Business Analytics is a core field of a business that offers numerous opportunities for study and career paths. The job market of business analytics is very strong because analysts are needed in every sector and the data a business analyst provides help the business to make the right decision. If you want to become a business analyst then you don’t have to break your savings or bank account to acquire degrees in business, mathematics, or statistics. You can become a self-taught business analyst thanks to the free online courses available on various online education platforms.
There are lots of free online training materials available that will help you become a self-taught business analyst. Some popular online courses are Introduction to Data Analytics for Managers, Customer Analytics, Knowledge Management and Big Data in Business, Free BA Video Training, Decision-making, and Risk: An Introduction, Fundamentals of Google Analytics, etc.
List Of 10 Free Online Courses For Business Analytics
1. Introduction to Data Analytics for Managers
2. Introduction to Business Analytics-Communicating With Data
3. Customer Analytics
4. Knowledge Management and Big Data in Business
5. Data, Models, and Decisions
6. Business Analyst Training and Resources
7. Free BA Video Training
8. Become a Business Analytics Expert
9. Decision-making and Risk: An Introduction
10. Fundamentals of Google Analytics
1. Introduction To Data Analytics for Managers
This course is offered by the University of Michigan via edX and it features a combination of case studies, hands-on exercises, and lectures on data analytics. Here, students will be able to explore data science and analyze business data with Microsoft Azure through the use of SQL, machine learning, and other statistical techniques. The duration of the course is 6 weeks and 2 – 4 hours per week. After completing this course you will be able to learn how to handle data analytics with a graphical development environment and how to conduct and interpret some basic data science activities.
Course Overview
1. Institution: MichiganX
2. Subject: Business & Management
3. Level: Introductory
4. Prerequisites: None
5. Language: English
6. Video Transcript: English
7. Cost: Free
8. Certificate: Yes, with a fee
9. User Experience: Excellent
10. Quality of Instruction: Excellent
2. Introduction To Business Analytics-Communicating With Data
This course is offered by the University of Illinois via Coursera. This course is taught by Professor Kevin Hartman so if you want to become a business data analyst then you can pick this one. By completing this course, you will have a clear idea about the science of business analytics and how to use the data to compile a proven business strategy. The mission of this course is to provide businesses and managers with the foundation needed to apply data analytics to real-world challenges. Here, students will learn to identify the ideal analytic tool for their specific needs and how to find reliable ways to collect, analyze, and visualize data.
Course Overview
1. Institution: Illinois
2. Subject: Business & Management
3. Level: Introductory
4. Prerequisites: Yes
Language: English
5. Video Transcript: English
6. Cost: Free
7. Certificate: Yes, with a fee
8. User Experience: Excellent
9. Quality of Instruction: Excellent
3. Customer Analytics
This course is offered by the Wharton University of Pennsylvania via Coursera. This is the first course that was offered in the Business Analytics category in Coursera. This is a free course where students can audit each course within the specialization but the certification has a price tag. So, if you are more about acquiring knowledge than getting a certificate then you can enroll in this course. This is an excellent resource for serious learners because this course consists of 9 readings, 34 videos, and quizzes. After completing this course you will be able to –
1. Describe the major methods of customer data collection used by companies and understand how this data can inform business decisions
2. Describe the main tools used to predict customer behavior and identify the appropriate uses for each tool
3. Communicate key ideas about customer analytics and how the field informs business decisions
4. Communicate the history of customer analytics and latest best practices at top firms
Course Overview
1. Institution: Wharton University of Pennsylvania
2. Subject: Data Analysis
3. Level: Introductory
4. Prerequisites: No
5. Language: English
6. Video Transcript: English
7. Cost: Free
8. Certificate: Yes, with a fee
9. User Experience: Excellent
10. Quality of Instruction: Excellent
4. Knowledge Management And Big Data In Business
This course is offered by Berkeley via edX. After completing this course you will be able to learn about the huge power of knowledge management, Big Data, and Cloud Computing, and how they impact the new business era. This is a four-week course with five to seven hours each week. This course is completely free and students can access all the lectures and readings in audit mode. However, if you want a verification certificate then you will have to pay a fee. After completing this course you will learn –
1. Understand the role of Knowledge Management (KM)
2. Become familiar with the techniques and tools for capturing, processing, etc.
3. How to analyze large quantities of data and information
4. How to use Cloud Services to derive new values
5. Understand the role of social media and technologies
Course Overview
1. Institution: Berkeley
2. Subject: Business & Data
3. Level: Introductory
4. Prerequisites: No
5. Language: English
6. Video Transcript: English
7. Cost: Free
8. Certificate: Yes, with a fee
9. User Experience: Excellent
10. Quality of Instruction: Excellent
5. Data, Models, And Decisions
This is a course from MIT and it is offered by MIT’s Open Source Learning platform. This course provides the students the fundamental techniques of using data. This is a graduate-level course so you have to be a graduate to complete this course. This course is designed and taught by Professors Robert Freund, Juan Pablo Vielma, and Cynthia Rudin. After completing this course you will be able to know various ways of modeling or thinking structurally about decision problems. You will also learn how to make informed management decisions.
