ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives

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

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

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

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

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

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

Looker Simplifies Business Intelligence in the Cloud

Posted by David Menninger on 17 March 2022

Organizations face various challenges with analytics and business intelligence processes, including data curation and modeling across disparate sources and data warehouses, maintaining data quality and ensuring security and governance. Traditional processes are slow when transforming large and diverse datasets into something which is easily consumable in BI. And, it can take days or weeks to... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Analytics, Business Intelligence

Evolving NoSQL Database Functionality Fuels Adoption

Posted by Matt Aslett on 08 March 2022

The various NoSQL databases have become a staple of the data platforms landscape since the term entered the IT industry lexicon in 2009 to describe a new generation of non-relational databases. While NoSQL began as a ragtag collection of loosely affiliated, open-source database projects, several commercial NoSQL database providers are now established as credible alternatives to the various... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Data, AI and Machine Learning

Natural Language Processing Enables Self-service Analytics & BI

Posted by David Menninger on 02 March 2022

Natural language processing (NLP) is a field that combines artificial intelligence (AI), data science and linguistics that enables computers to understand, interpret and manipulate text or spoken words. NLP includes generating narratives based on a set of data values, using text or speech as inputs to access information, and analysing text or speech, for instance, to determine its sentiment.... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Analytics, natural language processing, NLP

Improving the State of Analytics in Organizations

Posted by David Menninger on 24 February 2022

Despite all the advances organizations have made with respect to analytics, our most recent research shows the majority of the workforce in the majority of organizations are not using analytics and business intelligence (BI). Less than one-quarter (23%) report that one-half or more of their workforce is using analytics and BI. This is a problem. It means organizations are not enabling their... Read More

Topics: Sales, business intelligence, embedded analytics, Analytics, Data, Sales Performance Management, Digital Technology, Digital Commerce, natural language processing, Subscription Management, partner management, Collaborative & Conversational Computing

Data Observability is Key to Ensuring Healthy Data Pipelines

Posted by Matt Aslett on 22 February 2022

I recently described the emergence of hydroanalytic data platforms, outlining how the processes involved in generating energy from a lake or reservoir were analogous to those required to generate intelligence from a data lake. I explained how structured data processing and analytics acceleration capabilities are the equivalent of turbines, generators and transformers in a hydroelectric power... Read More

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

Good Data Governance Improves Business Processes

Posted by David Menninger on 17 February 2022

Many organizations invest in data governance out of concern over misuse of data or potential data breaches. These are important considerations and valid aspects of data governance programs. However, good data governance also has positive impacts on organizations. For example, I have previously written about the valuable connection between the use of data catalogs and satisfaction with an... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Data Governance, Data, Digital Technology

Incorta Unifies Data Processing to Accelerate Analytics & BI

Posted by Matt Aslett on 16 February 2022

As I stated when joining Ventana Research, the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic and its aftereffects have highlighted more than ever the differences between organizations that can turn data into insights and are agile enough to act upon it and those that are incapable of seeing or responding to the need for change. Data-driven organizations stand to gain competitive advantage, responding... Read More

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

Hybrid Data Processing Use Cases

Posted by Matt Aslett on 11 February 2022

I recently described how the data platforms landscape will remain divided between analytic and operational workloads for the foreseeable future. Analytic data platforms are designed to store, manage, process and analyze data, enabling organizations to maximize data to operate with greater efficiency, while operational data platforms are designed to store, manage and process data to support... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Data, Digital Technology, Streaming Data Events, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

AtScale Universal Semantic Layer Democratizes and Scales Analytics

Posted by David Menninger on 10 February 2022

Organizations of all sizes are dealing with exponentially increasing data volume and data sources, which creates challenges such as siloed information, increased technical complexities across various systems and slow reporting of important business metrics. Migrating to the cloud does not solve the problems associated with performing analytics and business intelligence on data stored in disparate... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Data Integration, Data, data lakes, data operations, Streaming Analytics, AI and Machine Learning

The 2022 Market Agenda for Office of Revenue: New Performance Priority

Posted by Stephen Hurrell on 08 February 2022

Ventana Research recently announced its 2022 Market Agenda for the Office of Revenue, continuing the guidance we have offered for nearly two decades to help organizations realize optimal value from applying technology to improve business outcomes. Chief sales and revenue officers and their associated operations teams are experts in their respective fields but may not have the guidance needed to... Read More

Topics: Sales, Analytics, Internet of Things, Data, Sales Performance Management, Digital Technology, Digital Commerce, Conversational Computing, mobile computing, Subscription Management, extended reality, intelligent sales, partner management, AI and Machine Learning

The 2022 Market Agenda for Analytics: Enabling Actions and Effective Insights

Posted by David Menninger on 03 February 2022

Ventana Research recently announced its 2022 Market Agenda for Analytics, continuing the guidance we have offered for nearly two decades to help organizations derive optimal value from technology investments in order to improve business outcomes. It has been exciting to follow innovations in the analytics market, but for businesses, it can be challenging to stay on top of these changes and find... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Digital Technology, natural language processing, Process Mining, Collaborative & Conversational Computing, Analytics and Data

The Digital Technology Market Agenda for 2022: Innovation for Business Resilience

Posted by David Menninger on 31 January 2022

I’m proud to share Ventana Research’s 2022 Market Agenda for Digital Technology. Our focus in this agenda is to deliver expertise to help organizations prioritize technology investments that increase workforce effectiveness and organizational agility, ensuring ongoing operations during any type of disruption. Digital technology is a business necessity, as demonstrated throughout 2020 and 2021,... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Data, Digital Technology

2022 Market Agenda: Digital Business Enables Organizational Resilience

Posted by Mark Smith on 24 January 2022

Ventana Research has announced its market agenda for 2022, continuing the tradition of reliability in our efforts to educate and guide the technology market. Our assessments are backed by our expertise and independence, as we do not share our market agenda or our research – including analyst and market perspectives or our Value Index – with any external party until it is published. We review and... Read More

Topics: Customer Experience, Human Capital Management, Marketing, Office of Finance, Analytics, Data, Digital Technology, Operations & Supply Chain, Office of Revenue, Market Agenda

ThoughtSpot Enables Simpler Analytics with AI and NLP

Posted by David Menninger on 21 January 2022

Organizations today have huge volumes of data across various cloud and on-premises systems which keep growing by the second. To derive value from this data, organizations must query the data regularly and share insights with relevant teams and departments. Automating this process using natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) enables... Read More

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