ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives (29)

Wiiisdom Automates Analytics Operations for Trusted Analyses

Posted by David Menninger on 15 March 2023

Data analytics provide valuable insights and enable organizations to make better decisions, improve performance and gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Analytics can change frequently depending on the data being analyzed and the methods used to gather and process it. Factors such as new data, changes in the underlying systems or updates to algorithms can all contribute to differences... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence

Cockroach Labs Promotes Developer Efficiency for Distributed Databases

Posted by Matt Aslett on 15 March 2023

I recently wrote about the potential use cases for distributed SQL databases as well as techniques being employed by vendors to accelerate adoption. Distributed SQL is a term that is used by several vendors to describe operational data platform products that combine the benefits of the relational database model and native support for distributed cloud architecture, including resilience that spans... Read More

Topics: Cloud Computing, Data, Digital Technology, Analytics and Data

Product Experience Management Value Index Classifies and Rates Vendors

Posted by Mark Smith on 14 March 2023

I am happy to share insights gleaned from our latest Value Index research, an assessment of how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements. The Ventana Research Value Index: Product Experience Management 2023 is the distillation of a year of market and product research by Ventana Research. Drawing on our Benchmark Research, we apply a structured methodology built on evaluation categories... Read More

Topics: Marketing, Product Information Management, Operations & Supply Chain

Our Focus on Close, Consolidate and Report in Finance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 14 March 2023

For 2023, the Office of Finance practice of Ventana Research introduced Close, Consolidate and Report as one of its six focus areas. The change reflects the recent evolution of technology that supports this part of the finance department calendar. Ventana Research expects that the increasing investment in software to streamline these processes will, by 2026, result in two-thirds of finance and... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance

Accounts Payable Automation is More Valuable Than You Think

Posted by Robert Kugel on 10 March 2023

We added purchasing, sourcing and payments to our core Office of Finance focus areas this year to reflect new and important opportunities to use technology to gain effectiveness through greater efficiency. Doing a better job of record-keeping and organizing paperwork – especially in a minutiae-laden process like source-to-pay – may seem trivial. Yet digitally transforming core business processes... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Product Experience Management Requires Next-Gen Digital Technology

Posted by Mark Smith on 10 March 2023

Having just completed the 2023 Ventana Research Value Index for Product Experience Management, I want to share some of my observations about how the market has advanced over the last two years. The product information management software market is quite mature and products from any of the vendors we assess could be used to effectively deliver information to help your organization improve its... Read More

Topics: Marketing, Product Information Management, Operations & Supply Chain

Product Experience Management Market Requires Digital and Processes Excellence

Posted by Mark Smith on 09 March 2023

Having just completed the 2023 Ventana Research Value Index for Product Experience Management, I want to share some of my observations about how the market has advanced over the last two years. The product information management software (PIM) market is quite mature and products from any of the vendors we assessed can be used to effectively deliver information to help your organization improve... Read More

Topics: Marketing, Product Information Management, Operations & Supply Chain

Use Observability for Better Digital Processes

Posted by David Menninger on 09 March 2023

For years various types of systems have produced log files to help with monitoring, debugging and performance management. Often, this information was used in forensic analyses of why interruptions in service or other problems occurred. In many cases, log files are still used this way. But systems have grown more complicated, and many more devices are instrumented. Systems have been decomposed... Read More

Topics: Business Continuity, Digital Technology

Our Focus on Purchasing, Sourcing and Payments in 2023

Posted by Robert Kugel on 08 March 2023

Digitally transforming core business processes became essential as organizations locked down in early 2020 because of the pandemic and the need to operate remotely presented a set of new challenges that were best addressed by software. Especially in the areas of sourcing, purchasing and payments, software has the ability to streamline processes, shorten process cycles, reduce unnecessary costs,... Read More

Topics: ERP, Office of Finance, continuous supply chain

Exasol Accelerates Analytics With an In-Memory Database

Posted by Matt Aslett on 07 March 2023

Organizations require faster analytics to continuously improve business operations and stay competitive in today’s market. However, many struggle with slow analytics due to a variety of factors such as slow databases, insufficient data storage capacity, poor data quality, lack of proper data cleansing and inadequate IT infrastructure. Challenges such as data silos can also decrease operational... Read More

