▁data ▁science , ▁computer ▁science , ▁statistics , ▁business ▁intelligence , ▁and ▁information ▁theory ▁ge ared ▁towards ▁commercial ▁applications . ▁Stud ents ▁generally ▁come ▁from ▁a ▁variety ▁of ▁background s ▁including ▁computer ▁science , ▁engineering , ▁mathematics , ▁econom ics , ▁and ▁business . ▁University ▁programs ▁mand ate ▁coding ▁prof ic iency ▁in ▁at ▁least ▁one ▁language . ▁The ▁languages ▁most ▁commonly ▁used ▁include ▁R , ▁Python , ▁S AS , ▁and ▁SQL . ▁App lic ants ▁generally ▁have ▁technical ▁prof ic iency ▁before ▁starting ▁the ▁program . ▁Anal ytics ▁concentr ations ▁in ▁M BA ▁programs ▁are ▁less ▁technical ▁and ▁focus ▁on ▁developing ▁working ▁knowledge ▁of ▁statistical ▁applications ▁rather ▁than ▁prof ic iency . ▁ ▁Business ▁analyt ics ▁( BA ) ▁refers ▁to ▁the ▁skills , ▁techn ologies , ▁practices ▁for ▁continuous ▁iter ative ▁expl oration ▁and ▁investigation ▁of ▁past ▁business ▁performance ▁to ▁gain ▁insight ▁and ▁drive ▁business ▁planning .[ 1 ] ▁Business ▁analyt ics ▁focus es ▁on ▁developing ▁new ▁ins ights ▁and ▁understanding ▁of ▁business ▁performance ▁based ▁on ▁data ▁and ▁statistical ▁methods . ▁In ▁contrast , ▁business ▁intelligence ▁tradition ally ▁focus es ▁on ▁using ▁a ▁consistent ▁set ▁of ▁metrics ▁to ▁both ▁measure ▁past ▁performance ▁and ▁guide ▁business ▁planning , ▁which ▁is ▁also ▁based ▁on ▁data ▁and ▁statistical ▁methods . ▁Business ▁analyt ics ▁can ▁be ▁used ▁to ▁le verage ▁pres cript ive ▁analyt ics ▁towards ▁autom ation . ▁ ▁Origin ▁ ▁The ▁M SB A ▁was ▁a ▁response ▁to ▁the ▁increasing ▁need ▁of ▁complex ▁data ▁analysis ▁beyond ▁traditional ▁use ▁of ▁spread sheets ▁such