For Business Process & Applications Professionals

In-Database Analytics: The Heart Of The Predictive Enterprise

by James G. Kobielus, November 12, 2009

Visionary organizations are adopting an emerging practice known as "in-database analytics," which supports more pervasive embedding of predictive models in business processes and mission-critical applications. With in-database analytics, enterprises migrate . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Overview: The Business Intelligence Software Market

Advanced Analytics Will Drive Growth To $14 Billion By 2014

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., October 23, 2009

Business intelligence (BI) software is the tip of the application software pyramid. Pure functionality, no matter how sophisticated, is no longer sufficient to successfully support the changing business requirements of today. BI provides business guidance . . .

For Customer Intelligence Professionals

The Marketing And Customer Analytics Software Landscape

Unraveling A Potpourri Of Technology Options For Customer Analysis

by Suresh Vittal, October 16, 2009

Marketers recognize that Customer Intelligence is rapidly becoming a mission-critical discipline. This should come as no surprise — valuing, targeting, and retaining the best customers are skills in high demand. But few marketing organizations can muster . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Business Case for BI: Now More Critical Than Ever

by Boris Evelson, August 25, 2009

Even as IT reduces or holds budgets steady in many enterprise software sectors, business intelligence (BI) initiatives remain front and center in most enterprise business and IT agendas. As the demand for pervasive and comprehensive BI applications increases, . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Business Intelligence (BI) Polishes Its Crystal Ball

IBM's SPSS Deal Nudges Analytics Industry Toward Deeper Predictive Focus

by James G. Kobielus, Boris Evelson, Leslie Owens, August 18, 2009

Enterprise strategic, tactical, and operational decision-makers want to understand past and present activity but also anticipate the future to avoid being blindsided by seemingly hidden events. How do companies build a competitive "crystal ball"? They . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Latest BI Adoption Trends - Still Ripe In Opportunities Across Regions, Company Sizes, And Industries  (566 KB PPT)

by Boris Evelson, August 6, 2009

This set of data charts examines BI adoption trends from Forrester's recent Enterprise And SMB Software Survey, North America And Europe, Q4 2008.

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Big Blue Gets Smarter: IBM Announces The Acquisition Of SPSS

IBM Strikes Out To Become The Leading BI Vendor

by Holger Kisker, Ph.D., July 29, 2009

On July 28, 2009, IBM announced the plan to acquire SPSS, a leading provider of predictive analytics solutions. The acquisition, which is subject to shareholder and regulatory approval, is expected to close later this year and will accelerate IBM in the . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Hot Insurance Tech Companies To Watch In 2009: Q2 Update

by Ellen Carney, June 29, 2009

The past year has tested the mettle of the insurance industry. Insurers like The Hartford Financial Services Group and Lincoln National Group converted to bank holding companies to take advantage of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds. The downturn . . .

For Technology Sales Enablement Professionals

Demand Insights: Predictive Analytics In The Financial Services Sector

How IBM Helps Banks And Insurers Get The Business They Really Want

by Ellen Carney, June 2, 2009

Banks and insurers do a great job acquiring customers, but they fall down when it comes to cross- and upselling other services. Few financial services institutions even know if the customers they have are actually the kind of business that they want. . . .

For eBusiness & Channel Strategy Professionals

Trends 2009: European Retail Banking eBusiness And Channel Strategy

The Financial Crisis And The Recession Have Changed Priorities For Executives

by Benjamin Ensor, May 12, 2009

Under the impact of the financial crisis and the recession, eBusiness and channel strategy executives at European retail banks will focus on retaining customers and increasing efficiency in 2009. In this environment, we expect to see eBusiness and channel . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Business Intelligence Platforms, Q3 2008

by Boris Evelson, July 31, 2008

In Forrester's 151-criteria evaluation of enterprise business intelligence (BI) platform vendors, we found that IBM Cognos and SAP Business Objects maintain their leadership positions, while Oracle and SAS Institute move into leadership positions in enterprise . . .

