ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives (38)

Sage Intacct Moves into Manufacturing to Spur Growth

Posted by Robert Kugel on 06 May 2022

Sage recently announced that it is expanding its Sage Intacct software offering to support discrete manufacturing, with its initial foray into this competitive market centered in France. The move supports the company’s strategy of building out the scope of industries served by its cloud applications to include product-oriented business models and expanding Sage Intacct’s geographic footprint. The... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, ERP and Continuous Accounting

Oracle Positions to Address Any and All Data Platform Needs

Posted by Matt Aslett on 05 May 2022

I recently described how the operational data platforms sector is in a state of flux. There are multiple trends at play, including the increasing need for hybrid and multicloud data platforms, the evolution of NoSQL database functionality and applicable use-cases, and the drivers for hybrid data processing. The past decade has seen significant change in the emergence of new vendors, data models... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, Analytics, Data Integration, Data, AI and Machine Learning

Technology Trends in Customer Support Software

Posted by Keith Dawson on 03 May 2022

Customer Service and Support (CSS) software is about more than case tracking and trouble tickets. Many organizations view the service call as an opportunity to solidify a positive customer relationship and perhaps enhance the loyalty and value of the customer. That has propelled interest in the emphasis on workflows and automation that now/currently drives CSS, particularly when it comes to... Read More

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

Reordered Global Trade Requires Agile Sales and Operations Planning

Posted by Robert Kugel on 29 April 2022

I first wrote about a new era of trade a few years ago to make the point that the period of optimizing supply chains for the lowest cost was over, and that companies needed to redesign them to achieve greater resiliency. That observation proved correct. Now we are hearing about “the end of globalization,” a hyperbolic phrase describing the effects of ongoing changes to the international political... Read More

Topics: Continuous Planning, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, continuous supply chain

Denodo Advancing Data Virtualization in the Cloud

Posted by David Menninger on 28 April 2022

Organizations have been using data virtualization to collect and integrate data from various sources, and in different formats, to create a single source of truth without redundancy or overlap, thus improving and accelerating decision-making giving them a competitive advantage in the market. Our research shows that data virtualization is popular in the big data world. One-quarter (27%) of... Read More

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

Real-Time Data Processing Requires More Agile Data Pipelines

Posted by Matt Aslett on 26 April 2022

I recently wrote about the importance of data pipelines and the role they play in transporting data between the stages of data processing and analytics. Healthy data pipelines are necessary to ensure data is integrated and processed in the sequence required to generate business intelligence. The concept of the data pipeline is nothing new of course, but it is becoming increasingly important as... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Data Governance, Data Integration, Data, Digital Technology, Digital transformation, data lakes, data operations, Streaming Data Events, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Regional Attitudes to Data Governance and Regulatory Compliance

Posted by Matt Aslett on 20 April 2022

Data governance is an issue that impacts all organizations large and small, new and old, in every industry, and every region of the world. Data governance ensures that an organization’s data can be cataloged, trusted and protected, improving business processes to accelerate analytics initiatives and support compliance with regulatory requirements. Not all data governance initiatives will be... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Data Governance, Data

Ujet Simplifies Omnichannel Interactions in the Contact Center

Posted by Keith Dawson on 19 April 2022

Although the bulk of contact center seats are still served by on-premises equipment, there appears to be a consensus that the cloud is better suited to delivering a successful, omnichannel customer experience, and that most new contact center deployments will be run on cloud-computing platforms. The trend toward cloud-based contact center infrastructure (CCaaS) has opened a space in the market... Read More

Topics: Contact Center, CCaaS

Starburst Accelerates Analysis of Distributed Data

Posted by Matt Aslett on 12 April 2022

I recently described the growing level of interest in data mesh which provides an organizational and cultural approach to data ownership, access and governance that facilitates distributed data processing. As I stated in my Analyst Perspective, data mesh is not a product that can be acquired or even a technical architecture that can be built. Adopting the data mesh approach is dependent on people... Read More

Topics: Business Continuity, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Data Governance, Data Integration, Data, Digital Technology, data lakes, Analytics and Data

Blockchain Payment Systems Have Significant Potential

Posted by Robert Kugel on 06 April 2022

How payments are effected is an afterthought to many involved in a transaction, but flaws in this process can be a source of pain and frustration for those in the back office, especially in accounting and treasury. To improve the way payments are handled in business-to-business transactions, the once ubiquitous paper checks are giving way to electronic payments. This category includes credit,... Read More

