The main theme of the Advanced business approaches 2012 conference is:

IIBA business analyst as a business integrator

According to Ichak K. Adizes, organizations at their peak need integrators who will provide external and internal integration.

Organizations still have a lot of work to do on their association and cooperation culture. The hierarchical silo structures are still too strong in many areas. Organizations are also still mostly focused on products and lack focus on their customers' needs. What and who can they use to make progress in both areas?

One of the newest answers is: IIBA business analysts help managers as business integrators. They provide added value by establishing internal synergies, more efficient ways of doing business and external synergies through partnerships with customers.

IIBA - International Institute of Business Analysis is a global non-profit organization with over 25,000 members in 109 chapters on all continents. The Slovenian chapter has over 50 members.

Its main motto is Helping Business do Business Better

One of its core principles is business integration.

IIBA business analysts in the role of business integrators ensure compliance of the strategic goals and business model with the organization, human resources, processes and IT-systems in the company to connect:

• from the top down - strategy with operations,
  • from the bottom up - employee initiatives and good practices with changes in the organization and its business model,
• horizontally - different business functions i.e. IT and business,
• the successfulness of the organization with customer satisfaction and loyalty.

IIBA business analysts are therefore business integrators who provide the connection with the external (customers) and internal resources of the organization.

Internal cohesion which ensures synergies and efficiency as a result of better connections between resources

IIBA business annalists act first as foremost as facilitators of internal compliance and cohesion - integration of human resources with other business areas, aligning the business strategy with the IT strategy, bringing project and function managers together, establishing ties between the strategic marketing department and the sales department. Larger organizations or company groups must be able to unify their key processes and transfer good practices or improvements from the source throughout the organization. Another important role of business analysts is ensuring an understanding and compliance of the strategic goals on the operational side of the business. For example, while setting up a project they are focused on aligning the business goals of the project with the strategic goals of the organization, calculating the return on investment of the project. While creating an active product portfolio, their expertise can help select and monitor the most optimal projects for the organization in regards to its strategic initiatives and customers' needs and according to its available resources.

External integration with dynamic customer needs

Business integration is the job for IIBA business analysts. They can help the strategic marketing and sales department by constantly and systematically monitoring and analyzing changes in the environment and timely identifying of the economic, demographic, technological and political trends which could influence future needs of customers. This research helps them prepare possible scenarios of future environment changes which can be used to create a response plan for the organization. This enables organizations to step away from their focus on their offers and move to understanding the needs of the environment and customers to adapt their development and offers to customers' needs. Business analysts are also the force behind involving customers into co-creating their products, services and solutions. This way they enable their organizations to transform their offerings to satisfy the true needs of their customers.