ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives (13)

What Open Platforms Mean for Contact Centers

Posted by Keith Dawson on 12 November 2024

Software providers have identified “openness” as a key consideration for contact center buyers. Since there is no generally accepted rule about what makes a system open, it makes sense for us to examine what components contribute to that quality, and why it should be thought of as a good thing. Contact centers have been dealing with the tension between so-called open and proprietary platforms for... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Contact Center

Capital One Offers Cost Controls for Cloud Data Warehouses

Posted by Matt Aslett on 07 November 2024

The adoption of cloud environments for analytic workloads has been a key feature of the data platforms sector in recent years. For two-thirds (66%) of participants in ISG’s Data Lake Dynamic Insights Research, the primary data platform used for analytics is cloud based. Many enterprises adopted cloud-based analytic data platforms with a view to improving operational efficiencies by reducing the... Read More

Topics: data operations, Analytics and Data

A Planning Center of Excellence Delivers Performance Improvement

Posted by Robert Kugel on 07 November 2024

Artificial Intelligence and generative AI are beginning to change how enterprises do many things, especially planning and budgeting. This technology has the potential to significantly redefine the mission of the financial planning and analysis group. It will do so by substantially reducing the time spent on the purely mechanical aspects of day-to-day tasks. AI is also making it easier for... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Analytics, Business Planning, Workforce Management, AI and Machine Learning

Beyond Buzzwords: How HR Tech Can Drive DEIB Success

Posted by Matthew Brown on 06 November 2024

For many years, HR teams encountered an endless stream of buzzwords often intended to garner excitement about new technological developments or further evolution of the HR profession. Unfortunately, this often leads us down unproductive paths in the attempt to be part of the conversation. Often, executives and senior leaders will express a requirement to include the latest buzzwords in any... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Learning Management, Talent Management, Workforce Management, Payroll Management, Total Compensation Management, employee experience

Restructuring Cybersecurity: Lessons from Microsoft's Recent Changes

Posted by Jeff Orr on 06 November 2024

The structures that govern enterprise security teams are under scrutiny. A recent report from a government watchdog group has taken issue with Microsoft’s cybersecurity strategies in the wake of its Exchange Server attacks, prompting the enterprise software giant to re-evaluate its reporting structures. The implications of this shift extend beyond Microsoft itself, with cybersecurity becoming a... Read More

Topics: Digital Technology, Cybersecurity, CISO

Verint Focuses Bots on Contact Center Outcomes

Posted by Keith Dawson on 05 November 2024

Verint is operating in quite a different marketplace for contact center and agent management technology than existed five years ago. We have seen tremendous innovation and expansion of the available technologies for running centers and optimizing the performance of the human labor pool, as well as an explosion of tools built to automate customer interactions. Agent management tools that were... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Contact Center, agent management

Generative Automation: An Alternative for Process Optimization

Posted by Robert Kugel on 05 November 2024

Agents are all the rage—and for a good reason. They are a way to automate work almost effortlessly so that repetitive and boring tasks get done with the least amount of effort on the part of the operator. In business, agents can be a boon for customer satisfaction and a way to improve worker productivity. They are alluring, with an almost unlimited number of potential use cases. However, as... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, natural language processing, AI and Machine Learning, Digital Applications, Order-to-Cash

The Increasing Importance of Open Table Formats

Posted by Matt Aslett on 31 October 2024

I previously wrote about the importance of open table formats to the evolution of data lakes into data lakehouses. The concept of the data lake was initially proposed as a single environment where data could be combined from multiple sources to be stored and processed to enable analysis by multiple users for multiple purposes. The first iteration of data lakes, based on Apache Hadoop and then... Read More

Topics: Streaming Data Events, Analytics and Data

Unlocking Success with Enterprise GenAI Tools

Posted by Jeff Orr on 31 October 2024

Generative AI (GenAI) software can transform various aspects of enterprise operations, which makes it a critical component of modern business strategies. GenAI tools can automate repetitive tasks such as data entry, report generation and customer interactions. GenAI can improve overall operational efficiency, resulting in time and cost savings for the organization. Another benefit from GenAI... Read More

Topics: Playbook, Digital Technology, employee experience

Oracle Advances its AI-Enabled Supply Chain Management Suite

Posted by Robert Kugel on 30 October 2024

Oracle announced significant updates to its Fusion Cloud Supply Chain & Manufacturing (SCM) software at the recently held Oracle Cloud World. The application suite includes procurement, inventory management, warehouse management, order management and transportation management. SCM tasks are mostly small-scale and repetitive, yet the processes they support are far from simple. They involve the... Read More

