ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives (36)

To Attract the Best Talent, Make Accounting Cool

Posted by Robert Kugel on 24 August 2022

Especially in the United States, baby boomer retirements and fewer graduates with accounting degrees is posing a growing challenge to finance department executives in attracting and retaining the best accounting talent. The solution, which may not seem obvious, is to make accounting cool, again. Wait, what? Was accounting ever cool? Well, maybe it depends on what you think is cool. Double-entry... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

iCIMS Helps Organizations Recruit and Engage Talent

Posted by ISG Research on 18 August 2022

It has been nearly two and a half years since the world was thrust into one of the most dramatic eras of workforce transformation in the modern era. Organizations have been forced to reevaluate everything about the workforce, from the physical spaces in which work is done, to compensation, to non-traditional benefits and work/life enhancement offerings. Even so, many continue to struggle to... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Talent Management

Embed Analytics for Greater Reach and More Responsiveness

Posted by David Menninger on 18 August 2022

When I looked at the state of analytics recently, it was clear that analytics are not as widely deployed within organizations as they should be. Only 23% of participants in our Analytics and Data Benchmark Research reported that more than one-half of their organization’s workforce are using analytics. There are many elements to becoming a data-driven organization, as my colleague Matt Aslett... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Analytics and Data

Sourcing and Purchasing Need Digital Transformation

Posted by Robert Kugel on 17 August 2022

“Digital finance transformation” became an even more important topic over the past two years as finance and accounting departments have had to cope with an unrelenting set of new challenges that have had a profound impact on business operations, financial markets and regulatory environments. Digital technologies enable organizations to cope with change and improve performance by increasing... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Streaming Data Success Relies on Managing Data in Motion and At Rest

Posted by Matt Aslett on 16 August 2022

I recently noted that as demand for real-time interactive applications becomes more pervasive, the use of streaming data is becoming more mainstream. Streaming data and event processing has been part of the data landscape for many decades, but for much of that time, data streaming was a niche activity. Although adopted in industry segments with high-performance, real-time data processing and... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Data, Streaming Analytics, Streaming Data Events, Analytics and Data

Qlik Advances Self-Service Analytics and Business Intelligence

Posted by David Menninger on 11 August 2022

The analytics and business intelligence market landscape continues to grow as more organizations seek robust tools and capabilities to visualize and better understand data. BI systems are used to perform data analysis, identify market trends and opportunities and streamline business processes. They can collect and combine data from internal and external systems to present a holistic view. BI... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Data Governance, Data Management, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

A Talent Acquisition Platform Leads to Competitive Advantage

Posted by ISG Research on 11 August 2022

The applicant tracking system, for all its shortcomings, revolutionized the way people found and applied for jobs when it first hit the market in the mid-1990s. Electronic applications quickly became the norm, resume or application review became more accessible for hiring teams and compliance was much more trackable and achievable, thanks to streamlined application processes. Today, tracking and... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Talent Management

Anaplan at a Crossroads

Posted by Robert Kugel on 10 August 2022

Anaplan offers a cloud-based business planning platform that incorporates a modeling and calculation engine. The tool makes it relatively easy to add or expand the scope of plans that can be connected and monitored on a single platform. This Integrated Business Planning (IBP) approach enables organizations to use the software for financial planning or budgeting, sales, supply chain, workforce,... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Continuous Planning, Business Intelligence, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, continuous supply chain, AI and Machine Learning

Ascend.io Automates Data Engineering

Posted by Matt Aslett on 09 August 2022

I have recently written about the importance of healthy data pipelines to ensure data is integrated and processed in the sequence required to generate business intelligence, and the need for data pipelines to be agile in the context of real-time data processing requirements. Data engineers, who are responsible for monitoring, managing and maintaining data pipelines, are under increasing pressure... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Cloud Computing, Data Management, Data, data operations

Preparing Agents for Success in Automated, Distributed Contact Centers

Posted by Keith Dawson on 04 August 2022

The contact center industry is reexamining how organizations engage with contact center agents. One thing that we learned from the forced movement to work-from-home was that organizations have to provide agents with appropriate tools to collaborate and communicate with peers and supervisors as well as workers in the back office who participate in all sorts of customer-facing or customer-adjacent... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Voice of the Customer, Contact Center, agent management

