Acquire the Skills for a Successful Career in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics in the United Arab Emirates

There is an overwhelming demand for professionals with the knowledge, skills and experience in business intelligence and analytics across organizations from all sizes. This substantial demand of business intelligence and analytics professionals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is influenced by several factors including the following:

• Focus on Data-Driven Decisions

Data has become an indispensable part of the decision-making process in several businesses today. Organizations in the UAE are cognizant of the pivotal role that data and analytics play in understanding customer behavior, changing market trends, and other important business factors. Hence, business intelligence and analytics professionals use data and other information to help businesses navigate decisions with the objective to effectively improve the business operation.

• Rapid Digital Transformation

The UAE's economy has been rapidly digitizing with businesses heavily leveraging technology and artificial intelligence into their business processes. With this digital transformation in the UAE comes an explosion of data that businesses must analyze and manage to get valuable customer insights and improve decision-making. Business intelligence and data analytics professionals help organizations to effectively use data to encourage improvement, growth, and expansion.

• Fierce Competition

Companies are always on the lookout for innovative ways to stay ahead of other frontrunners in their industry. Consider the example of the higher education industry in the UAE. With myriads of universities vying for students' attention and enrollment, the competition has become tough. According to UNESCO data, the number of international degree-seeking students in the UAE increased from 48,653 to a whopping 77,463 in just 5 years. Business intelligence and analytics specialists can analyze and extract data regarding student's behavior, enrollment, queries, and graduation rates to identify trends and patterns that can help universities make accurate improvisations in curriculum development, faculty hiring, and student recruitment. In addition, by using data and analytics, universities can devise marketing campaigns that address students' pain points and develop academic programs that cater to students' preferences.

• Government Initiatives

The wider Middle East is actively promoting the use of technology and data analytics across various industries to encourage innovation, growth and diversification which has led to an increase in demand for business intelligence and analytics professionals across the region. For related efforts closer to home, view the UAE government’s dedicated website for artificial intelligence policies, projects, and initiatives in the UAE. In 2022, the Abu Dhabi government launched the Abu Dhabi Data Program to enable a data-driven future and enhance government performance. Also, the government's investment in training programs and educational institutions has created a favorable environment for businesses to hire business intelligence and analytics professionals. 

In a brief interview, Dr. Mohamed Nazir, a renowned Associate Professor from the College of Technological Innovation, Zayed University and an esteemed expert in business intelligence and analytics was asked about the opportunities and challenges experienced by both current and prospective graduate students. Drawing from his extensive knowledge and expertise in both academia and industry, Dr. Nazir provided valuable insights and advice.

Key Takeaways

• The growing importance of business intelligence and data analytics for businesses in the UAE and the MENA region.
• The essential competencies that students should develop to excel in the field of business intelligence data analytics.
• The career prospects for business intelligence and data analytics graduates.
  

Business Intelligence and Analytics Professionals in the United Arab Emirates

Organizations harness the power of data to improve outcomes and foster innovation in the UAE's rapidly evolving business ecosystem. For example, a dissertation written in 2022 claims that business intelligence and analytics empower hospitals and healthcare industries enabling them to analyze patient data, changing trends, and make smart decisions. The use of business intelligence and data analytics solutions can improve patient care and increase operational effectiveness, and financial performance.

Another study demonstrated how educationalists used multiple types of data in public schools in the UAE to enhance student performance and the success of educational programs. The study is divided into three comprehensive sections, beginning with an overview of the implementation of data-driven decision-making in the education sector and concluding with recommendations to improve data-driven decision-making and further enhance student performance.

Due to the growing focus on data-driven and user-centric decision-making in the contemporary business landscape, business intelligence and analysts professionals will likely be crucial to business operations for years to come.

How Can Zayed University Help Graduate Students Build a Successful Career in Business Intelligence and Analytics?

Zayed University's Master of Science in Information Systems Management program takes a multidisciplinary approach and offers students a chance to acquire skills and expertise in some of the world’s most rapidly growing fields, such as digital transformation, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, blockchain, Big Data, business intelligence, and information management. 

The business intelligence and analytics course exposes students to business intelligence fundamental concepts and equip them with practical capabilities to design and implement business intelligence applications. In the first part of the course, students learn business intelligence descriptive analysis concepts to be familiarized with business intelligence tools. Students undertake practical exercise and labs on descriptive statistics and the design and implementation of data warehouse starting from multi-dimensional data modeling, Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL), OLAP query to designing professional dashboards and scorecards for decision making. In the second part of the course, students are exposed to business intelligence predictive analysis algorithms e.g. regression and classification and learn analytical (data and text mining) tools and programming languages. Students are equipped with skills for preparing, visualization structured and unstructured data sets for sentiment analysis, prediction and forecasting. They also are exposed to Big Data analytics concepts and tools that benefit business intelligence.  

In addition to gaining technical skills, the program also develops a student’s soft skills that employers value including communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills as well as quantitative abilities.

The IDC Study 2018 provides valuable insights into the growth and trends of the business intelligence and analytics software market. It depicts that the business intelligence and analytics market is projected to continue growing in the upcoming years, which indicates that there will be significant career opportunities for students pursuing this field. Therefore, graduate students who are considering equipping themselves with business intelligence and analytics skills, and professionals across multiple disciplines who want to enhance their knowledge regarding this emerging field will be well-positioned to succeed in the UAE’s dynamic and competitive public and private sector organizations.  

Career pathways in business intelligence and data analytics can lead to almost every aspect of a company’s operations, and in almost every industry. An article on the “Role of a Business Intelligence Analyst”, published by Michael Page, mentions that “working as a business intelligence analyst in UAE can provide the financial stability and satisfaction that many people crave. On average, business intelligence analysts in the UAE are paid quite well; the average salary is between 144,000 and 180,000 AED per year.”

For more information on Zayed University’s Master of Science in Information Systems Management, please contact the College of Technological Innovation at +971-2-599-3605 / dgs.recruitment@zu.ac.ae