Updated Top Ten Lists

When I first posted the Top Ten list, it was based on very preliminary data.

So, now with the benefit of all of the Wisdom of Crowds BI Market Study data, I am posting two new/updated Top Ten lists: The Top Ten Biggest Problems with BI Vendors and The Top Ten Areas of Greatest Satisfaction with BI Vendors.

The findings and analysis report for the Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study is just undergoing some final edits and will be officially available on April 5th! More details can be found at http://www.business-intelligence-study.com.

Best,

Howard

Top Ten Biggest Problems with Business Intelligence Vendors

1. Integration with 3rd party technologies

2. Time to resolve technical support problems

3. Contractual terms and conditions

4. Online forums and documentation

5. Upgrade/migration to new versions

6. Follow up after the sale

7. Customization and Extensibility

8. Vendor consulting value

9. Sales understanding business/needs

10. Continuity of support personnel

Top Ten Areas of Greatest Satisfaction with Business Intelligence Vendors

1. Sales Product Knowledge

2. Robustness/sophistication of technology

3. Sales professionalism

4. Consult Product Knowledge

5. Consult Professionalism

6. Support Professionalism

7. Support Product Knowledge

8. Scalability

9. Overall Usability

10. Integration of components within product

Final Report Nearly Done!

Hello Folks.

Sorry to have gone "dark" for awhile, but I've been immersed in data these past couple of weeks. The result has been quite impressive. So far I have produced some 66 pages of charts and analysis looking at the industry by size of organization, experience with BI, vertical industry, function, etc. I've also created a number of in-depth analyses and rankings of vendors/products.

Here are a couple of charts from the final report for all to peruse:

The final report will be available for purchase by April 5th!

Please visit the official study website at www.business-intelligence-study.com for more information (including pricing) and to register!

Best,

Howard

Data Collection for Wisdom of Crowds BI Study Ends - How to get a copy of the findings

Hello Folks!

The data collection phase for the Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study is now over.

Thanks to all of you for your support in helping to make this project a great success. With ~500 completed surveys, we now have a very rich source of information and will be using it to create some powerful analyses. Some of these have already been posted earlier in this blog.

For those that are interested in purchasing a copy of the detailed report, with in-depth vendor rankings, and attending our upcoming live webinar (date TBD), please register at our official study website at www.business-intelligence-study.com and we'll contact you with more information shortly.

Best,

Howard

Survey Closes Today!!! How to Get a Copy of The Findings & Some Analysis

Hello Folks.

Thanks again to everyone that has supported the "Wisdom of Crowds" Business Intelligence Market Study. Because of all of you, this study has been an amazing success!

We've also just placed the official Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence website online. You can visit it at www.business-intelligence-study.com.

Of course, the study remains open until midnight today and more data is always welcomed!!

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HAVEN'T COMPLETED THE SURVEY YET?? CLICK HERE NOW! SURVEY ENDS TODAY!

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Since last month, we have collected a very rich set of data from around the world - with fantastic representation from multiple geographies, industries, departments, roles, organization sizes, etc. As I have analyzed the data, to date, I have been impressed by the very valuable insights and the unique view of the market that has been uncovered.

Study Deliverables:

Some of you have asked how you can get a copy of the complete "Wisdom of Crowds" Business Intelligence Market Study. So, here is a listing/description of planned deliverables:

1) In-Depth Study: A comprehensive analysis report - with detailed vendor rankings will be available for purchase. Vendors and products will be ranked using the 32 criteria - rating sales/acquisition experience (8 criteria), value for price paid, product/technology (12 criteria), technical support (5 criteria), consulting (5 criteria) and whether a vendor is recommended or not. Please register at www.business-intelligence-study.com to be contacted with more information regarding pricing and availability.

2) Webinar: A live webinar with Q&A will be offered once the final report has been released. I will personally lead the webinar with fancy Powerpoint slides. This will be available for a fee. Once again, please register at www.business-intelligence-study.com to be contacted with more information regarding pricing and availability.

3) Study participants: For valid users that complete the survey, I will send them a complimentary overview report with high-level vendor rankings. Valid users that have completed the survey already (and provided their email address) will get a notification email shortly from bistudy@howarddresner.com. So, you might want to whitelist this address.

4) Free stuff: I will continue to offer some industry insights from the study data on this blog. This will include demographics, and various industry cross-tab analyses - such as adoption by geography, industry, etc.

Some Additional Analysis:

Below is an analysis that I created from the latest version of the survey data. I'll continue to post these types of analyses from time to time, on the blog, for general consumption.