Topics: Product Information Management, Operations & Supply Chain, AI, continuous supply chain, Continuous Supply Chain & ERP, Digital Applications

Contact Center AI Gain Traction: Profitable Use Cases

Posted by Keith Dawson on 29 October 2024

With a flood of artificial intelligence-related tools now available for contact center buyers, it can be helpful to take a step back and review where buyers can expect a quick return on investment and maximum improvement in efficiency and productivity. For now, it appears that there are three broad buckets into which contact center-focused AI applications are clustered. They all relate to agent... Read More

Topics: Voice of the Customer, Contact Center

Denodo Provides a Logical Approach to Data Management

Posted by Matt Aslett on 24 October 2024

Although the terms data fabric and data mesh are often used interchangeably, I previously explained that they are distinct but complementary. Data fabric refers to technology products that can be used to integrate, manage and govern data across distributed environments, supporting the cultural and organizational data ownership and access goals of data mesh. Data fabric and data mesh are also both... Read More

Topics: Analytics and Data

You Don’t Have to Put Up with a Manual Quote to Contract Process

Posted by Stephen Hurrell on 23 October 2024

In a previous role I was actively involved with identifying and implementing dashboards and reports tracking key sales department metrics and KPIs for enterprise-size customers as well as high-tech growth companies. These included recognizable examples such as opportunity conversion rate, average deal size and sales velocity (length of time to close, won or lost). Wind the clock forward and in my... Read More

Topics: Office of Revenue

Sprinklr Zeros in on a CXM Platform

Posted by Keith Dawson on 23 October 2024

Sprinklr’s analyst day in September was an opportunity for the company to dive deeply into its progress in pivoting its product offerings to align with a broader perception of the market for contact centers and adjacent customer-related applications. Sprinklr has described its market as “unified CXM,” or customer experience management. This is nominally aligned with how ISG Research defines the... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Contact Center, agent management

Fauna’s Data Platform Combines Agility and Transaction Integrity

Posted by Matt Aslett on 16 October 2024

As I noted in the 2024 Buyers Guide for Operational Data Platforms, intelligent applications powered by artificial intelligence have impacted the requirements for operational data platforms. These applications, infused with contextually relevant recommendations, predictions and forecasting, are driven by machine learning and generative AI. Traditionally, operational data platforms support... Read More

Topics: Analytics and Data

Should I Stay or Go? Migrating to AI-Enabled Applications

Posted by Robert Kugel on 15 October 2024

Artificial intelligence-enabled business applications have advanced considerably over the past year as software providers have added a steady stream of capabilities. This includes customer facing, financial, supply chain and workforce software. ISG Research asserts that by 2027, almost all providers of business applications will use some form of generative AI to enhance capabilities and... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Detecting and Preventing Bias: A Crucial Element of AI Governance

Posted by David Menninger on 09 October 2024

In today's rapidly evolving technological landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) governance has emerged as a critical ingredient for successful AI deployments. It helps build trust in the results of AI models, it helps ensure compliance with regulations and it is necessary to meet internal governance requirements. Effective AI governance must encompass various dimensions, including data privacy,... Read More

Topics: AI, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Collibra Provides a Platform for Data Intelligence

Posted by Matt Aslett on 08 October 2024

As I recently noted, the term “data intelligence” has been used by multiple providers across analytics and data for several years and is becoming more widespread as software providers respond to the need to provide enterprises with a holistic view of data production and consumption. I assert that through 2027, three-quarters of enterprises will be engaged in data intelligence initiatives to... Read More

Topics: Analytics and Data

Data as a Product: Needs and Requirements

Posted by Matt Aslett on 02 October 2024

I previously wrote about data mesh as a cultural and organizational approach to distributed data processing. Data mesh has four key principles—domain-oriented ownership, data as a product, self-serve data infrastructure and federated governance—each of which is being widely adopted. I assert that by 2027, more than 6 in 10 enterprises will adopt technologies to facilitate the delivery of data as... Read More

Topics: data operations, Analytics and Data

Avoiding Toxicity in Generative AI

Posted by David Menninger on 24 September 2024

As I’ve written recently, artificial intelligence governance is a concern for many enterprises. In our recent ISG Market Lens study on generative AI, 39% of participants cited data privacy and security among the biggest inhibitors to adopting AI. Nearly a third (32%) identified performance and quality (e.g., erroneous results), and an equal amount (32%) mentioned legal risk. The AI market has... Read More

Topics: AI, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning