ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives (50)

Incorta Streamlines Analytics with Direct Data Access

Posted by David Menninger on 21 April 2021

The amount of data flowing into organizations is growing exponentially, creating a need to process more data more quickly than ever before. Our Data Preparation Benchmark Research shows that accessing and preparing data continues to be the most time-consuming part of making data available for analysis. This can potentially slow down the organizational functions which depend on the analysis... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, embedded analytics, Analytics, Collaboration, Data Governance, Data Preparation, Data, Information Management (IM), data lakes

Modern ERP Improves Organizational Performance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 16 April 2021

The ERP system is at the core of nearly every organization’s record keeping and business process management. Its smooth and uninterrupted functioning is essential to an organization’s accounting and finance functions. In manufacturing and distribution, ERP manages inventory and logistics. Some organizations use it to handle human resources functions like tracking workers, payroll and related... Read More

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

Dataiku Streamlines AI/ML

Posted by David Menninger on 14 April 2021

Organizations are becoming more and more data-driven and are looking for ways to accelerate the usage of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML). Developing and deploying AI/ML models can be complicated in many ways, often involving different tools and services to manage these solutions from end to end. Accessing and preparing data is the most common challenge organizations face in... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, Analytics, Collaboration, Data Governance, Data Preparation, Data, AI and Machine Learning

IBM Planning Analytics Makes Planning Easier for Business Unit Leaders

Posted by Robert Kugel on 13 April 2021

IBM Planning Analytics, formerly known as TM1, is a comprehensive planning and analytics application designed to integrate and streamline an organization’s planning processes. It can support multiple planning use cases on a single platform, including financial, headcount, sales and demand planning. The software automates enterprise-wide data collection to make it repeatable and scalable across... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Collaboration, Business Planning, ERP and Continuous Accounting, Predictive Planning, AI and Machine Learning

Process Mining: Improve Execution and Operations with Analytics

Posted by David Menninger on 12 April 2021

Process-mining software isn’t exactly new, but it’s also not widely known in the software technology market. The discipline has been around for at least a decade, but is generating more interest these days with both specialist vendors and major enterprise software vendors offering process-mining products and services. We assert that through 2022, 1 in 4 organizations will look to streamline their... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, Analytics, Digital Technology, AI and Machine Learning

The Experience of Digital Commerce

Posted by Stephen Hurrell on 09 April 2021

Digital commerce affects almost everyone’s lives. It is hard to remember a time when one could not sign on to a website like Amazon, order a product, pay for it and have it delivered to your front door within days, not weeks. Although catalogues have been around for a century or so, the digital-commerce revolution has changed the way we think about shopping for many of our everyday and special... Read More

Topics: Sales, Customer Experience, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Product Information Management, Price and Revenue Management, Digital Commerce, AI and Machine Learning

Trintech Speeds up Financial Close with Automation

Posted by Robert Kugel on 09 April 2021

Organizations have long sought ways to achieve a fast but “clean” (accurate) financial close. The most widely accepted benchmark is to be able to close within one business week. Organizations that close within a business week are almost always more competent in how they manage the process and therefore use resources more efficiently. Also, organizations that close their books within six days... Read More

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

Informatica Continues to Evolve Data Management Platform

Posted by David Menninger on 08 April 2021

Organizations are accelerating their digital transformation and looking for innovative ways to engage with customers in this new digital era of data management. The goal is to understand how to manage the growing volume of data in real time, across all sources and platforms, and use it to inform, streamline and transform internal operations. Over the years, the adoption of cloud computing has... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, embedded analytics, Analytics, Collaboration, Data Governance, Information Management, Internet of Things, Data, natural language processing, AI and Machine Learning

A Virtual Audit Enables Savings Through Efficiency

Posted by Robert Kugel on 05 April 2021

The challenges of the pandemic prevented auditors from visiting client offices, which led to widespread adoption of remote audit processes. Although there are outward similarities between a remote audit and a virtual audit, they aren’t the same. A remote audit uses technology to adapt the existing audit processes to an environment where in-person interactions are impossible. A virtual audit uses... Read More

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

2021 Analytics and Data Value Index: Market Observations and Perspective

Posted by David Menninger on 02 April 2021

Having just completed the 2021 Ventana Research Value Index for Analytics and Data, I want to share some of my observations about how the market has advanced since our assessment two years ago. The analytics software market is quite mature and products from any of the vendors we assess can be used to effectively deliver information to help your organization improve its operations. However, it’s... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Key Performance Indictors, embedded analytics, exadata, Analytics, Business Collaboration, Business Intelligence, Collaboration, Data Preparation, Digital Technology, natural language processing, Conversational Computing, collaborative computing, mobile computing, AI and Machine Learning