Value Index for Revenue Performance Management Rates Vendors

Posted by Stephen Hurrell on 31 March 2022

Ventana Research is happy to share insights gleaned from the latest Value Index research, an assessment of how well vendors’ offerings meet buyers’ requirements. The 2022 Revenue Performance Management (RPM) Value Index is the distillation of a year of market and product research. Drawing on our Benchmark Research, we apply a structured methodology built on evaluation categories that reflect the... Read More

Topics: Sales, Sales Performance Management (SPM), Price and Revenue Management, sales enablement, Revenue Performance Management

Don’t Rely on Dashboards for Real-Time Analytics

Posted by David Menninger on 31 March 2022

I have written previously that the world of data and analytics will become more and more centered around real-time, streaming data. Data is created constantly and increasingly is being collected simultaneously. Technology advances now enable organizations to process and analyze information as it is being collected to respond in real time to opportunities and threats. Not all use cases require... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, Analytics, Internet of Things, Data, Digital Technology, Streaming Analytics, Streaming Data Events, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Maximize Alignment through Revenue Performance

Posted by Stephen Hurrell on 30 March 2022

As organizations shift focus to a broader definition of sales that includes all sources of revenue, vendors are also pivoting to include “revenue” as part of promotional messaging. But it’s my view that just changing your message or description does not necessarily deliver the capabilities and product experiences customers need to successfully plan, execute and achieve revenue targets and... Read More

Topics: Revenue Performance Management

Spend Management is More Effective with Software and Cards

Posted by Robert Kugel on 30 March 2022

The term "corporate spend" usually refers to the incidental but still significant outlays organizations make to support operations. Especially in nonmanufacturing industries, purchases of indirect goods and business services – such as computers, office supplies, furniture and services – as well as travel and entertainment can represent a significant percentage of total costs. Technology has... Read More

Topics: ERP, Financial Performance Management (FPM)

The Benefits of Data Mesh Extend to Organizational and Cultural Change

Posted by Matt Aslett on 29 March 2022

Data mesh is the latest trend to grip the data and analytics sector. The term has been rapidly adopted by numerous vendors — as well as a growing number of organizations —as a means of embracing distributed data processing. Understanding and adopting data mesh remains a challenge, however. Data mesh is not a product that can be acquired, or even a technical architecture that can be built. It is... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Data Governance, Data Integration, Data, Digital Technology, Digital transformation, data lakes, data operations, Streaming Data Events, Analytics and Data

Subscription Management Elevates Experience Through Automation

Posted by Stephen Hurrell on 29 March 2022

Ventana Research defines subscription management as the processes and technology needed to manage the subscriber experience from the first digital touch to the continuous modifications of orders for services and billing. Effective subscription management requires a new generation of applications designed to manage the life cycle of subscriptions and provide subscribers with the experiences they... Read More

Topics: Subscription Management

OnviSource Brings Intelligence to Contact Center Automation

Posted by Keith Dawson on 24 March 2022

Today’s contact center agents find themselves handling increasingly more complex interactions due to changes in consumer demand, advances in self-service and the proliferation of digital contact channels. This added complexity requires continuous agent support for successful customer experience outcomes. Intelligent software can reduce agent workload and improve customer interactions by picking... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Contact Center, AI

Working Across the Aisle in Analytics: Involving IT and LOB

Posted by David Menninger on 23 March 2022

For years, maybe decades, we have heard about the struggles between IT and line-of-business functions. In this perspective, we will look at some of the data from our Analytics and Data Benchmark Research about the roles of IT and line-of-business teams in analytics and data processes. We will also look at some of the disconnects between these two groups. And, by looking at how organizations are... Read More

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

Simplifying Budgeting and Planning is FP&A’s Mission

Posted by Robert Kugel on 22 March 2022

Ventana Research recently published the results of our Business Planning Value Index Research and I commented on its connection to our emphasis on using software to unify planning processes across an enterprise to improve performance. Since 2007, we have advocated what we call Integrated Business Planning (IBP): a high-participation, collaborative, action-oriented approach to planning and... Read More

Topics: Business Planning, Finance Performance Management

Yellowbrick Paves the Way to Distributed Cloud

Posted by Matt Aslett on 22 March 2022

Despite widespread and increasing use of the cloud for data and analytics workloads, it has become clear in recent years that, for most organizations, a proportion of data-processing workloads will remain on-premises in centralized data centers or distributed-edge processing infrastructure. As we recently noted, as compute and storage are distributed across a hybrid and multi-cloud architecture,... Read More

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