Trends 2005: Predictive Analytics

by Lou Agosta, November 2, 2004

In the coming year, a thirst for customer knowledge, a need to generate incremental revenue through understanding buying behavior, the requirement to reduce costs in supply chain logistics, and the imperative to make inferences about the future behavior . . .

Predictive Analytics To Cross-Sell Finance

How Financial Services Firms Are Solving Their Cross-Selling Challenges

by Charlotte Hamilton Clark, June 18, 2004

European finance firms experiment with predictive analytics, hoping to increase sales, lower marketing costs, and improve customer satisfaction. They focus on cross-selling via traditional outbound channels with a range of bought-in analytics tools: Most . . .

SPSS Ships Applications For Real-Time Predictive Analytics Amid Distractions

by Lou Agosta, Elana Anderson, June 4, 2004

The SPSS Enterprise Platform for predictive analytics promises a single integrated backbone for real-time predictive decision-making across the customer-facing business processes of marketing, sales, service, and operations. Strengths include leveraging . . .

Making Predictive Analytics Pay Off

Industry Successes, Lessons Learned

by Lou Agosta, March 3, 2004

Predictive analytics has reached takeoff speed with diverse firms in numerous industries realizing value from predictive analytics. Fully 46% of enterprises surveyed report having a wide variety of applications already in production. Forrester surfaced . . .

Genetic Algorithms Break Out

Genalytics First To Market Commercially Relevant Algorithm

by Lou Agosta, February 18, 2004

Genalytics' claim to be the first to market genetic algorithms for standard predictive models in commercial business applications is a strong one. This promises a breakthrough for genetic algorithms, which were previously confined to skunkworks and science. . . .

CA Neugents Morph Into CA Predictive Analysis Server

by Lou Agosta, January 21, 2004

The pendulum is now swinging back for predictive applications toward workbenches, and with Computer Associates ramping up marketing for its Predicative Analysis Server, there will be more competition, not less, in the workbench segment of the market. . . .

Predictive Analytics Overcome Forecast Flops

by George Lawrie, David Metcalfe, December 23, 2003

Users are frustrated with historically rooted moving average business forecasting, but building analytical forecasts has proved too expensive for all but the largest firms. Predictive analytics will bring analytical modeling out of the lab and into the . . .

Vendor Scorecard: Selecting Software For Predictive Analytics

by Lou Agosta, December 22, 2003

Giga has developed a flexible, two-step framework for evaluating software for predictive analysis, which has been applied to the software offered by the leading predictive modeling workbench vendors SAS, SPSS, IBM and Oracle.

The Benefits of Predictive Analytics

by Lou Agosta, December 18, 2003

Algorithms From the Leading Predictive Modeling Vendors

by Lou Agosta, December 16, 2003

The heart of the predictive model is the algorithm which generates a prediction by relating upstream, independent variables to a downstream dependent one. There are a 101 ways of relating these terms.

Criteria For Selection: Software For Predictive Analytics

by Lou Agosta, December 16, 2003

Vendor implementations of software for predictive analytics vary widely, and a careful analysis of requirements can provide the basis for a purchasing decision. The criteria include product functions, usability, pricing, vendor strategy and support.

The Future Of Data Mining - Predictive Analytics

by Lou Agosta, Laurie M. Orlov, Ryan Hudson, November 21, 2003

Confused messages from vendors about data mining, coupled with hyperbole in the press about a new BI gold rush, have resulted in project disappointment and failed expectations. The future of data mining lies in predictive analytics.

Innovations and Results in Predictive Analytics: Algorithms and Business Cases

by Lou Agosta, November 11, 2003

Building and deploying a predictive model requires a toolkit with diverse statistical and predictive algorithms, which will create such business results as customer recommendations, cross-selling, up-selling, forecasting and demand planning.

Innovations and Results in Predictive Analytics - The Case of ProfitLogic

by Lou Agosta, November 3, 2003

The diffusion of optimization technology has converged with improved hardware and operational practices to reach a critical mass, producing a breakthrough in a knotty real-world retail problem ¿ transforming dumb markdowns into targeted promotions.