Ventana Research Releases Buyers Guide for Collaborative Analytics

    BEND, OR, September 25, 2023 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Today Ventana Research released its 2023 Buyers Guide for Collaborative Analytics, a quantified, research-based report evaluating technology providers and products. The Buyers Guide assesses 22 vendors' products using our Value Index methodology to evaluate software in seven key categories that are weighted to reflect buyers' needs based on our expertise and research. The Buyers Guide evaluates the sophistication of vendors and products in the area of collaborative analytics.

Analytics almost universally involves collaboration among a team of individuals. Interpreting the results of the analyses, choosing a course of action, and tracking the implementation of those actions span multiple roles and even multiple departments within an organization. As a result, most of today's analytics and business intelligence (BI) products support some form of collaboration.

Capabilities that support the sharing of — and communication about — output from analytical processes are important because they help organizations maximize the value of their analytics investments. Facilitating communication and collaboration among those involved in the decision-making process leads to more informed and better decisions. Social media has introduced significant new collaboration capabilities that can further enhance the analytics process. Analytics and BI vendors have recognized the value of collaboration and have increasingly been incorporating these capabilities into their products.

"As collaborative technology has become more prevalent in organizations, technology providers have begun to embrace it within analytics processes," said David Menninger, SVP and Research Director at Ventana Research. "A vast majority of the enterprises are involved in analytics for taking action and for decision-making processes. Organizations need to understand how different technology providers providing analytics and business intelligence are supporting their collaborative requirements for the enterprise."

The Buyers Guide for Collaborative Analytics evaluates the following vendors that offer products that address key elements of collaborative analytics as we define it: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Cloud Software Systems, Domo, GoodData, Google, IBM, Idera, Incorta, Infor, insightsoftware, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, Oracle, Pyramid Analytics, Qlik, SAP, SAS, Sigma Computing, Sisense, Tableau Software, ThoughtSpot, and Zoho.

The research finds SAP first on the list with IBM in second place and Domo in third. Companies that place in the top three of a category earn the designation of Leader. Oracle has done so in six of the seven categories; SAP in five; IBM in four; Domo and Qlik in two, and Sisense and Tableau in one category.

The research places vendors into one of four overall categories: Exemplary, Innovative, Assurance, or Merit. This representation classifies vendors' weighted performance overall in Product Experience and Customer Experience. The vendors were awarded the following categories:

- Exemplary: Domo, IBM, Oracle, SAP, Tableau, and Zoho.
- Innovative: Idera, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, and Pyramid Analytics.
- Assurance: GoodData, Incorta, insightsoftware, and Sisense.
- Merit: AWS, Cloud Software Group, Google, Infor, SAS, Sigma Computing, and ThoughtSpot.

The Buyers Guide for Collaborative Analytics is the distillation of over a year of market and product research efforts. It is an assessment of how well vendors' offerings will address organizations' requirements for collaborative analytics software. The index is structured to support a request for information (RFI) that could be used in the RFP process by incorporating all criteria needed to evaluate, select, utilize, and maintain relationships with technology vendors. An effective product and customer experience with a technology vendor can ensure the best long-term relationship and value achieved from a resource and financial investment.

The structure of the research reflects our understanding that the effective evaluation of vendors and products involves far more than just examining product features, potential revenue, or customers generated from a vendor's marketing and sales efforts. We believe it is important to take a comprehensive research-based approach since making the wrong choice of collaborative analytics technology can raise the total cost of ownership, lower the return on investment, and hamper an organization's ability to reach its potential performance. In addition, this approach can reduce the project's development and deployment time and eliminate the risk of relying on a short list of vendors that do not represent the best fit for your organization.

"The collaborative aspects of every enterprise for the worker and workforce have increased productivity but have not always been blended with the aspects of analytics where it is essential with tasks and business processes," said Mark Smith, CEO and Chief Research Officer at Ventana Research. "The necessity of objective and independent research focused on the requirements of enterprise product and customer experiences places our firm in a unique position to help organizations assess and select the technology provider that helps enable the outcomes expected from software investments."

The Buyers Guide for Collaborative Analytics is neither sponsored nor influenced by technology vendors and is conducted solely in pursuit of Ventana Research's mission to provide value to business and IT (Information Technology) through the Consulting, Advisory, Research, and Education (CARE) portfolio of services. Ventana Research's goal is to help guide organizations to optimal efficiency in their use of technology investments for business and IT. To learn more and to read the Buyers Guide for Collaborative Analytics, please click here.

About Ventana Research

Ventana Research is the most authoritative and respected market 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 Facebook, LinkedIn, and X (formerly Twitter). 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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