Streamlining Spending for Savings and Control

Posted by Robert Kugel on 02 April 2021

Irked by the need to account for every penny of his college expenses, poet Robert Frost penned the lines: Never ask of money spent Where the spender thinks it went. Nobody was ever meant To remember or invent What he did with every cent. Though Frost might bristle, in our digital age, it is possible to keep track of even trivial outlays with a minimum of effort. Every cent, in fact. Historically,... Read More

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

The Value Index for Analytics and Data Classifies and Rates Vendors

Posted by David Menninger on 01 April 2021

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: Analytics and Data 2021 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 that reflect... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Analytics

8x8 Shows Why CCaaS and UCaaS Should be Unified

Posted by Keith Dawson on 30 March 2021

The pandemic accelerated several trends in the contact-center industry that were already underway, chiefly: moving infrastructure and software applications to the cloud, and rethinking the process of managing agents. One byproduct of these trends is a renewed look at the similarities between business-phone systems (also known as unified communications, or UC) and contact center systems (CC).... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Analytics, Collaboration, Contact Center, agent management, AI and Machine Learning

Robotic Process Automation is a Core Finance Competency

Posted by Robert Kugel on 30 March 2021

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as a core digital technology for finance and accounting organizations. It can drive significant gains in productivity and efficiency by automating mechanical, repetitive accounting processes in a continuous, end-to-end fashion. RPA improves efficiency, ensures data integrity and enhances visibility into processes. There is a strong business case for... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, Price and Revenue Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, robotic finance, Predictive Planning

Salesforce Service Cloud: Contact Center with Workforce Engagement

Posted by Keith Dawson on 24 March 2021

The modern contact center relies heavily on software that enables agents to perform multiple complex tasks while simultaneously managing the customer-facing side of interactions. This has allowed CRM vendors to build tools, such as agent desktop interfaces, that control virtually all aspects of the service environment. Salesforce has been steadily growing its influence over the service... Read More

Topics: Sales, Customer Experience, Voice of the Customer, Contact Center, Sales Performance Management, Workforce Management, agent management, sales enablement

The Mandate for Contact Center and Agent Management

Posted by Keith Dawson on 22 March 2021

The ways in which consumers engage with organizations have changed. Long-established communication channels such as the telephone, email and company websites are still used, but many consumers now prefer to use text messages, online chat, social media, virtual agents and applications on their mobile devices to contact the company and address issues. As a result, organizations have had to add... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Contact Center, agent management

Content Guru Brings CCaaS with Confidence to US

Posted by Keith Dawson on 19 March 2021

Shifts in the market due to the pandemic have upended the contact center marketplace, accelerating the inevitable migration of infrastructure to the cloud and changing the way agents are managed. The pandemic also increased the dependence customers have on contact centers in the absence of in-store buying. This has made it an interesting time to be a Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) vendor.... Read More

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

Salesforce Sales Cloud: Evolving to Meet the 360 Needs of Sales

Posted by Stephen Hurrell on 18 March 2021

There is no doubt that the pandemic has accelerated the existing need for new technology that can help sales professionals do their jobs well in this quickly evolving market. In addition, market trends are driving the need for functionality that is aimed at the front-line sales professional and the manager, highlighting the demand for tools that can help arrest the decline in quota attainment, as... Read More

Topics: Sales, embedded analytics, Analytics, Internet of Things, Sales Performance Management, natural language processing, sales enablement, AI and Machine Learning

Microsoft Azure: Cloud Computing for Data and Analytics

Posted by David Menninger on 17 March 2021

Organizations are increasingly using data as a strategic asset, which makes data services critical. Huge volumes of data need to be stored, managed, discovered and analyzed. Cloud computing and storage approaches provide enterprises with various capabilities to store and process their data in third-party data centers. The advent of data platforms previously discussed here are essential for... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Collaboration, Data Governance, Data Lake, Data Preparation, Data, AI and Machine Learning, Microsoft Azure

Customer Data Platforms: Essential for Effective Customer Experience

Posted by Keith Dawson on 16 March 2021

Since customer data platforms (CDP) emerged in the marketplace about five years ago, there has been debate about what roles they fill, especially within customer service organizations. They were originally developed by small software firms to provide marketing teams with a comprehensive view of customer records. Those records could be scattered throughout an organization, siloed by system and... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Marketing, data artisan, Data Governance, Data Lake, Data Preparation, Data, Information Management (IM), intelligent marketing