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 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 Business Process & Applications Professionals

Mighty Mashups: Do-It-Yourself Business Intelligence For The New Economy

by James G. Kobielus, July 23, 2009

Enterprise business intelligence (BI) professionals face severe resource constraints, and the soft economy keeps budgets tight. One consequence is a lengthening queue of user requests to develop and revise reports, dashboards, cubes, and other analytic . . .

For Information & Knowledge Management Professionals

How SaaS-Able Are Content, Collaboration, And Data Software Categories?

Only Some Categories Possess The Innate Characteristics Suited To SaaS Delivery

by Craig Le Clair, Ted Schadler, July 8, 2009

Many enterprises are considering information and knowledge management (I&KM) software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions as alternatives to on-premise software installations and perpetual-license models. In response, I&KM vendors — old and new — have . . .

For Vendor Strategy Professionals

Market Momentum: Business Intelligence, Q1 To Q3 2008

Vendor Communications Reflect Business Intelligence Trends

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

As the business intelligence (BI) market absorbs a recent round of market-changing mergers and acquisitions (M&A), Forrester analyzed the evolution of this fast-growing market and tracked 434 unique activities in the first three quarters of 2008 from . . .

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 B2B Market Research Professionals

Collaboration And Web 2.0 Technology Adoption, Q4 2008  (446 KB PPT)

by TJ Keitt, G. Oliver Young, April 2, 2009

Firms report on their adoption and implementation of collaboration and Web 2.0 technologies.

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

BI Belt Tightening In A Tough Economic Climate

Practical Advice Applicable To Any Economic Condition

by Boris Evelson, February 20, 2009

As an economic downturn becomes a sobering reality, enterprises look for various ways to increase revenues and reduce costs. While overall IT budgets become targets for cost cutting, business intelligence (BI) applications and infrastructure need not . . .

For Marketing Leadership Professionals

What's Your Web Data Integration Strategy?

Marketing Data Reveals Better Insight With Integration

by John Lovett, February 19, 2009

Customer data is perpetually amassing for marketers with each new campaign, Web site visit, and email delivered, thus creating unprecedented stores of Web data. This information is often siloed within disparate applications providing shallow customer . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Topic Overview: Business Intelligence

by Boris Evelson, November 21, 2008

Business intelligence (BI) is a set of methodologies, processes, architectures, and technologies that transform raw data into meaningful and useful information. It allows business users to make informed business decisions with real-time data that can . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Case Study: Queensland Police Service Executes GIS By The Book

by Elisse Gaynor, Sharyn Leaver, August 12, 2008

Faced with disparate policing systems, corresponding silos of data, and degraded data quality, Australia's Queensland Police Service (QPS) launched a large-scale police records management and analysis overhaul to revive its police operational, tactical, . . .

For Technology Product Management & Marketing Professionals

Inquiry Insights: Business Intelligence, Q3 2008

What Customers Need To Hear About M&A, Text Mining, And Widespread Enterprise Utilization

by Merv Adrian, August 12, 2008

Forrester receives more than 20,000 inquiries per year that provide a view of the most pressing issues our clients are facing. Since early 2007, nearly 1,000 inquiries have dealt with business intelligence (BI), data warehousing, and related topics. Frequently . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Really Urgent Analytics: The Sweet Spot For Real-Time Data Warehousing

by James G. Kobielus, August 11, 2008

While information and knowledge management (I&KM) professionals occasionally demonstrate returns on their real-time data warehousing investments, most business intelligence (BI) architectures continue to rely on enterprise data warehouses (EDWs) as . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Vendor Snapshot: Illuminate Solutions Breaks Through Traditional BI Barriers

by James G. Kobielus, August 8, 2008

Illuminate Solutions is a young Spain-based analytic database vendor that offers a compelling new approach optimized for complex, dynamic, ad hoc queries. Illuminate's correlation database uses what it calls "value-based storage" to greatly reduce the . . .

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 . . .

For Business Process & Applications Professionals

Many Users Are Satisfied With Product Offerings From Mainstream BI Vendors  (396 KB PPT)

by Boris Evelson, June 12, 2008

Forrester surveyed 89 BI users as a part of the Wave evaluation of enterprise reporting and analysis platforms, expected to publish in Q3 2008. These data charts highlight the results from that user survey.

Operational BI Heats Up With An Infusion Of Context

by Keith Gile, June 5, 2006

The demand for operational business intelligence (BI) is increasing as companies look for ways to infuse context-aware reports and analysis into the workflow of decision-makers. New offerings by several BI and platform vendors target both the application . . .

Microsoft Buys ProClarity: This Small Acquisition Makes A Big Difference In Microsoft's BI Portfolio

by Keith Gile, April 19, 2006

The small investment Microsoft just made in business intelligence (BI) by acquiring ProClarity will pay big dividends for Microsoft customers — giving them a bona fide front-end BI product to leverage the SQL Server Analysis Services and Reporting Services . . .

Actuate Strong In Layout, Scalability For BI Reporting And Analysis Platforms

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Keith Gile, February 8, 2006

Actuate iServer v8 provides a platform for developing and deploying reporting applications in support of analytic and enterprise reporting. The product offers comprehensive application development capabilities with strength in report development and dissemination, . . .

Cognos A Leader In BI Reporting And Analysis Platforms

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Keith Gile, February 8, 2006

Cognos 8 Business Intelligence (BI) offers a single, strong BI reporting and analysis product for support of analytic and enterprise reporting. The product is strong in all three areas — analytic functionality, application development, and usability with . . .

SAS Strong In Advanced Analytics, Data Access For BI Reporting And Analysis Platforms

The Forrester Wave™ Vendor Summary, Q1 2006

by Keith Gile, February 8, 2006

SAS's SAS9 BI v9.1.3 provides a solid business intelligence (BI) product for analytic reporting, but has clear limitations in enterprise reporting. The product provides comprehensive data access to most RDBMSes and MDDBs, along with mainframes and legacy . . .