Analyst Perspectives


Search within Analyst Perspectives blog:

TopBar Analyst Perspectives BottomBar

MicroStrategy World 2020

Posted by David Menninger on 18 March 2020
MicroStrategy recently held its annual user conference, which focused on the theme of the “Intelligent Enterprise.” HyperIntelligence, an innovative product for delivering analytics throughout organizations that they introduced a year ago, was the star of the event. The company announced enhancements to HyperIntelligence and the latest version of its flagship platform, MicroStrategy 2020, as well... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Collaboration, Data Governance, Data, Digital Technology, Conversational Computing

Cornerstone OnDemand Acquires Saba

Posted by ISG Research on 15 March 2020
On February 24th Cornerstone OnDemand announced their plan to acquire rival Saba Software for approximately $1.4 billion in cash and stock. Each of the enterprise software companies went to market about twenty years ago with learning management solutions and over time broadened their product portfolios with other talent management offerings including performance management and talent acquisition.... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Learning Management, Workforce Management, candidate engagement, Continuous Payroll, total rewards management

Three Essentials for a Digital Office of Finance

Posted by Robert Kugel on 03 March 2020
One of the objectives of our recent Change in the Office of Finance benchmark research was to assess the technological capabilities of finance and accounting departments. The research confirms that today we are on the verge of a major technology-led shift. Technology that’s already available can have a greater impact on how the finance department operates over the next 10 years than it has over... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Financial Performance Management, Price and Revenue Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, robotic finance, Predictive Planning, revenue and lease accounting, Subscription Management

Kronos and Ultimate Software Announce Merger

Posted by ISG Research on 27 February 2020
On February 20th Kronos Incorporated and Ultimate Software announced their agreement to merge in an all-stock deal. The companies’ boards have approved the deal, which is expected to close in late March. This union will create one of the world’s largest cloud software entities, one that company representatives are valuing at $22 billion. Aron Ain, long-time Kronos CEO who has overseen Kronos’... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Learning Management, Workforce Management, candidate engagement, Continuous Payroll, total rewards management

The Potential of Marketing in 2020: Ventana Research Agenda

Posted by Mark Smith on 27 February 2020
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda for marketing, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations derive optimal value from business technology and improve outcomes. Chief Marketing Officers are under pressure to spearhead technology investments that help better align marketing experiences with their brand and to optimize consumer... Read More

Topics: Marketing, Voice of the Customer, Product Information Management, Digital Marketing, Digital Commerce, intelligent marketing

The Ventana Research Operations and the Supply Chain Agenda in 2020

Posted by Mark Smith on 26 February 2020
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda for operations and the supply chain, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations across industries derive optimal value from business technology and improve outcomes. Organizations must shift their focus on technology investments to include not just operational productivity but the efficiency of... Read More

Topics: Continuous Planning, Product Information Management, Price and Revenue Management, Operations & Supply Chain, Enterprise Resource Planning, continuous supply chain

The Revolution in Sales in 2020: Ventana Research Agenda

Posted by Mark Smith on 25 February 2020
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda for sales, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations derive optimal value from business technology and improve outcomes. Chief sales and revenue officers face an imperative to manage the sales organization but they don’t always have the guidance they need to embrace technology and gain the best... Read More

Topics: Sales, Product Information Management, Sales Performance Management, Digital Commerce

The Next-Generation CFO

Posted by Robert Kugel on 24 February 2020
I was invited to sit on a panel at CFO 3.0 events held in San Francisco and New York hosted by Sage Intacct. This event is about the evolution of the role that started with the archetypal CFO 1.0, the green-eye-shade-wearing bean counter. Lacking usable technology, he or she was limited to keeping the books in good order and simply reporting what just happened. Today’s CFO 2.0 relies on... Read More

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

Data in 2020: Ventana Research Agenda

Posted by David Menninger on 21 February 2020
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda for data, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations derive optimal value and improve business outcomes. Data volumes continue to grow while data latency requirements continue to shrink. Meanwhile, virtually every organization is confronting a need for good data governance. Organizations need... Read More

Topics: Collaboration, Data Governance, Data Preparation, Information Management, Data, blockchain, data lakes

Human Capital Management in 2020: Ventana Research Agenda

Posted by ISG Research on 20 February 2020
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda for human capital management, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations derive optimal value from business technology and improve outcomes. A major consideration in crafting this HCM research agenda is balance. HR and business leaders must achieve a meaningful balance in supporting the needs,... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Learning Management, Workforce Management, candidate engagement, Continuous Payroll, total rewards management

The Imperative for Customer Experience in 2020: Ventana Research Agenda

Posted by Mark Smith on 19 February 2020
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda in the area of the customer experience. For most organizations, a focus on the customer is not new, but maximizing successful customer interactions has recently become a major investment priority. The customer experience (CX) is an analytic framework that organizations can use to improve customer satisfaction, optimize revenue and... Read More

