Issue link: https://resources.esri.ca/i/705924
Benefits Business Analyst Online allowed students to spend less time learning how to use GIS technology and more time conducting research and market analyses to identify target audiences. Students began actively working on their projects within 15 minutes of being introduced to the software, which is three times faster than before. In a high school classroom setting where time is limited, this represents a significant improvement. Students could quickly get to work, analyze and interpret the information they uncovered and relate it to their start-up business plan. For example, students could efficiently create a professional-looking map that shows the drive-time area around a specified location based on demographic data of their choosing, such as age, income and competitor location. Pre-formatted data and reports eliminated the need for teachers to prepare the software in advance for research and market analysis. The increased geographic scope of market research data broadened opportunities for student groups and improved the student projects' ability to mirror a real-world setting. Furthermore, the students' use of Business Analyst Online aligns with SAC's four pillars of teaching: collaboration, growth mindset, critical thinking and boy-friendly learning. Students work in pairs and in groups, while also learning independently to use the software through hands-on experimentation to solve practical business problems. Lastly, Business Analyst Online is a real-world application that enables students to see results immediately. St. Andrew's College Sparks Student Entrepreneurial Spirit with Esri's Business Analyst Online | Esri Canada 2 Working in pairs, Grade 12 students at St. Andrew's College (SAC) used Business Analyst Online to identify target consumer markets leveraging demographic data inetgrated in the solution. " Using Business Analyst Online sped up the training process and gave students many more tools than before." Sean Ludwig Business Teacher and Program Course Director, Business Studies Department, St. Andrew's College In 2014, SAC adopted Esri's Business Analyst Online to improve the market analysis component of the business ventures assignment. The Web-based application applies GIS technology to demographic, consumer spending and business data. To distribute the solution to students, teaching staff created an Esri Business Analyst Online group within SAC's ArcGIS Online organizational account and assigned login and password information for Business Analyst to students. A brief introductory presentation about Esri's Business Analyst Online was given to students, who learned independently by watching online training videos and experimented with the cloud-based software on their laptops. As a result, students immediately began conducting target market analyses and site evaluations using the tools and Canadian demographic, business, consumer and lifestyle data, which are integrated directly into Business Analyst Online. Access to pre-formatted reports based on thousands of data variables gave student groups valuable insights into potential markets for their products. For example, one student group that planned to sell a specialized bicycle light used PRIZM5, a market segmentation solution within the software that classifies Canadians into 68 lifestyle types by postal code. This group discovered a specific geographic segment that matched their target market. Another group building a business plan for a mobile food truck used Business Analyst Online to identify efficiently different demographic and psychographic segments based on time of day and location. Solution