The profession of Business Intelligence (BI) consultant
The Business Intelligence (BI) Consultant provides management and decision-makers with high-value data to facilitate strategic decision-making. To achieve this, they gather requirements, collect data, and develop and utilize IT decision support tools.
Their critical role in business development requires advanced IT knowledge and a strong understanding of how organizations operate. The Master's in Computer Science at Université Paris Dauphine-PSL is a rigorous academic program that prepares students to become Business Intelligence Consultants.
Role and responsibilities of a business intelligence consultant
Business Intelligence is a process that gathers, analyzes, and presents data in a way that is easy to understand, using new technologies. The BI Consultant develops these technologies for organizations to extract, refine, and synthesize important data for decision-making.
This data is both internal to the company and sourced from its environment and market. Also known as decision support systems, BI has been growing since the advent of Big Data.
Daily tasks
The responsibilities of a Business Intelligence Consultant include:
- Gather the functional requirements of the project
- Draft a project specification document
- Create and develop a data collection and analysis policy
- Implement the extraction and processing (ETL) process
- Coordinate resources and manage the project
- Perform data measurement and analysis
- Create and present reports and summaries for executives
Salaries and career progression
The median salary for a junior Business Intelligence (BI) Consultant ranges between €39,000 and €40,000 gross annually upon graduation. With the increasing complexity of technical solutions and the growth of data, the BI Consultant plays an increasingly vital role in supporting organizational decision-making.
As their experience and responsibilities grow, so does their salary. After 3 years of experience, a Business Intelligence Consultant's salary typically ranges between €45,000 and €50,000 gross annually. A BI Consultant can progress to roles such as Project Manager, Department Head, or Information Systems Architecture Manager.
Required skills
- In-depth knowledge of decision support tools (Oracle, Microsoft, Sybase…)
- Strong technical knowledge in IT, including SQL language
- Proficiency in data management and analysis tools
- Advanced project management skills
- Managerial skills and strong interpersonal abilities
- Understanding of organizational sciences
- Analytical and logical thinking
What studies are required to become a Business Intelligence consultant ?
To gain the technical knowledge in IT and master the fundamentals of organizational sciences, a Business Intelligence Consultant must pursue a high-level Master's degree (Bac+5). A Master's in Computer Science equips students with theoretical, managerial, and technical skills, providing excellent career prospects and opportunities for growth as a BI Consultant.
Graduates of this academic path are highly sought after by digital service companies (ESN), software publishers, as well as IT departments (DSI) of large corporations or public administrations.
Training to become a Business Intelligence Consultant at Université Paris Dauphine-PSL
Université Paris Dauphine-PSL offers a Master's in Computer Science with a specialization to become a Business Intelligence Consultant. Specifically, the MIAGE-ID (Applied IT Methods for Business Management and Decision Support) specialization provides students with dual expertise in IT and decision support.
The program includes advanced courses in Data Science, Big Data, and Decision Sciences.