Course Overview
1. Institution: MIT
2. Subject: Data Analysis
3. Level: Intermediate to Advanced
4. Prerequisites: Yes
5. Language: English
6. Video Transcript: English
7. Cost: Free
8. Certificate: Yes
9. User Experience: Good
10. Quality of Instruction: Excellent
6. Business Analyst Training And Resources
Bridging the Gap introduced a course on Business Analyst Training and Resources for professionals who want to become business analysts. Bridging the Gap is a website operated by analysts and they offer both free and paid courses on business management, data analysis, etc. This website has wealth of resources related to business analytics and it also offers free training workshops to give students an overview of the field. You have to register an account with Bridging the Gap and then you will be able to access the free courses.
Course Overview
1. Institution: Bridging the Gap
2. Subject: Business Analysis
3. Level: Intermediate
4. Prerequisites: no
5. Language: English
6. Video Transcript: English
7. Cost: Free
8. Certificate: Yes
9. User Experience: Excellent
10. Quality of Instruction: Excellent
7. Free BA Video Training
This course is offered by Business Analysis Experts and the course consists of forty 5 to 15 minutes videos. These videos were designed to teach a different business analysis topic. Business Analysis Experts claimed that their videos were viewed over a million times so there is no question about the quality of this video course. It’s a micro-training type course and it doesn’t require any signups, fees, etc. You can simply visit the website and directly access the course content.
Course Overview
1. Institution: Business Analysis Experts
2. Subject: Business Analysis
3. Level: Introductory to Advanced
4. Prerequisites: no
5. Language: English
6. Video Transcript: English
7. Cost: Free
8. Certificate: Yes
9. User Experience: Good
10. Quality of Instruction: Good
8. Become A Business Analytics Expert
LinkedIn Learning is a premium feature of LinkedIn. If you have a premium LinkedIn account then you will be able to access a huge library of courses without any additional fees. If you want to become a business analyst then this course will be a great help for you. This course has 10 learning modules and they are designed to give students an overview of the tools, concepts, and techniques needed to become a professional business analyst. The duration of this course is 10.5 hours and once you complete the course you will receive a badge that can be displayed on your profile.
Course Overview
1. Institution: LinkedIn Learning
2. Subject: Business Analysis
3. Level: Introductory
4. Prerequisites: no
5. Language: English
6. Video Transcript: English
7. Cost: Free
8. Certificate: Yes (Badge)
9. User Experience: Excellent
10. Quality of Instruction: Excellent
9. Decision-making And Risk: An Introduction
This course is offered by Future Learn and it is based on Daniel Kahneman’s decision-making model. After completing this course you will be able to learn about risks and some of the key barriers to effective decision-making. Here, you will have the chance to explore the nature of data and information and you will learn how to manage big data and analysis them to find the right solution for the business. If you want to improve your knowledge about how to make decisions and risk management then this is the right course for you.
Course Overview
1. Institution: Future Learn
2. Subject: Business Risk Management
3. Level: Introductory
4. Prerequisites: no
5. Language: English
6. Video Transcript: English
7. Cost: Free
8. Certificate: Yes
9. User Experience: Good
10. Quality of Instruction: Excellent
10. Fundamentals Of Google Analytics
Nowadays, most businesses are going online so the demand for digital analytics is increasing rapidly. So, if you want to become a business analyst then this introductory course from Skillshare will be the right option for you. This course is taught by Google Analytics Strategist Jeff Sauer and it includes nine quick lessons about all the details of Google Analytics. This is a free course and you can access the course on the Skillshare platform. After completing the course you will learn –
1. Setting custom goals based on visitor behavior
2. Using segments and content groups to understand your users
3. Tracking campaigns and search terms for insight into traffic sources
Course Overview
1. Institution: Skillshare
2. Subject: Google Analytics
3. Level: Introductory
4. Prerequisites: no
5. Language: English
6. Video Transcript: English
7. Cost: Free
8. Certificate: Yes
9. User Experience: Excellent
10. Quality of Instruction: Excellent
Final Thoughts
The main criteria of becoming an expert business analyst are to have broad business knowledge as well as technical skills to use various tools to analyze the business data and compile effective business strategies. Hence, if you have an interest in business analytics then you can complete one or more of the above courses. These courses are free so you only have to invest a small amount of your time to make a career in business analytics.
References:
1. https://www.coursera.org/courses?query=business%20analytics
2. https://online.hbs.edu/courses/business-analytics/
Last Updated on February 6, 2022 by
Magalie D. is a Diploma holder in Public Administration & Management from McGill University of Canada. She shares management tips here in MGTBlog when she has nothing to do and gets some free time after working in a multinational company at Toronto.
