There are a number of software tools designed to organize and analyze data. Many of them are oriented to the casual user.

The basic software tool of business analytics is the spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are the foundational “work horse” tool for analyzing business data. A spreadsheet is a table with rows and numbers comprised of cells with information. In a table, the column of data is typically referred to as a field or a variable and the row of data is an observation or record.

More and more employers are looking to recruit new talent that can use data analytics on the job. You may not become a data scientist who can build sophisticated algorithms from scratch, but you will likely be expected to use software tools in some form. Proficiency in Excel is a baseline minimum expectation for most jobs now. As data analytics continues to grow, this expectation may continue to expand into Python (coding) and Tableau (data visualization) to name a few. The more you can stay ahead of this wave, the more you will advance in your career.

A database is another basic tool of business analytics. You can think of it as the next step beyond the spreadsheet. A spreadsheet is a table in a database.

Security is also an important aspect of data management. If a company collects more and more customer data, how does the company ensure that the data is securely stored and shared appropriately? A data breach is a major corporate risk.