Neo4j Expands Data Science Focus with New Managed Service

Posted by Matt Aslett on 03 August 2022

I recently explained how emerging application requirements were expanding the range of use cases for NoSQL databases, increasing adoption based on the availability of enhanced functionality. These intelligent applications require a close relationship between operational data platforms and the output of data science and machine learning projects. This ensures that machine learning and predictive... Read More

Topics: Business Intelligence, Data, analytic data platforms, AI and Machine Learning

FP&A Needs a Data Strategy for Meeting Internal ESG Goals

Posted by Robert Kugel on 03 August 2022

Environmental, social and governance issues have grown increasingly pressing over the past few years as investors and government entities urge organizations to measure and disclose ESG metrics. I’ve already covered the broader topic as it relates to external reporting and how financial planning and analysis groups are likely to own this mandate going forward. (It’s mainly been a marketing and... Read More

Topics: FP&A, Office of Finance, ESG

Expanding the Analytics Continuum: From Analysis to Action

Posted by David Menninger on 02 August 2022

I often use the term “analytics” to refer to a broad set of capabilities, deliberately broader than business intelligence. In this Perspective, I’d like to share what decision-makers should consider as they evaluate the range of analytics requirements for their organization. The analytics continuum comprises the many types of analyses organizations perform, including reporting, visualization,... Read More

Topics: Business Intelligence, natural language processing, Streaming Analytics, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

The Impact of Payroll Technology on the Employee Experience

Posted by ISG Research on 27 July 2022

I spent years in the talent acquisition space, and I think that at least several months of that time – cumulatively – was spent just trying to get people to calm down. Talent acquisition is a critically important business process, but if I had a dollar for every time I had to remind someone that there really are no recruiting emergencies, I’d be a wealthy woman. The same sentiment does not hold... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, HR technology, HR/Payroll, Payroll Management, employee experience

DataStax Provides a Platform for Data in Motion and at Rest

Posted by Matt Aslett on 27 July 2022

Streaming data has been part of the industry landscape for decades but has largely been focused on niche applications in segments with the highest real-time data processing and analytics performance requirements, such as financial services and telecommunications. As demand for real-time interactive applications becomes more pervasive, streaming data is becoming a more mainstream pursuit, aided by... Read More

Topics: Data, Streaming Analytics, Streaming Data Events

Field Service Heads for Greater Automation and Integration

Posted by Keith Dawson on 26 July 2022

Field service is a segment of customer experience that is dominated by two elements: the complexity of the issues handled, and the high cost of providing on-site services. It is recognized as a critical component of the service experience, especially when managing the condition of high-precision equipment in the medical, manufacturing and utility industries. It is also a high-risk moment in the... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Voice of the Customer, Contact Center, agent management

Tableau Brings Business Intelligence to Business Users

Posted by David Menninger on 26 July 2022

Organizations are collecting vast amounts of data every day, utilizing business intelligence software and data visualization to gain insights and identify patterns and errors in the data. Making sense of these patterns can enable an organization to gain an edge in the marketplace and plan more strategically. Tableau is a data visualization software company, acquired by Salesforce in 2019, that... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, AI and Machine Learning

Adopt the Fast Follower Paradigm for Finance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 26 July 2022

Although the digital transformation of the finance department was a topic of discussion before 2020, it became a front-and-center issue as organizations locked down and in-office interactions became impossible. Finance and accounting departments were immediately confronted with a challenge because of their limited adoption of technology that would support a virtual working environment. As our... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Data-Driven Agenda for Organizations

Posted by Matt Aslett on 21 July 2022

When joining Ventana Research, I noted that the need to be more data-driven has become a mantra among large and small organizations alike. Data-driven organizations stand to gain competitive advantage, responding faster to worker and customer demands for more innovative, data-rich applications and personalized experiences. Being data-driven is clearly something to aspire to. However, it is also a... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Data Governance, Data Integration, Data, Digital Technology, natural language processing, data lakes, data operations, Streaming Analytics, Streaming Data Events, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

A Faster Close Fixes Other Accounting Issues

Posted by Robert Kugel on 21 July 2022

Since its inception 20 years ago, Ventana Research has advocated for a shorter accounting close because it can improve the performance of the entire organization, not just finance and accounting. An important benefit of a shorter close is increased staff time for analysis and the preparation of reports and narratives that improve communications with the board and outside investors. Similarly, the... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting