ISG Software Research Analyst Perspectives

ServiceNow Platform Automates Optimal Workforce Experiences

Posted by Jeff Orr on 01 August 2023

The role of the chief information officer has evolved from managing IT to maximizing technology for business value. Many organizations launch digital transformation programs to identify and deliver the desired value but discover that digital transformation is a complex, lengthy process. Budgets and resources can be quickly exhausted with little to show for the investment. Yet business objectives... Read More

Topics: Digital Technology, robotic automation

AI Advances Automation for Enhanced Efficiency

Posted by Jeff Orr on 25 July 2023

Intelligent automation is a powerful tool that can help the CIO and IT leaders optimize business processes and outcomes while reducing costs, risks and errors. Automation takes many forms, each with its own applications, benefits and limitations. In a previous perspective, I shared how technology helps organizations automate processes and enhance workflow efficiency. This perspective explains the... Read More

Topics: Digital Technology, robotic automation, AI and Machine Learning

Intelligent Automation Unlocks the Full Potential of Technology

Posted by Jeff Orr on 18 July 2023

Automation uses technology to perform tasks or functions that would otherwise require human intervention or effort. Automation has existed for decades, and it takes many forms. It handles routine tasks, freeing time for knowledge workers to perform other activities that require creativity, subjectivity or empathy. Automation can also improve the quality, efficiency and consistency of business... Read More

Topics: Digital Technology, robotic automation, AI and Machine Learning

SingleStore Highlights Multi-Format Data Storage for Vector Search

Posted by Matt Aslett on 11 July 2023

The publication of Ventana Research’s 2023 Operational Data Platforms Value Index earlier this year highlighted the importance of incorporating analytic processing into operational applications to deliver personalization and recommendations for workers, partners and customers. This importance is being accelerated by interest in generative AI, especially large language models. The emergence of... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Cloud Computing, Data, Digital Technology, analytic data platforms, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Fivetran Automates Data Movement and Transformation

Posted by Matt Aslett on 29 June 2023

Despite best intentions, many organizations still struggle with some fundamental aspects of data processing and analytics. Taking data from operational applications and making it available for analysis is a first step, but data management remains a perennial challenge. Data movement and transformation difficulties can lead to delays and data quality problems that prevent organizations from... Read More

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

Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Architecture Enables Digital Modernization

Posted by Jeff Orr on 28 June 2023

Cloud computing has emerged as the catalyst for a shift from digital transformation to digital modernization. This technology offers many advantages, including heightened agility, cost reduction, improved collaboration, enhanced security and accelerated innovation. Hybrid and multi-cloud strategies offer distinctive strengths that enable organizations to optimize the IT infrastructure necessary... Read More

Topics: Cloud Computing, Digital Technology

Yugabyte Facilitates Migration to Distributed SQL Database

Posted by Matt Aslett on 15 June 2023

I previously explained the arguments in favor of adoption of distributed SQL databases, the new generation of operational data platforms designed to combine the benefits of the relational database model and native support for distributed cloud architecture. It is critical for distributed SQL vendors to engage with developers to ensure they are considering the importance of resilience that spans... Read More

Topics: Cloud Computing, Data, Digital Technology, Analytics and Data

Harnessing Generative AI: Fueling Collaboration and Conversation

Posted by Jeff Orr on 14 June 2023

A lot has been written about the definition of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs), though less has been written about the business considerations for an organization to evaluate adopting and implementing these technologies. And more importantly, does the technology align with the Office of the CIO objectives and the goals of the business? The value of... Read More

Topics: Digital Technology, natural language processing, Collaborative & Conversational Computing, AI and Machine Learning

SAP Datasphere Simplifies Management and Use of Distributed Data

Posted by Matt Aslett on 13 June 2023

Data fabric has grown in popularity as organizations struggle to manage data spread across multiple data centers, systems and applications. By providing a technology-driven approach to automating data management and governance across distributed environments, data fabric is attractive to organizations seeking to simplify and standardize data management. I assert that by 2025, more than 6 in 10... Read More

Topics: Cloud Computing, Data Management, Data, Digital Technology, data operations, analytic data platforms, Analytics and Data

The Digital Era of Business Transformation to Modernization for CIOs

Posted by Jeff Orr on 08 June 2023

The digital transformation movement was about making wholesale changes in the use of technology across all lines of business and functions. It required organizational change on a large scale, including adapting the organization’s culture, retraining or rehiring the workforce and process realignment. Change management and a significant time commitment to implement change were necessary while... Read More

