Forecasting is not something restricted to business analytics alone. It is an actual science used commonly in areas like weather, sports, academic research, social studies, and so on. By definition, forecasting generally refers to what can happen in the future based on all available evidence.
Its role in business analytics has grown more important than ever thanks to the arrival of technologies like big data. The excuse for getting forecasts of all kinds wrong before was that every prediction, every forecast, was only as good as the data an analyst was given. In the information era, the quality and quantity of data is largely beyond reproach. This makes forecasting a more exact science than it has ever been.
In this article, we give a brief insight into forecasting as a part of business analytics.
Forecasting in Business Analytics – A Relationship of Necessity
Every business wants to know the challenges of the future. Every executive running a business wants to understand what needs to be done to set a business on the right trajectory. For these needs, they turn to business analytics for help.
Forecasting helps businesses understand where they are heading based on historical data, present trends, and possible circumstances which could arise in the future. A combination of these helps analysts come down to giving a forecast for the company. The forecast could include any relevant data, from projected revenue growth to the performance index of available assets and so on.
All these metrics can be predicted by analysts if they are given enough quality data to work with.
In Conclusion
Business analysts are by no means wisdom-laden oracles who can see the future. However, they are trained to provide the next best thing – a forecast based on prevailing and expected trends. Forecasting is a crucial part of business analytics and one professionals must take very seriously if they want to land a good job in the field. In this article, we cover the basics of forecasting. If there is a genuine interest you have developed while reading this article, consider attending a demo class at the best business analytics institute in Delhi, Kapil Heera Academy.
About the Author – Lokesh Pant is a blogging guru and a keen student of fields like business development, data analytics, and marketing. His writing pieces and essays have been published by top blogs and considered authoritative pieces by industry experts a lot of times.