In its simplest terms, the fourth industrial revolution—more commonly known as Industry 4.0—is revolutionizing industries across the board, in part by using technologies like artificial intelligence, big data analytics, industrial Internet of things (IIoT), cloud computing, robotics, and others. It is making new levels of efficiency, productivity, customization, data-driven decision-making, and innovation possible through this digital transformation.
Yet, for companies to fully benefit from these technologies and survive in Industry 4.0, they must rigorously appraise and invent their business practices, models and strategies. This is where business analysis is critical in its own right.
What is Business Analysis? Why is Business Analysis Important?
Business analysis is the practice of identifying business needs and finding solutions to business problems. Business analysts mediate between business stakeholders and technology teams, analyzing the business context, processes, and requirements and making recommendations on how to solve the problems, that is, deliver value.
The core functions that business analysts perform include:
- Strategic planning
- Organizational process analysis and design
- Requirements elicitation, analysis and documentation
- Solution assessment and validation
- Business case development
- Stakeholder engagement and management
- Adoption planning and change management
This means that skilled business analysts are very important in helping organizations respond to major industry disruptions like the fourth industrial revolution. Optimal technology utilization can be guided by their insights and expertise for the firm’s sustainable advantage.
The Critical Role of Anal Businessysts in Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is creating more and more complexity, uncertainty and change, which forces organizations to to reevaluate who they are constantly. This organizational self-reflection and transformation are central to the role of business analysis services for their multifaceted analysis across strategy, process, data and technology.
Some key reasons why business analysis is so important for Industry 4.0 success are:
- Strategizing digital transformation roadmaps: Business analysts work hand in hand with the executive to create digital transformation strategies that align with business objectives. They take the enterprise-level digital vision and turn it into a roadmap of use cases, technologies, milestones, and metrics.
- Analyzing processes for automation: One of the hallmarks of Industry 4.0 is intelligent process automation, which uses technologies like robotic process automation (RPA), artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML).ML Business analysts model and redesign processes for maximum automation, efficiency and analytics.
- Evaluating technologies and solutions: Many emerging technologies hold the potential for driving innovation and differentiated capabilities. Business analysts research technologies, evaluate solution alternatives and recommend options that are technologically feasible and financially viable.
- Aligning requirements to business goals: Technology implementations have the best ROI when tightly aligned to strategic business objectives. Business analysts elicit, analyze and manage requirements to ensure that solutions map to tangible business needs and deliver measurable value.
- Enabling data-driven decisions: Industry 4.0 runs on data and analytics to optimize operations and products. Business analysts utilize data modeling, analytics, visualization and business intelligence to provide data-backed insights that aid decision-making.
- Leading organizational change: The technology transformations of Industry 4.0 require corresponding cultural and organizational change for success. Business analysts proactively assess change impacts, promote adoption through effective communications, and track change progress.
As we can see, business analysts handle a wide scope that is integral to navigating Industry 4.0 complexities from strategy to execution. Next, we discuss some specific ways business analysis contributes towards key Industry 4.0 focus areas.
Contribution of Business Analysis to Core Components of Industry 4.0
Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart Connected Products
The Internet of Things entails an extensive network of Internet-connected smart devices that can collect, exchange and act upon data. It is a centerpiece of the Industry 4.0 vision, enabling intelligent monitoring and control of infrastructure, supply chains, manufacturing lines, products etc.
Business Analysis for IoT:
- Recommends which business processes and assets should get IoT-enabled for the highest efficiency gains.
- Assess capabilities and costs for unique sensor technologies and IoT platforms to derive a better understanding of the IoT and to use the IoT to enhance composite manufacturing.
- It supports large-scale sensor data aggregation, storage, and analytics, and it models the required IT infrastructure and integrations.
- Design metrics and dashboards leveraging IoT data to optimize performance and decision-making.
- Assesses cybersecurity risks that accompany increased connectivity between physical and digital systems.
Advanced Robotics and Automation
Sophisticated robots powered by AI and machine learning are achieving human-like dexterity and decision-making skills. Combined with other automation technologies like RPA, they are dramatically boosting productivity across factory floors, warehouses, laboratories and more by taking over dangerous, repetitive and routine work.
Business Analysis Role:
- Identifies the processes where automation can deliver the highest ROI
- Analyzes feasibility and payback periods for robotics/automation initiatives
- Models and simulates process flows for identifying automation insertion points
- Redesign processes to maximize work handled by automated systems versus human effort
- Continuously improves processes based on automation capabilities and output data
- Plans training and guides process actors on effective human-robot collaboration
Big Data and Analytics
The explosion of structured and unstructured data from connected IoT systems/sensors and enterprise applications is driving big data and advanced analytics. Using predictive modeling, machine learning, optimization algorithms and more, organizations can gain deep visibility into all aspects of the business and use these insights to excel on multiple fronts – from forecasting demand to predictive maintenance to quality improvement.