Topics: Data Management, Data, analytic data platforms

Making Automation Easier for Contact Centers

Posted by Keith Dawson on 02 March 2023

Contact centers are very often keen on optimizing their costs through automation. Technology vendors supplying this market have recognized this need, and in the past few years, they have been putting workflow and automation tools front and center in their offerings. This has raised some questions among practitioners about the most effective strategies for implementing automated processes. Based... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Contact Center, agent management

Reclaim the Value in Your CRM System

Posted by Stephen Hurrell on 02 March 2023

I have been involved with customer relationship management for over 15 years, and although that is not as long as the category has been around, it does coincide with an era where companies and commentators are calling into question the application’s effectiveness. To counter this perception, both CRM vendors and complementary third-party “add-ons” have developed new functionality that aims to... Read More

Topics: Office of Revenue

Foundational Blockchain Founders as TradeLens Shuts Down

Posted by Robert Kugel on 02 March 2023

Maersk is closing its TradeLens joint venture with IBM that began in 2018. It was intended to enable port operators, customs authorities, freight forwarders and importers to track containers and their contents. The system was designed to substantially reduce the inefficiencies and delays created by paper-based systems used for customs, trade finance, tariffs and taxes as well as supply chain and... Read More

Topics: Operations & Supply Chain, blockchain, continuous supply chain

5 Strategies to Improve Candidate Experience and Conversion Rates

Posted by ISG Research on 01 March 2023

Recruiting is hard. The best candidate often isn’t even actively looking for a new role, and yet recruiters are expected to find the perfect match of skills, experience and fit at exactly the right time and somehow convince that individual to leave a familiar role and work community to join a new organization. Those who are already in the market have gone to considerable lengths to ensure their... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Talent Management

Explore Graph Databases for Better Relationships

Posted by Matt Aslett on 01 March 2023

I have previously written about the functional evolution and emerging use cases for NoSQL databases, a category of non-relational databases that first emerged 15 or so years ago and are now well established as potential alternatives to relational databases. NoSQL is a term that is used to describe a variety of databases that fall into four primary functional categories: key-value stores, wide... Read More

Topics: Data

More Effective Contingency Planning Improves Agility

Posted by Robert Kugel on 28 February 2023

We live in a time of uncertainty, not unpredictability. Managing an organization in uncertain times is always hard, 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 quickly consider the impact of a range of events or assumptions and devise a set of plans to deal with them. Dedicated... Read More

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

Promethium Provides Data Fabric and Self-Service for Speed to Insights

Posted by Matt Aslett on 22 February 2023

The market for data and analytics products is constantly evolving, with the emergence of new approaches to data persistence, data processing and analytics. This enables organizations to constantly adapt data analytics architecture in response to emerging functional capabilities and business requirements. It can, however, also be a challenge. Investments in data platforms cannot be constantly... Read More

Topics: Data Governance, Data Management, Data, data operations

Cloud ERP is the Path Forward for Manufacturing and Product Companies

Posted by Robert Kugel on 22 February 2023

The cloud has come to dominate many business software categories, but until recently, enterprise resource planning for manufacturing and product-focused organizations has been a notable laggard. Cloud-based systems can be less costly to operate, perform better, be more secure and shift maintenance and update chores from the IT department to the vendor, freeing IT teams to concentrate on more... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Operations & Supply Chain, Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, continuous supply chain

Advanced Analytics Enable More Informed Decision-Making

Posted by David Menninger on 16 February 2023

I’ve previously written about the analytics continuum, which spans a range of capabilities including reporting, visualization, planning, real-time processes, natural language processing, artificial intelligence and machine learning. I’ve also written about the analysis that goes into making intelligent decisions with decision intelligence. In this perspective, I’d like to focus on one end of the... Read More

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

Soda Provides Collaborative Approach to Data Observability

Posted by Matt Aslett on 16 February 2023

Data observability was a hot topic in 2022 and looks likely to be a continued area of focus for innovation in 2023 and beyond. As I have previously described, data observability software is designed to automate the monitoring of data platforms and data pipelines, as well as the detection and remediation of data quality and data reliability issues. There has been a Cambrian explosion of data... Read More

Topics: Cloud Computing, Data Management, Data, Digital Technology, data operations, Analytics and Data