ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives

The Arguments For, and Against, In-Database Machine Learning

Posted by Matt Aslett on 23 November 2022

Almost all organizations are investing in data science, or planning to, as they seek to encourage experimentation and exploration to identify new business challenges and opportunities as part of the drive toward creating a more data-driven culture. My colleague, David Menninger, has written about how organizations using artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) report gaining... Read More

Topics: Data Governance, Data Management, Data, data operations, analytic data platforms, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Mind the Gap Between Data and Analytics

Posted by David Menninger on 16 November 2022

If you’ve ever been to London, you are probably familiar with the announcements on the London Underground to “mind the gap” between the trains and the platform. I suggest we also need to mind the gap between data and analytics. These worlds are often disconnected in organizations and, as a result, it limits their effectiveness and agility. Part of the issue is that data and analytics tasks are... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Data Governance, Data Management, data operations, Analytics and Data

Databricks Lakehouse Platform Maximizes Analytical Value

Posted by Matt Aslett on 16 November 2022

I have previously written about growing interest in the data lakehouse as one of the design patterns for delivering hydroanalytics analysis of data in a data lake. Many organizations have invested in data lakes as a relatively inexpensive way of storing large volumes of data from multiple enterprise applications and workloads, especially semi- and unstructured data that is unsuitable for storing... Read More

Topics: Business Intelligence, Data Governance, Data Management, Data, Streaming Data Events, analytic data platforms, AI and Machine Learning

IBM’s Cloud Pak for Data Builds a Foundation for Data Fabric

Posted by Matt Aslett on 08 November 2022

I have written recently about the similarities and differences between data mesh and data fabric. The two are potentially complementary. Data mesh is an organizational and cultural approach to data ownership, access and governance. Data fabric is a technical approach to automating data management and data governance in a distributed architecture. There are various definitions of data fabric, but... Read More

Topics: Business Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Data Governance, Data Management, Data, data operations, AI and Machine Learning

Actian Manages Avalanches of Data

Posted by Matt Aslett on 01 November 2022

In their pursuit to be data-driven, organizations are collecting and managing more data than ever before as they attempt to gain competitive advantage and respond faster to worker and customer demands for more innovative, data-rich applications and personalized experiences. As data is increasingly spread across multiple data centers, clouds and regions, organizations need to manage data on... Read More

Topics: Data Management, Data, data operations, analytic data platforms

Orchestrating Data Pipelines Facilitates Data-Driven Analytics

Posted by Matt Aslett on 25 October 2022

I have written a few times in recent months about vendors offering functionality that addresses data orchestration. This is a concept that has been growing in popularity in the past five years amid the rise of Data Operations (DataOps), which describes more agile approaches to data integration and data management. In a nutshell, data orchestration is the process of combining data from multiple... Read More

Topics: Data Management, Data, data operations, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Cloudera Embraces SaaS with Data Lakehouse Launch

Posted by Matt Aslett on 18 October 2022

Ventana Research’s Data Lakes Dynamics Insights research illustrates that while data lakes are fulfilling their promise of enabling organizations to economically store and process large volumes of raw data, data lake environments continue to evolve. Data lakes were initially based primarily on Apache Hadoop deployed on-premises but are now increasingly based on cloud object storage. Adopters are... Read More

Topics: Business Intelligence, Data Governance, Data Management, Data, data operations, Streaming Data Events, analytic data platforms, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Ocient Delivers Ad Hoc Analytics on Hyperscale Workloads

Posted by Matt Aslett on 12 October 2022

I have written before about the continued use of specialist operational and analytic data platforms. Most database products can be used for operational or analytic workloads, and the number of use cases for hybrid data processing is growing. However, a general-purpose database is unlikely to meet the most demanding operational or analytic data platform requirements. Factors including performance,... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, Cloud Computing, Data Management, Data, analytic data platforms, Analytics and Data

Building a More Predictive Finance Department

Posted by Robert Kugel on 05 October 2022

A predictive finance department is one that can command technology to be more forward-looking and action-oriented while still fulfilling its core role of handling the financial elements of its organization including accounting, treasury and corporate finance. Beyond just automating rote tasks, technology also facilitates a shift toward becoming a predictive finance organization. Greater amounts... Read More

