Analyst Perspectives

We live in an era of uncertainty, not unpredictability. Managing in uncertain times is always difficult, but tools are available to improve the odds for success by making it easier and faster to plan for contingencies and scenarios. Software makes it possible to manage ahead of any future event, connecting the tactical trees to the strategic forest. The purpose of planning is not just to create a plan: Enterprises spend time thinking ahead because it enables leadership teams, executives and...

Unstructured data has been a significant factor in data lakes and analytics for some time. Twelve years ago, nearly a third of enterprises were working with large amounts of unstructured data. As I’ve pointed out previously, unstructured data is really a misnomer. The data is structured; it's just not structured into rows and columns that fit neatly into a relational table like much of the other information enterprises process. Consequently, it requires different skills, different technology...

Digitally transforming finance operations has been a priority since 2020. For purchasing and the procure-to-pay cycle, software can streamline processes, shorten process times, reduce unnecessary costs, provide greater visibility into cash flows, increase control and improve results. Digitizing operations helps attract and retain the best talent because professionals spend less time on mechanical, repetitive tasks. For all these reasons, beginning this year, Ventana Research’s Office of Finance...

The migration of on-premises applications to the cloud has become more than just a technological shift; it’s a strategic imperative for enterprises. This transition, driven by the need for competitiveness, agility and responsiveness in a rapidly evolving business environment that operates at the speed of digital, is not a simple task. It requires a careful balance between the technology roadmap and the strategic business objectives of the organization.

The increasing importance of intelligent operational applications driven by artificial intelligence (AI) is blurring the lines that have traditionally divided the requirements between operational and analytic data platforms. Operational data platforms have traditionally been deployed to support applications targeted at business users and decision-makers to run the business, with analytic data platforms typically supporting applications used by data and business analysts to analyze the business.

We’ve been saying for years that natural language processing (NLP) and natural language analytics would greatly expand access to analytics. However, prior to the explosion of generative AI (GenAI), software providers had struggled to bring robust natural language capabilities to market. It required considerable manual effort. Many analytics providers had introduced natural language capabilities, but they didn’t really resonate with enterprise requirements. They required significant effort to...

Revenue and sales performance used to be the preserve of a few software providers as many enterprises made do with in-house solutions, often built on the ubiquitous spreadsheet. But increasingly managing revenue and sales performance is becoming too complex as business models are changing in response to customer behavior.

Ventana Research recently announced its 2024 Market Agenda for Human Capital Management, continuing the guidance we have offered for two decades to help enterprises derive maximum potential from workforce- and people-related technology investments and initiatives. In crafting this Market Agenda, we focused on essential themes that are critical for HR organizations and for the software providers supporting them. The transformative nature of AI has not just begun to bring intelligence to HCM; it...

We are going through an analytics revolution in and around contact centers. There is more data to analyze and better tools to conduct the analysis. One important advancement is assessing customer sentiment and using it to predict (and influence) behavior. Enterprises are using customer experience programs to identify and act upon hidden "moments of leverage" where customers may be inclined or primed to make a purchase. To do that effectively, enterprises need insight into how the customer...

I am excited to announce that I have joined Ventana Research and ISG to lead coverage of the Human Capital Management technology practice, including Continuous Payroll, Employee Experience, Learning Management, Talent Management, Total Compensation Management and Workforce Management.