Business Analyst or Business Systems Analyst vs Tech Support

Is anyone currently a Business Analyst or Business Systems Analyst?

Any opinions about this type of role or position? Seems like it would be relatively safe from outsourcing?

If anyone is currently employed as this type of role, would love to ask some questions about it if possible!

Obviously this type of role seems better than a technical support role (I assume), but would the Support role be more stable and secure than a BA or BSA role? I guess it would depend upon the company and its needs?

Thanks for any thoughts!

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Comments

the_Grinch

I am under the impression that this is where IT is going. MSP will give you the purely technical people and any IT person for a company would be considered a business analyst. Definitely a safer position since they are putting business knowledge behind you, so unlike a technical skill (which could be used at any number of companies) losing you means having to train someone on the business of the company. That being said, I believe most of these position would relate to CRM/ERP systems. Having some knowledge of Salesforce, SAP, or Microsoft Dynamics would definitely help you out!

N2IT

the_Grinch wrote: »

I am under the impression that this is where IT is going. MSP will give you the purely technical people and any IT person for a company would be considered a business analyst. Definitely a safer position since they are putting business knowledge behind you, so unlike a technical skill (which could be used at any number of companies) losing you means having to train someone on the business of the company. That being said, I believe most of these position would relate to CRM/ERP systems. Having some knowledge of Salesforce, SAP, or Microsoft Dynamics would definitely help you out!

Great post and summary

Agreed on all accounts especially the ERP/CRM statement.

Turgon

A depressing note for anyone studying IT the last 15 years where people have been encouraged to get tooled up on the infrastructure side. But interesting as 20 years ago I studied the business analyst role at University. Seems like we have come full circle, where the out and out technology, infrastructure and skills will collapse to providers, with the single company IT fringe needing to look at use of services to increase the bottom line if they want a job inside 5 years. As for the technical details..who cares, we have an SLA for all that stuff

pacotaco

Yes, I have been in both of those roles or should I say, I have had both of those titles. The job function for a BA or BSA can vary greatly company to company. IMO a pure BA role knows more about the business than the system(s), but definitely needs to know how the system works (such as limitations, what's realistic). These roles can vary but a BA is going to be heavily involved in writing requirements documentation. You are going to meet with internal, external (or both) clients on a regular basis for requirements gathering sessions, etc. You may be the key facilitator of these meetings. You may need to present. If its a large project you will be working with a PM. Timelines, projects in 'jeopardy', steering committees, status updates. These roles can involve alot politics and meetings. You can easily be in meetings half of your day if its a large project.

I think of business systems analysts usually in a support role, or a role where you need to be able to write SQL queries or scripts to dig or mine data to validate system issues. Writing requirements documentation may be required (for break/fixes) but usually not a role that presents, or is client facing. This is usually an internal role.

The grinch is correct. Being tied so much to the business and a good communicator is what makes this role pretty much an on-shore job. The best bet is to get hired on, or hooked into some sort of packaged software whether its large scale ERP or small IT Heathcare software, etc. I did this off and on for years. It may very well be for you. I burned out on the politics, presenting, double booked for meetings, meeting about the meeting (yes really). It really wasn't me but I kept going b/c the money was good. Here lately I've been thinking about the data mining arena. Any other questions ask away, I'll try to help.

Turgon

Correct. You want a role in IT these days where you are using the resources to meet business objectives, or getting quickly to a position where you are directing them. Basic support/operations is a road to nowhere unless it's a springboard to get out. I predicted this in 2002, and I have witnessed it since and been told it since many times. Many industries have gone through this process to maturity. IT is no different.

techdudehere

In my area there are still many companies with almost all their pure IT roles in house, but more each day augment with outside vendors and internal roles are reduced. The vendors have high turn over rates, often do not pay exceedingly well to begin with (especially when benefits are factored in), and I would think are quite risky to work for (possibly tarnishing an otherwise good job history). Don't think that a job being onshore means it is a safe. Just one company I know of in my area brings over hundreds, maybe even thousands of people from overseas to replace local, internal workers. I'm not sure what, if any, real safety nets exist that would span the career of a person just starting out.