Ventana Research Unveils 2017 Research Agenda for Business and Technology Markets

    BEND, OR, January 31, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Ventana Research, a cutting-edge business technology research and advisory services firm connecting users and providers of technology to improve business performance, today unveiled a sharply focused and far-reaching research and education agenda for 2017. This agenda, based on a continuation of the firm's more than a decade of research and its analysts' extensive contacts with both buyers and users of business technology, details the research and functional areas the firm will focus on. The research this agenda details will make it possible for businesses to utilize their technology and resources efficiently and effectively to compete and perform well.

This research agenda, produced annually, is designed to enable businesses to plan and gain insights from trends and best practices so they can retain and advance their competitive edge in 2017. It also highlights the unique experience- and research fact-based services Ventana Research provides and distinguishes them from the less rigorous offerings of other advisory or consulting firms.

Ventana Research's agenda for 2017 identifies a broad range of topics in the lines of business, IT organizations and vertical industries that will be addressed this year. The research will examine what the firm has identified as the key digital technology innovations that are changing the way business operates: analytics, big data, cloud computing, collaboration for business, cybersecurity, the Internet of Things, machine learning and cognitive computing, mobile technology, and wearable computing. The research will assess the impacts of these technologies in finance, human resources, sales, marketing, customer service, operations, supply chain and IT functions in more than 20 vertical industries.

This year as well, Ventana Research will continue to expand its vendor and technology-oriented Value Index assessments. This detailed product-oriented research utilizes the most comprehensive methodology in the industry to evaluate business systems and tools for suitability-to-task as well as to assess the information and support vendors provide. Findings are presented in an RFP-oriented format to help organizations reduce cost, time and risk in assessing applications and making technology choices.

This year the firm also introduces a new research product called Ventana Research Dynamic Insights, which will provide continuous research on focused topics of business interest every quarter while delivering to each research participant immediate guidance on best practices and steps to improve its efforts. The Dynamic Insights will be a major component of the research foundation that uniquely differentiates Ventana Research's value for market research that educates and guides business and IT.

As the research agenda reveals, Ventana Research provides the most authoritative guidance available on best practices to support businesses in making informed technology choices, all based on a rigorous research methodology and experience gained from more than a dozen years in the industry. Ventana Research has benchmarked tens of thousands of organizations, differentiating it from any other analyst firm in the industry. Its research and education is provided directly to a community of members worldwide.

"In 2017 business decision-making will continue to shift from IT to business leaders, completely changing what kind of advice they need about what applications and technology are assessed and adopted and how it's framed," said Mark Smith, CEO and chief research officer of Ventana Research. "But what will not change is that companies will need to ensure they are receiving the most authoritative advice and best practices guidance that helps improve business processes and performance - research-based information from a firm that engages with them and their peers and measures how they achieve these tasks. IT-focused analyst firms offering predictions limited by IT-led perspectives continue to mislead businesses rather than enabling them to effectively prioritize the application and digital technology investments that matter the most to their organization. The intelligence on the use and value of digital technology for businesses that will be delivered by Ventana Research in 2017 will help organizations drive best possible performance with their resources and time."

"A line-of-business focus such as ours enables us to offer incisive guidance on aligning processes, whether industry-specific or not, with applications and technology," Smith said. "We are excited to again provide our publicly available research agenda, an agenda that's built on research and our ongoing review of how applications and technologies actually work. We look at much more than vendor-provided information on products, customers, and revenue; we take a holistic approach evaluating technology for its usability, manageability, reliability and adaptability to business."

Ventana Research's 14 years of market research experience enables it to fill the need for high-quality, fact-based research to inform and educate business and technology buyers and suppliers. It is the only technology analyst firm that publicly posts its research agenda and framework for an entire year and provides free access to market research. Merely providing an analyst note or listing reports to be written does not constitute a useful research agenda; it merely announces the use of an approach that lacks a methodology built on fact-based market research and full product evaluations that discover the real needs and direction of business and IT. "Our market- and primary research-based approach more clearly than ever differentiates our firm from the array of others," Smith added.

For more information about the research agenda, please visit any of our expertise pages, Analytics, Big Data, Customer Experience, Digital Technology, Human Capital Management, Marketing, Office of Finance, Operations & Supply Chain, or Sales, and download the research agendas for business and technology areas most important to your needs now. Look also for Ventana Research's daily benchmark research facts via its social media channel on Twitter at @VentanaResearch and on LinkedIn

About Ventana Research
Ventana Research is the most authoritative and respected benchmark business technology research and advisory services firm. We provide insight and expert guidance on mainstream and disruptive technologies through a unique set of research-based offerings including benchmark research and technology evaluation assessments, education workshops and our research and advisory services, Ventana On-Demand. Our unparalleled understanding of the role of technology in optimizing business processes and performance and our best practices guidance are rooted in our rigorous research-based benchmarking of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions in every industry. This benchmark research plus our market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver education and expertise to our clients to increase the value they derive from technology investments while reducing time, cost and risk.

Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst and research coverage in the industry; business and IT professionals worldwide are members of our community and benefit from Ventana Research's insights, as do highly regarded media and association partners around the globe. Our views and analyses are distributed daily through blogs and social media channels including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations' use of information and technology through benchmark research, education and advisory services, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.

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