt, embracing new technologies, methodologies, and a customer-centric mindset. Speaking of tech-savvy and experienced business analysts, meet DevEngine.
We are a nearshore staff augmentation agency, helping businesses like yours hire the best business analysts from the LatAm region. If you have a digital transformation project and want a team that owns the project, you can count on DevEngine.
Get in touch with us today, and let’s have a discovery call—and take it from there!