Examining the Effects of Data Analytics on the Performance of Firms: A Case Study of the Banking Industry in Ndola District

This study's goal was to determine how business data analytics strategies affected the performance of banks in the Ndola district's banking sector. A descriptive research design was used with banks in the banking industry which served as the study's target demographic. To ensure that every bank in the population had an equal chance of being chosen, stratified and purposeful sampling was used. 50 employees were selected on purpose as the study's sample size. A questionnaire was used as a primary data gathering tool and was given to employees from at least 5 different departments, particularly in Information Technology, Finance, Operations, Marketing and Customer Service departments. The survey responses were reviewed and divided into a number of categories to make it easier to use descriptive statistics for analysis. The information collected from respondents was summarized using frequency distribution tables. To make the data easier to interpret and study, it was presented as frequency distribution tables, pie charts, and bar charts and in addition data narration was also used. The study found that banks in Ndola City's banking industry used reasonable data analytics techniques and tools to aid them in maintain and attaining a competitive advantage, as well as mitigate financial risk and enhance customer experience. The research also showed that banks encountered many difficulties in the usage of business data analytics which includes organizational culture, human resource expertize, High Data Volume and Velocity, Support from top management, Customer trust and Transparency, Data Security and privacy. If performance of their banks were to remain competitive, the study advises banks in in Ndola District and other companies to implement good business data analytics practices. They should constantly make sure that the process is as inclusive as feasible while implementing data analytics practices. According to the study, commercial banks in Zambia's Ndola district should focus on business data analytics to identify patterns and correlations, improve resource management, and reduce bank hall congestion. The report also suggests that in order for Zambia's listed commercial banks to benefit as much as possible from business analytics technology, they should invest in the appropriate data analytics tools and enable their employees to use them and take appropriate action based on the knowledge they acquire.