What Careers are in Business Information Technology?

The careers in business information technology bring together the skills of business analysis and IT management. These jobs focus on the relationships between internal processes, problem solving and future business needs. There is a growing demand for competent business information technology professionals in industrial, governmental, commercial and educational organizations. All of these jobs require candidates with the skills to analyze data, implement systems and manage an organization’s information technology.

Business IT Analyst

Business IT analysts work in operational areas to translate business requirements into process details and functional specifications that support technological solutions. They perform system tests, configurations and end user training. Their areas of focus include process integration, data integration, application rollouts and hardware and network environments. They analyze the impacts of failure against success, the advantages of innovation against existing functionality and the loss of prospective business against necessary process improvements.

They evaluate the extent of individual projects on departmental processes and enterprise-wide functions. Their regular duties include researching and documenting the business requirements for developing new or enhancing existing systems. Business IT analysts facilitate management’s understanding of information and IT requirements to ensure that business decisions support goals. They ensure that appropriate systems are developed and that technological solutions are identified that satisfy business requirements.

Financial Analyst

Financial analysts support various business, accounting and investment activities. They coordinate data collection requirements, perform process mapping and identify improvement opportunities. They help set up appropriate financial structures so they can perform data mapping, testing, cleansing and security analysis. Financial analysts track and close issues, mitigate emerging risks, maintain reporting schedules and train team members and end users.

They perform work with varying levels of complexity that is determined by the degree of data, process and application integration. They analyze the complexity of data environments, the degrees of investment required and the various business needs that must be accommodated. Financial analysts serve as liaisons between vendors, shareholders and business, accounting, and IT departments. When it comes to financial projects, they apply appropriate solutions to support teams and implement new processes.

IT Compliance Analyst

IT compliance analysts support audit and regulatory efforts that meet industry and government mandates. IT compliance analysts serve highly visible positions within their companies. They partner with IT units, operations teams and third party vendors in support of compliance needs. They identify audit control requirements that meet stakeholder needs, collaborate with employees to implement processes supporting compliance controls and communicate with executives and key stakeholders regarding compliance approaches and initiatives, according to Business Intelligence.

They review established documentation, suggest policy modifications and recommend the establishment of new processes. IT compliance analysts prepare data reports, audit documentation and project updates for both internal clients and external partners. They are expected to have a bachelor’s degree in information technology with advanced training in auditing and business. Most companies will expect IT compliance analysts to maintain IT Security related certifications such as CISA, CISSP, CISM and SSCP.

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Students who want careers in business information technology should pursue an appropriate degree. Both undergraduate and graduate degrees typically offer business information technology specializations in either decision support systems or operations and supply chain management.