What is analyst?
An analyst is a person who examines data, systems, or processes to understand them and help make decisions. In tech, analysts collect information, look for patterns, and turn findings into useful insights.
Let's break it down
- Data collection: gathering raw numbers or facts.
- Cleaning: fixing errors, removing duplicates.
- Analysis: using tools (Excel, SQL, Python) to find trends.
- Reporting: creating charts, dashboards, or written summaries.
- Recommendation: suggesting actions based on the insights.
Why does it matter?
Because decisions based on gut feeling can be risky. Analysts provide evidence‑based insights that improve product design, business strategy, security, and efficiency, leading to better outcomes and cost savings.
Where is it used?
- Business intelligence (sales, marketing, finance)
- Software development (performance monitoring)
- Cybersecurity (threat detection)
- Product management (user behavior)
- Operations (supply chain, logistics)
Good things about it
- Turns complex data into clear stories.
- Helps organizations make smarter, faster decisions.
- Can be done with many free or low‑cost tools.
- Offers career flexibility across industries.
- Drives measurable improvements and ROI.
Not-so-good things
- Quality of insights depends on data quality; bad data leads to bad conclusions.
- Can be time‑consuming to clean and prepare data.
- Requires continuous learning of new tools and methods.
- Risk of over‑reliance on numbers, ignoring qualitative factors.
- Miscommunication can happen if findings aren’t presented clearly.