Difference Between Business Analyst and Business Consultant

All businesses, whether starting up or established ones, every now and then require help from experts to cut down on inefficiencies and search for ways to improve productivity and overall performance. These services are provided by independent professionals who are differently called as business analysts and business consultants. Many people think of these two types of experts as being same and even talk of them in the same breath, but in reality there are differences between the two that this article will highlight.

The job profiles of a business analyst and a business consultant are totally different. Business consultant is an expert who comes from outside the company and provides his services at per hour rates. He helps and advices on one or more areas of business such as marketing or operational inefficiencies. On the other hand, a business analyst is normally an internal employee whose main job is to liaise between the company and technical firms, mainly with a view to developing computer systems in the organization. In general, consulting is going in for outside help and advice to address particular problems. On the other hand, business analysts analyze and understand a problem within a particular domain (especially in IT)

So where does the difference lie? It seems the difference is in bringing in the expertise from outside. In huge enterprises, there is always an internal consultant who is the employee of the company. Many of the skills of both a business analyst and a business consultant are same but typically a BA is more of a technical expert while a business consultant is more of a financial expert.

Business analyst actually translates client requirements into software requirements. He acts as a bridge between the client and software developers. On the other hand, a business consultant helps in optimizing the whole business operations.