Topics: Cloud Computing, Digital Technology

Digital Modernization Helps CIOs Align to Business Growth

Posted by Jeff Orr on 06 June 2023

I am happy to announce that I have taken on a new role at Ventana Research to lead the firm’s overall research and advisory for the CIO and technology leader practice. The area focuses on digital modernization and the transformation necessary for IT teams to be successful across an organization. The market coverage spans Cloud Computing, Digital Security, Generative AI and the technologies... Read More

Topics: Digital Technology

Large Language Models and Generative AI: Beware Misplaced Trust

Posted by Matt Aslett on 06 June 2023

The data and analytics sector rightly places great importance on data quality: Almost two-thirds (64%) of participants in Ventana Research’s Analytics and Data Benchmark Research cite reviewing data for quality and consistency issues as the most time-consuming task in analyzing data. Data and analytics vendors would not recommend that customers use tools known to have data quality problems. It is... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Data Governance, Data Management, Data, Digital Technology, natural language processing, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

MicroStrategy World Showcases the Power of ONE Platform

Posted by David Menninger on 23 May 2023

MicroStrategy is a long-standing business intelligence and analytics vendor that operates worldwide. Founded in 1989, this publicly traded company with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue recently held its first in-person conference since prior to the pandemic. Similar to previous in-person events, the event was well attended by about 2,000 attendees and exhibitors. The theme,... Read More

Topics: embedded analytics, Analytics, Business Intelligence, Digital Technology, natural language processing, Analytics and Data

Large Language Models Take AI World By Storm

Posted by David Menninger on 17 May 2023

Artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved from a highly specialized niche technology to a worldwide phenomenon. Nearly 9 in 10 organizations use or plan to adopt AI technology. Several factors have contributed to this evolution. First, the amount of data they can collect and store has increased dramatically while the cost of analyzing these large amounts of data has decreased dramatically.... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Digital Technology, natural language processing, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Snowflake Expands Beyond Analytics in the Cloud

Posted by Matt Aslett on 11 May 2023

The data platforms market has traditionally been divided between products specifically designed to support operational or analytic workloads, with other market segments having emerged in recent years for data platforms targeted specifically at data science and machine learning (ML), as well as real-time analytics. More recently, we have seen vendor strategies evolving to provide a more... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Data, Digital Technology, analytic data platforms, Analytics and Data, AI and Machine Learning

Generative AI Ushers in a New Age of Content and Model Creation

Posted by David Menninger on 25 April 2023

Generative AI is a class of artificial intelligence used to generate new, seemingly real content. Broadly speaking, AI has traditionally been used to identify patterns in data and apply those patterns to categorize and predict behaviors. For instance, it can organize customers into groups (or clusters) with similar characteristics, or predict which customers are most likely to respond to certain... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Digital Technology, AI and Machine Learning

MongoDB’s Atlas Delivers Data-Driven Applications

Posted by Matt Aslett on 19 April 2023

The recent publication of our Value Index research highlights the impact of intelligent applications on the operational data platforms sector. While we continue to believe that, for most use cases, there is a clear, functional requirement for either analytic or operational data platforms, recent growth in the development of intelligent applications infused with the results of analytic processes,... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Business Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Data, Digital Technology, analytic data platforms, Analytics and Data

Make Better Decisions with Collaborative Analytics

Posted by David Menninger on 19 April 2023

In my perspective on decision intelligence, I lamented the fact that business intelligence technologies have left the rest of the exercise to the reader for too long. Making a decision is a process that involves many steps and many people. Decision-making is so complicated and divorced from day-to-day business processes that organizations have had to create entirely separate teams to focus on the... Read More

Topics: business intelligence, Analytics, Digital Technology, Collaborative & Conversational Computing, Analytics and Data

Tame Telemetry Data with Mezmo Observability Pipeline

Posted by Matt Aslett on 18 April 2023

As engagement with customers, suppliers and partners is increasingly conducted through digital channels, ensuring that infrastructure and applications are performing as expected is not just important but mission critical. My colleague, David Menninger, recently explained the increasing importance of observability to enable organizations to ensure that their systems and applications are operating... Read More

Topics: Data Management, Data, Digital Technology, Analytics and Data

Streaming Databases Enable Continuous Analysis and Data Persistence

Posted by Matt Aslett on 23 March 2023

Success with streaming data and events requires a more holistic approach to managing and governing data in motion and data at rest. The use of streaming data and event processing has been part of the data landscape for many decades. For much of that time, data streaming was a niche activity, however, with standalone data streaming and event-processing projects run in parallel with existing... Read More

Topics: Analytics, Data, Digital Technology, Streaming Analytics, Streaming Data Events, analytic data platforms, Analytics and Data