IT Versus Business Adoption:

The above chart clearly shows a global trend in favor of business/user deployment of business intelligence solutions. There's an interesting inflection point 1-2 years ago when the trend seems to have accelerated a bit.

Best,

Howard

Only a Few Days Left & Some Interesting Analysis

Hello Folks.

Well, it's down to the wire. The Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study will close for input at the end of day on Monday, March 15th, 2010.

Our thanks to all of you that have completed the survey. Your input has been invaluable and has made this study a huge success!

For those that have not yet joined the movement, there is still time!

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CLICK HERE NOW TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY!!!

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Some New Analysis:

I've been laboring away analyzing the data that's been collected to date and there is an interesting story about the industry that's emerging. Here are a couple of charts that I've generated this morning:

Adoption by World Region (click on image to enlarge):

In this chart you can see adoption my world region over the course of the last ten years. As a general trend, everyone slowed deployments 1-2 years ago due to the economic downturn. However, it's interesting to note where the growth came from during that period of time (EMEA, APAC) and where it's coming from today (LATAM, N. AMER).

BI Adoption by Industry (click on image to enlarge):

Here's an industry analysis which shows substantial growth in deployments of BI between 2 - 5 years ago (2005 - 2008) and a significant drop from 2008 - 2009. However, it's interesting to note certain industries, such as Financial Services, which declined sharply and is now on the rise again.

I will publish more analyses as I develop them.

Best,

Howard

Copyright 2010 - Dresner Advisory Services, LLC

Final Week of "Wisdom of Crowds" Business Intelligence Study and The Plan for Analysis!

Welcome to Week Four - The final week of data collection for the Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study.

The response to this study has been overwhelmingly strong. Even as I write this note, new surveys are streaming in! As many of you already know, the study will close in one week, on March 15th. And, even though we have lots of great data, we still need your input!!

So, if you are using a BI tool of any kind, click on the link below and complete the survey. If you have experience with more than one vendor/tool, complete the survey for each product/vendor combination. It only takes two minutes to rate your vendor and product. Valid participants will receive a complimentary analysis and report of the findings.

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Haven't Filled Out The Survey Yet? - Click Here NOW!

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The Plan for Analysis:

I have already begun to validate and model the data and can already tell that there will be some surprises!

With that in mind, I've decided to organize the analysis/rankings into three distinct categories: "Titans", "Established Pure-plays" and "Emerging Vendors". Although far from perfect, the profiles of vendors that are grouped together are much more similar to each other than those in the other categories - even though there is some competition across categories.

Vendors/products will be ranked on the five study criteria (sales/acquisition experience, perceived value, product/technology, technical support and consulting services). A maximum of five points can be earned for each, for a total possible score of 25. I'm also considering other analyses such as top products, best tech support, etc.

At this moment, my plan is to present the findings in a series of bar charts or spider charts (below). Sorry, no quadrants ;)

Remember,this survey is not underwritten or sponsored by any vendors and none of your detailed data will be shared with the outside world. It was conceived as a means for providing an unbiased view of the market to those interested in selecting the best BI vendors and products and is entirely dependent upon people like you for input! So, please complete the survey today and be part of this important project!

Best,

Howard

Week Three Comes to a Close - And Some Interesting Analysis

As Week Three of The Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study ends, I want to thank everyone again for their support. I've started to sort through the data and am delighted by what I've seen so far.

Today (below) I am posting a couple of charts, showing IT versus Business user alignment with different categories of technology suppliers.

The study has only one week left to go and will remain open until March 15, 2010. So, there is still time to get involved and be counted!

So, if you are using a BI tool of any kind, click on the link below and complete the survey. If you have experience with more than one vendor/tool, complete the survey for each product/vendor combination. It only takes two minutes to rate your vendor and product. Valid participants will receive a complimentary analysis and report of the findings.

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Haven't Filled Out The Survey Yet? - Click Here NOW!

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Remember,this survey is not underwritten or sponsored by any vendors and none of your detailed data will be shared with the outside world. It was conceived as a means for providing an unbiased view of the market to those interested in selecting the best BI vendors and products and is entirely dependent upon people like you for input! So, please complete the survey today and be part of this important project!

Technology Alignment Analysis:
For the analysis of technology alignment: IT versus Business, I grouped the vendors into three categories: "Titans", "Pure plays" and "Emerging". Titans are the largest providers, where BI represents one of many businesses (e.g., IBM, SAP). Pure plays are vendors that are well established and are primarily focused upon BI (e.g., SAS, Microstrategy, IBI) and Emerging vendors include newer vendors, often with a highly specialized focus (e.g, Open source, Cloud, visualization).

Enjoy!