Geez, we seem to have this conversation every week.
If companies aren't being silly, business analysts != data scientist. You still need to be comfortable with various statistical distributions, learning algorithms, graphical models, genetic algos, and possibly some NLP.
Best example I can use: at Knewton I work with two data scientists who can jump from belief propagation or genetic algorithms to infrastructural discussions at the drop of a hat. I don't think business analysts can do that.
yummyfajitas gets it right below: most companies need an analyst, not a DS. That doesn't mean there's no need for a DS.
