Business system specialists
High opportunity occupation
Career Overview
Business systems specialists design, build, test and oversee the information systems an organization uses to meet its business goals.
These workers act as a bridge between the organization’s information technology (IT) and business teams. They identify the organization’s objectives and translate them into achievable IT tasks.
Job Titles
Duties
Business systems specialists:
- Review an organization’s information systems
- Analyze how the organization uses its systems
- Find ways to improve the performance and efficiency of existing systems
- Design and develop new systems based on the organization’s needs and emerging trends
- Give advice on how to manage, use and keep systems secure
- Carry out detailed tests–including after updates–to ensure that systems work well
- Produce reports
- Provide support once a system is in operation
Business systems specialists work on all kinds of information systems. These may include customer relationship management systems, supply chain management systems, quality management systems, project management systems and inventory management systems.
Earnings
Earnings is income that workers receive in exchange for their labour. Depending on the type of employment, earnings can be in the form of wages (hourly), salaries (fixed monthly or annual) or self-employed earnings.
Work Environment
# Workers Employed
3,830% Employed Full Time
78%Business systems specialists work in information technology (IT) consulting firms, and on the IT and business teams in different organizations. They work in the public and private sectors. Some are self-employed.
Business systems specialists typically work in an office. Some may work remotely or from home, since technology allows for systems to be accessed from almost anywhere.
Because systems must be always available, business systems specialists may sometimes work outside of regular office hours. Maintenance and upgrades, for example, often take place during evenings and on weekends.
This work can be stressful, especially when putting in new systems or solving urgent problems. Finding concrete ways to meet an organization’s goals, though, can be very rewarding.
Career Pathways
Those new to this career typically start in junior roles as analysts, systems or network administrators, project managers, quality assurance analysts or software developers.
With more education and experience, they may manage teams or larger projects. They may take on leadership roles as senior specialists, senior business analysts, senior systems analysts, senior project managers or IT directors. Some may start their own consulting businesses.
Related Careers
Occupational Interests
It’s important to understand what kinds of occupations align with your interests.
For more about occupational interests visit Skills for the Future Workforce > Characteristics.
Here are the top occupational interest(s) for this career profile:
Education, Training and Skills
Business systems specialists usually need one of the following:
- Completion of a bachelor's degree in business administration (perferablky with a concentration in management information systems, operations management or supply chain management), OR
- Completion of a bachelor’s degree in computer science, information systems or a related area, OR
- Completion of a college program in business or computer science
Some employers need workers to have industry or technical certifications or to have completed vendor-approved software training.
Because technology changes rapidly, ongoing education is a must. Business systems specialists need to continue to learn new skills throughout their careers.
Education programs in B.C.
The following program areas are related to this occupation:
- Computer Information Systems/Science
- Linguistics Related (Arts)
- Computing Science/Systems Related
- Information Technology Management
- Linguistics (Science)
- Web Technologies
- Networking and Security
Skills
Every job calls for a certain set of skills. Knowing those skills is the first step in finding a good career fit.
Here, you will find the 10 most relevant workplace skills. Some are more important to achieving success in a certain career than others. These skills may come naturally to you or you may need to gain them through education, training and experience.
See the list of work-related skills below, ranked in order of importance for this career. Check out the list and see if this career matches your skills—take that first step!
Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Talking to others to share information effectively.
Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
Being able to solve novel, ill-defined problems in complex, real-world settings.
Keeping track of and assessing your performance, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations and the environment will affect outcomes.
Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Understanding how new information could be used to solve current and future problems in making decisions.
Labour Market Statistics
Discover data, facts and information that have been gathered and analyzed. Learn about the characteristics of the economy and labour market in B.C.
Employment
Find out about employment types and trends by region and industry.
Employment
3,830Employment by Region
| Region | Employment | % Employment of this Occupation |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo | 65 | 1.7% |
| Kootenay | 30 | 0.8% |
| Mainland/Southwest | 2,850 | 74.4% |
| North Coast and Nechako | 0 | 0.0% |
| Northeast | 20 | 0.5% |
| Thompson-Okanagan | 150 | 3.9% |
| Vancouver Island/Coast | 715 | 18.7% |
Labour Market Outlook
The B.C. Labour Market Outlook is a 10-year forecast of the expected supply and demand for labour in the province. It’s usually updated every year. The purpose is to provide British Columbians with the knowledge to make informed decisions on careers, skills training, education and hiring.
Forecasted Job Openings (2024-2034)
1,980Forecasted Job Openings
Forecasted Employment Growth Rate
Composition of Job Openings
Job Openings by Region (2024-2034)
| Region | Job Openings | Avg. Annual Employment Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Cariboo | 20 | 1.0% |
| Kootenay | Not available | Not available |
| Mainland/Southwest | 1,530 | 2.2% |
| North Coast and Nechako | Not available | Not available |
| Northeast | Not available | Not available |
| Thompson-Okanagan | 70 | 1.5% |
| Vancouver Island/Coast | 360 | 1.5% |
Industry Highlights
Learn about the opportunities in B.C.'s major industries, including employment trends, earning potential, locations of work and more.
Forecasted Job Openings by Industry
| Industry | Job Openings (2024-2034) |
|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific and Technical Services | 990 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 210 |
| Public Administration | 190 |
| Finance, Insurance and Real Estate | 170 |
| Information, Culture and Recreation | 100 |
Insights from Industry
Business systems specialists, especially those with experience, are in high demand.
Certain areas of focus are of particular interest to employers. For example, the importance of well-designed supply chain management systems became clear during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many organizations are also intent on improving their data management systems.
More organizations are using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to organize supply chains, manage customer relationships and support other business systems. This means that business systems specialists skilled in data governance, analytics, AI and ML will be in especially high demand.
Resources
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BC Tech Associationwww.wearebctech.com
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Canada's Association of I.T. Professionalswww.cips.ca
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Canada's Association of Information Technology (IT) Professionals - British Columbiawww.bc.cips.ca
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The Canadian Advanced Technology Allianceinnovationsoftheworld.com/canadian-advanced-technology
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Data Management Association (DAMA)www.dama.org/cpages/home
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First Nations Technology Councilwww.technologycouncil.ca
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Information and Communications Technology Councilwww.ictc-ctic.ca
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Information Resource Management Association of Canadawww.irmac.ca
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Information Systems Audit and Control Associationwww.isaca.org
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International Institute of Business Analysiswww.iiba.org
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International Institute of Business Analysis – Career Centrewww.iiba.org/Careers/IIBA-Career-Centre-Find-business-analyst-jobs.aspx
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Technation.ca formerly the Information Technology Association of Canadaitac.ca