Topics: Office of Finance, Business Intelligence, Data Management, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, AI and Machine Learning

Astronomer’s Cloud-Based Data Orchestration Brings Efficiency

Posted by Matt Aslett on 29 September 2022

I have recently written about the organizational and cultural aspects of being data-driven, and the potential advantages data-driven organizations stand to gain by responding faster to worker and customer demands for more innovative, data-rich applications and personalized experiences. I have also explained that data-driven processes require more agile, continuous data processing, with an... Read More

Topics: Cloud Computing, Data Management, Data, data operations, Analytics and Data

Enhancing Data Catalog with AI

Posted by David Menninger on 22 September 2022

Organizations are collecting data from multiple data sources and a variety of systems to enrich their analytics and business intelligence (BI). But collecting data is only half of the equation. As the data grows, it becomes challenging to find the right data at the right time. Many organizations can’t take full advantage of their data lakes because they don’t know what data actually exists. Also,... Read More

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

The Data Catalog is Indispensable for Good Data Governance

Posted by Matt Aslett on 21 September 2022

The data catalog has become an integral component of organizational data strategies over the past decade, serving as a conduit for good data governance and facilitating self-service analytics initiatives. The data catalog has become so important, in fact, that it is easy to forget that just 10 years ago it did not exist in terms of a standalone product category. Metadata-based data management... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, Data Governance, Data Management, Data, data operations, 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

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

Data Governance, Then and Now

Posted by David Menninger on 20 July 2022

We’ve recently published our latest Benchmark Research on Data Governance and it’s fair to say, “you’ve come a long way, baby.” Many of you reading this weren’t around when that phrase was introduced in 1968 to promote Virginia Slims cigarettes, but you may have heard the phrase because it went on to become a part of popular culture. We’ve learned a lot about cigarettes since then, and we’ve... Read More

Topics: Big Data, Data Governance, Data Management, Analytics and Data

A Data Pantry Speeds Development of Machine Learning Models

Posted by Robert Kugel on 12 July 2022

A few years ago – somewhat tongue in cheek – I began using the term “data pantry” to describe a type of data store that’s part of a business application platform, created for a specific set of users and use cases. It’s a data pantry because, unlike a general-purpose data store such as a data warehouse, everything the user needs is readily available and easily accessible, with labels that are... Read More

Topics: Data Management, Business Planning, Financial Performance Management, ERP and Continuous Accounting, AI and Machine Learning

Zoho Unifies Data and Analytics

Posted by David Menninger on 07 July 2022

Organizations are continuously increasing the use of analytics and business intelligence to turn data into meaningful and actionable insights. Our Analytics and Data Benchmark Research shows some of the benefits of using analytics: Improved efficiency in business processes, improved communication and gaining a competitive edge in the market top the list. With a unified BI system, organizations... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, embedded analytics, Data Governance, Data Management, natural language processing, data operations, Streaming Analytics, AI and Machine Learning

Semantic Models Benefit Analytical Processes

Posted by David Menninger on 28 June 2022

I’ve never been a fan of talking about semantic models because most of the workforce probably doesn’t understand what they are, or doesn’t recognize them by name. But the findings in our recent Analytics and Data Benchmark Research have changed my mind. The research shows how important a semantic model can be to the success of data and analytics processes. Organizations that have successfully... Read More

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

Data and Analytics Processes: Can We Get Personal?

Posted by David Menninger on 24 May 2022

There is a fundamental flaw in information technology, or at least in the way it is most commonly delivered. Most technology systems are developed under the assumption that all people will use the system primarily in the same way. Sure, there are some options built in — perhaps the same action can be initiated by either clicking on a button, selecting a menu item or invoking a keyboard short-cut.... Read More

Topics: Business Intelligence, Data Management, natural language processing, data operations, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Accelerate Business Outcomes with Immuta Data Access Governance

Posted by David Menninger on 19 May 2022

The data governance landscape is growing rapidly. Organizations handling vast amounts of data face multiple challenges as more regulations are added to govern sensitive information. Adoption of multi-cloud strategies increases governance concerns with new data sources that are accessed in real time. Our Data Governance Benchmark Research shows that organizations face multiple challenges when... Read More

Topics: Data Governance, Data Management, data operations