Business Analysis for Big Data and Analytics:
- Identifies high-value business use cases for leveraging big data and analytics
- Models information requirements and constructs analytical datasets for different analytics use cases
- Evaluate big data technology platforms for data ingestion, storage, processing and visualization
- DeDesignetrics and performance dashboards condense huge data volumes into easily consumable, actionable insights
- Continually refines analytics models and reporting to meet evolving business needs
- Communicates data-driven insights as recommendations for fact-based decision-making
As demonstrated above, business analysis is indispensable for materializing the core components of Industry 4.0 – from IoT to automation to big data and more. Next, we explore the significance of business analysis for two key cross-cutting themes underpinning successful Industry 4.0 transformations:
Importance of Business Analysis for Cross-Cutting Themes of Industry 4.0 Success
I. Digital Business Model Innovation
Industry 4.0 enables organizations to develop digitally-enabled business models for accessing new revenue streams and unlocking exponential value. Business models powered by mobile apps, platforms, big data monetization, crowdsourcing, sharing economy, IoT connectivity and more are disrupting industries. Legacy companies need to continually experiment with innovative digital business models just to stay competitive.
Business Analysis Fuels Digital Business Model Innovation By:
- Analyzing market gaps for serving unmet customer needs through digital capabilities
- Identifying emerging competitor digital business models to emulate or avoid
- Designing and assessing the viability of new digital business model concepts
- Researching digital technologies that can open up innovation possibilities
- Prototyping minimum viable products (MVPs) to test digital business models
- Determining relevant success metrics for chosen digital business models
- Tracking empirical business model performance to guide refinements
II. Change Management
Becoming a fully connected, automated, and optimized Industry 4.0 enterprise requires major behavioral, cultural and organizational change. People’s mindsets and ways of working need to evolve substantially to extract maximum value from disruptive technologies. Change management is thus imperative for transformation success.
Business Analysts’ Vital Contributions to Change Management:
- Continuously evaluates how emerging Industry 4.0 technologies will impact enterprise components: employees, operating model, policies, competencies etc.
- Measures organizational readiness for change and resistance risks
- Creates targeted communications campaigns for increasing awareness and buy-in at the employee, leadership and external stakeholder levels
- Defines training programs and incentives that encourage people to embrace the necessary changes
- Institutes new digitally-enabled processes, policies, KPIs, and assistance workflows to guide work execution
- Becomes the evangelist and champion for change within the organization
- Closely monitors change progress and feedback channels to refine the program on an agile basis
Emerging Roles for Business Analysts in Industry 4.0 Context
While core business analysis skills remain relevant, Industry 4.0 is spurring some additional specialty roles that leverage business analysis expertise. Some emerging analyst roles include:
- Internet of Things analyst – Focusing on modeling, architecting and analyzing IoT solutions
- Robotics analyst – Strategizing and implementing robotic process automation initiatives
- Advanced data analyst – Designing and delivering big data modeling, analytics and insights
- Digital transformation analyst – Formulating enterprise-level digital strategies and roadmaps
- Change analyst – Leading organizational change management programs
- Business model innovation analyst – Creating digitally driven business models and new growth engines
The dynamics of Industry 4.0 require business analysts to continually expand their knowledge across disruptive technologies, specialty domains, analytics and change management.
Critical Skills and Competencies for Business Analysts in the Industry 4.0 Era
While their core tasks remain unchanged, for business analysts to stay relevant in the Industry 4.0 context, they need to equip themselves with some emerging capabilities like:
- Knowledge of trending Industry 4.0 technologies – IoT, AI/ML, automation etc. and their real-world application
- Data modeling and analytics using the latest big data platforms and tools
- Design thinking and rapid prototyping methods for digital solutions
- Understand modern software engineering concepts like agile, DevOps, etc.
- Cloud architectures and SaaS solution assessment
- Cybersecurity, privacy and ethical technology considerations
- Organizational change management and digital transformation frameworks
- Creative business model conceptualization leveraging digital capabilities
- Communication, influencer and storytelling skills for clarity and vision
Investing in continuous upskilling in these areas is mission-critical for business analysts who want to maximize their impact on Industry 4.0 initiatives.
The Bottom Line
Industry 4.0 represents the most pivotal revolution that companies across sectors have had to transform themselves for. From global manufacturers to small retailers, all organizations need to reimagine themselves digitally to survive amidst unprecedented complexity and change.
This makes business analysis more indispensable than ever. With their 360-degree vantage point across business domains, processes and technologies, business analysts play an indispensable role in turning Industry 4.0’s emerging technologies into tangible business value and competitive advantage. They are truly the organizational stewards needed to navigate digital transformation journeys successfully by integrating strategic foresight with operational insight.
So, for forward-looking companies, nurturing business analysis talent and practices provides a vital competitive edge for flourishing in the Industry 4.0 era and beyond. The bottom line is that business analysis forms the crucial link between digital ambitions and positive outcomes in the fourth industrial revolution.
