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Big Data: At Amazon, LinkedIn, Salesforce, Cloud Computing Is Fuelling MBA Careers

The cloud has become a silver lining in the MBA jobs market

By  Seb Murray

Thu Mar 31 2016

BusinessBecause
It’s no secret that big data has become the sexiest MBA job field: Business school grads are scrambling to fill what McKinsey says will be shortage of 1.8 million data managers by 2018.

And with Silicon Valley pouring billions of dollars into cloud computing — Salesforce, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Amazon included — the sector has become a silver lining in a crowded employment market.

Amazon’s MBA recruitment binge — it’s been expanding this track for the past five years, BusinessBecause reports — is fuelled by a powerful push into the cloud computing market.

Amazon Web Services, the e-commerce giant’s cloud business, grew by 70% in the last quarter, raking in revenues to the tune of $2.4 billion.

Growth is so robust that Amazon has set-up a leadership development pipeline just for MBAs to steer the surging cloud unit — CloudPath, a three-year program that prepares MBAs to become leaders within Amazon Web Services.

“We see MBAs as an important leadership pipeline,” says Miriam Park, Amazon’s director of university recruiting.

The cloud rotation is specifically designed to test and develop a participant’s leadership and analytics capabilities — a skill that is white hot in the tech recruitment market.

“Familiarity with data analytics and coding is important in technology,” says Richard Bland, at London Business School’s Career Center. Ted Zoller, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, says: “The currency is your ability to code.”

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At LinkedIn, Chris Brown, director of LinkedIn Talent Solutions UK, says there are global job opportunities for business professionals and business students.

Cloud-based recruiting software has been behind the social network’s growth. More than 60% of LinkedIn’s revenues — $3 billion in total in 2015 — come from recruiters.

“Being able to match those opportunities or those jobs with people at scale all comes from use of data,” Chris says.

At SAP, the German enterprise software group, “there are always different opportunities” for MBAs, says Michael Jordan, global portfolio manager for SAP’s analytics software.

It is not just companies that rely on cloud technologies for profitability that are harnessing data. Most of the big tech groups do so, argues Jaideep Prabhu, professor of enterprise at University of Cambridge’s Judge Business School.

“Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple are using their platforms to generate huge amounts of data that give them customer insight and leverage,” he says.

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Without doubt, says professor Kalyan Talluri, director of Imperial College’s MSc in Business Analytics, Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Twitter have been ahead of the big data curve.

At Amazon, Google and Facebook in particular, talent scouts are looking for people who can leverage big data, according to Jake Cohen, senior associate dean at MIT Sloan School of Management. “Recruiters have said they’re looking for training in advanced business analytics.”

For Amazon, CloudPath puts MBAs through rotations in supply chain and procurement, data center, and engineering businesses. Global supply chains have increasingly adopted cloud technologies and this may be a source of job opportunity for those with relevant expertise.

Eugene Spiegle, vice chair of the Supply Chain Management Department at Rutgers Business School, says software is increasingly helping the entire logistical process, from demand planning through to manufacturing and resource scheduling.

Student Reviews

Imperial College Business School

Sakshi

Verified

5/11/2023

On Campus

Innovative, Immersive and an Excellent Curriculum

The MSc Strategic Marketing course opens many avenues into the business world at Imperial. The coursework consists of group-based assignments, individual reports, and sometimes, examinations. The Careers team helps you with your CV, Cover letters, and other job application support. Imperial truly lives up to its name!

Shiyun

Verified

19/05/2020

Very applicable courses

I enjoyed studying here for my master degree as I could feel that I was surrounded by very clever people, and I did learn a lot of knowledge that I could directly put into use into my current internship

Student

Verified

9/05/2020

Diversity and Professional Development

Imperial College London is an innovation hub with expertise across multiple industries. The international student body exposes students to endless cultures and experiences. Furthermore, the Careers team at Imperial is second to none as directors help guide students to the career paths of their dreams.

Student

Verified

20/04/2018

Business School

Imperial college business school has amazing facilities, amazing staff. I particularly like the business school cafe although it would be nice if they added a few more power sockets in the open space and heating for winter. The course is really good too. Very interactive classes and highly diverse environment.

Student

Verified

8/07/2020

Career Services

Very strong university with good quality faculty and a very strong career services team that prepared students well for the jobs market. Very nice facilities in the city center. Good sessions organised with employers.

Student

Verified

29/05/2020

Chinese students majored in English- now strategic marketing

My undergraduate major was English back in China and now an MSc student in strategic marketing at Imperial. For Chinese students who share similar experiences with me, you can get as much/deep as you want about marketing with some challenging group works and inspiring lectures. At the same time, if you just want to get the degree anyway with less effort, it's possible as well... ...

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