Analytics in 2020: Ventana Research Agenda

Posted by David Menninger on 18 February 2020
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda for analytics, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations derive optimal value from their technology investments and improve business outcomes. It’s been exciting to follow the emergence of innovative capabilities in the analytics market, but for businesses it can be challenging to stay on top of... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Collaboration, Internet of Things, natural language processing, AI and Machine Learning

The Office of Finance in 2020: Ventana Research Agenda

Posted by Robert Kugel on 14 February 2020
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda for the Office of Finance, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades on the practical use of technology for the finance and accounting department to help these organizations derive greater value and improve their performance. For decades organizations have discussed transforming Finance from a backward-looking “bean... Read More

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

The Ventana Research Digital Technology Agenda in 2020

Posted by Mark Smith on 13 February 2020
Ventana Research recently announced its 2020 research agenda for digital technology, continuing the guidance we’ve offered for nearly two decades to help organizations derive optimal value and improve business outcomes. While we have seen more than four decades of digital transformation in the systems and tools businesses rely on, recent years have yielded transformative approaches to technology... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Internet of Things, Data, Digital Technology, blockchain, Conversational Computing, collaborative computing, mobile computing, extended reality, AI and Machine Learning

The Office of Finance is a Numbers Factory

Posted by Robert Kugel on 04 February 2020
Yes, it’s an easy metaphor, but a worthwhile one to consider. For the Office of Finance, figures are its raw material. They are transformed and assembled into financial statements, forecasts and reports. Like a factory, there are blueprints (accounting standards, models and forms) that show how the parts are to be pieced together. There’s quality control in the form of internal audit. And there... Read More

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

Host Analytics Becomes Planful

Posted by Robert Kugel on 29 January 2020
Host Analytics recently announced it will now go by the name Planful. The change formally signifies a new chapter in an evolution that began with the company’s acquisition by Vector Capital a year ago and the accession of a new CEO, Grant Halloran. Planful executives say the new name better represents its focus, which is on what Ventana Research calls continuous planning, as well as its focus on... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Continuous Planning, Financial Performance Management (FPM), Operations & Supply Chain, robotic finance, Predictive Planning

Harnessing Cognitive Assets: A Hallmark of Agile Organizations

Posted by ISG Research on 23 January 2020
Organizations universally desire the business outcome of improved organizational agility — in other words, the ability to quickly and effectively identify and respond to business risks and opportunities, typically through workforce-related actions. Being agile requires that an organization be adept at two things: harnessing cognitive assets, the knowledge and ideas that comprise the intellectual... Read More

Topics: Human Capital Management, Learning Management, Collaboration, Workforce Management, Knowledge Management, AI and Machine Learning

Blockchains Pose Problems of Persistence and Trust

Posted by Robert Kugel on 15 January 2020
I’ve written before about blockchain’s significant potential. A lot of the current discussion on the topic centers on cryptocurrencies and financial trading platforms, both of which are already in operation. However, my focus is on its applicability to business generally, especially in B2B commerce, where I believe there is significant potential for it to serve as a universal data connector.... Read More

Topics: Sales, Human Capital Management, business intelligence, Collaboration, Internet of Things, Data, Product Information Management, Digital Commerce, Enterprise Resource Planning, blockchain, candidate engagement, collaborative computing, continuous supply chain

Price Optimization: Cover Your Bases

Posted by Robert Kugel on 13 January 2020
Pricing is an eternally vexing issue in business. Over the years, organizations have used different strategies to establish prices for their products, depending on custom, the nature of the business and the degree of competitiveness in the market. The most straightforward approaches to price setting are a cost-plus calculation (cost plus some mark-up) and follow-the-leader (charge what... Read More

Topics: Financial Performance Management, Price and Revenue Management

Kinaxis Opens Its Concurrent Planning Platform

Posted by Robert Kugel on 27 December 2019
Kinaxis recently held its annual user conference, Kinexions, which focuses on helping the company’s customers improve their execution of supply chain and sales and operations planning (S&OP). Its RapidResponse software handles S&OP, demand, supply, inventory and capacity planning. S&OP is a function sorely in need of improvement: Our research finds that only 22 percent of companies perform it... Read More

Topics: Continuous Planning, Analytics, Enterprise Resource Planning, continuous supply chain, business digital commerce, AI and Machine Learning

Browse by Analyst

Mark Smith

Mark Smith

 Robert Kugel

Robert Kugel

 David Menninger

David Menninger

 Jeff Orr

Jeff Orr

 Keith Dawson

Keith Dawson

 Matt Aslett

Matt Aslett

 Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown

 Barika Pace

Barika Pace

Posts by Topic

see all

Posts by Month

see all