Happy Holidays From Dresner Advisory Services

Dear Friends,

At this time of year, as we pause and reflect on 2010, we want to thank you for all your support and wish you the very best of the holiday season and a very Happy New Year!






Howard Dresner

Chief Research Officer
Dresner Advisory Services

Updated Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study and Our Research Agenda for 2011

Hello Folks!

I would like to start off with best wishes for the holiday season and the upcoming New Year.

2011 looks promising and we've developed a fairly ambitious research agenda to match.

EMA Partnership:
Many of you probably read the posting here and the press release announcing our partnership with EMA Research to conduct a study focused on Business Intelligence Professional Service Providers. That effort is already underway, with a targeted release for late winter 2011.

Updated Mobile BI Market Study
Simultaneously, I am working on an update to our recent Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study. The original research was done last summer and much has changed since then. In this updated study, we're taking a close look at how things have changed in past six months. We're working with a number of the original respondents for before and after comparisons and are also conducting some in-depth interviews.

We're also re-surveying all of the vendors to understand how their mobile capabilities have evolved in the past six months.

We've also added some new questions - including the relationship to Cloud Computing, device vs. server data storage, and the percentage of population that will be using Mobile BI - exclusively in 2 years.

We've also asked about some new platforms - including the RIM BlackPad, Windows 7 Phone and Android Tablets.

Here's a preliminary chart from the updated study:

















You'll be hearing much more about this important research over the course of the next month - including scheduled webinars and how to obtain the findings.

Wisdom of Crowds BI Market Study - 2011 Edition:
Once the Mobile BI Market Study has been published at the end of January, we'll kick off the next cycle of our Annual Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study. As with last year, we will analyze key industry trends and will stack-rank all of the relevant BI vendors.

I expect the 2011 Wisdom of Crowds BI Market Study to be released in early to mid Spring. 2011

More Research TBA:
After Wisdom of Crowds, I am hopeful that we'll be able to get one more study done (topic TBA) in either the late Spring/early Summer or early Fall before we begin the next cycle of our Annual BI Professional Services Study.

So, as you can see it will be a very busy 2011!

Best,

Howard

Partnership with EMA Research

Hello Folks!

I am pleased to officially announce our partnership with EMA Research to delivery our next research study focused on Business Intelligence Professional Services.

Here's the text from the press release:

Enterprise Management Associates and Dresner Advisory Services, LLC Partner to Deliver Research

– Wed Dec 1, 4:30 pm ET
The combination of these firms bring together decades of business intelligence knowledge and proven research methodologies.

Boulder, CO (Vocus) December 1, 2010

Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), a leading IT and data management research and consulting firm, has announced a partnership with Dresner Advisory Services, LLC, a leading independent advisory firm, to deliver the Annual Business Intelligence Professional Services Market Study.

The combination of EMA and Dresner Advisory Services, LLC brings together decades of business intelligence knowledge and proven research methodologies. The study will focus on rating and ranking the leading business intelligence professional services firms on measures of performance, expertise and value, while bringing to light important market and technology trends, industry challenges and evolving market opportunities.

“Understanding the needs of the market are critical for any professional services firm as they strive to differentiate themselves and expand in the current market.” said Howard Dresner, president and founder of Dresner Advisory Service, LLC.

Shawn Rogers, vice president of research business intelligence at Enterprise Management Associates added, “We believe this research to be the first of its kind, delivering value to all participants: the end user community who are planning business intelligence projects and the suppliers of services.”

The Annual Business Intelligence Professional Services Market Study is scheduled for release in late winter 2010. For more information on this important research study, please contact Mr. Rogers or Mr. Dresner directly.

Enterprise Management Associates
Shawn Rogers
srogers(at)enterprisemanagement(dot)com
+1.3030.543.9500 x – 122

Dresner Advisory Services, LLC
Howard Dresner
info(at)howarddresner(dot)com

About Enterprise Management Associates
Founded in 1996, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) is a leading industry analyst firm that provides deep insight across the full spectrum of IT and data management technologies. EMA analysts leverage a unique combination of practical experience, insight into industry best practices, and in-depth knowledge of current and planned vendor solutions to help its clients achieve their goals. Learn more about EMA research, analysis, and consulting services for enterprise line of business users, IT professionals and IT vendors at http://www.enterprisemanagement.com or blogs.enterprisemanagement.com. You can also follow EMA on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ema_research.

About Dresner Advisory Services, LLC
As president and founder of Dresner Advisory Services, Howard Dresner is one of the foremost leaders in Business Intelligence and Performance Management, having published two books on the topic, including his most recent title: "Profiles in Performance - Business Intelligence Journeys and the Roadmap for Change" (John Wiley & Sons) A veteran market analyst, prior to his current role Howard was a Research Fellow and lead BI analyst for 13 years at Gartner. Visit http://www.howarddresner.com for more information.
###
Raleigh Gould
Enterprise Management Associates
303-543-9500 x-105
Email Information

Some Mobile Business Intelligence Articles

Hello Folks!

Our latest research project on Mobile Business Intelligence has been a great experience and a great success. We had a chance to learn a great deal about new technologies, new market segments and get introduced to a number of wildly innovative organizations.

Thanks again to all of you that participated. Much appreciated!

We also received a good amount of press attention. Here's a short list of the many articles on Mobile BI that quoted our research:

• Lots of Change Ahead for Mobile Business Intelligence
  Published by IT Business Edge on Nov 12, 2010
• Mobile Business Intel to Skyrocket Next Two Years
  Published by internet.com on Nov 05, 2010
• The upcoming revolution in business intelligence systems
  Published by SearchCIO.com on Nov 05, 2010
• Mobile BI Survey Sheds Light on Use, Ubiquity
  Published by Enterprise Systems Journal on Nov 03, 2010
• Mobile Business Intelligence: The Next Big Thing
  Published by eCRM Guide on Oct 29, 2010
• Q & A With Howard Dresner on Mobile BI
  Published by SmartDataCollective on Oct 27, 2010
• Why Your Business Intelligence Apps Need a Tablet Strategy
  Published by Datamation on Sep 28, 2010
• Profound Shifts in Mobile Business Intelligence Are Afoot
  Published by Forbes on Sep 22, 2010

And, of course, our official Mobile BI Website is up and running for those that want to get the complete story!

NEXT: We're getting ready to announce our upcoming research project within a few weeks. So, stay tuned!!

Best,

Howard

A Teachable Moment in Customer Service

Hello Folks!

As many of you already know, I will be conducting a webinar this Monday on Mobile Business Intelligence. The content is derived from my latest Mobile BI Market Study Report, which was released just last month.

In support of this event, I decided (after much deliberation) to purchase a new mobile device - specifically a mobile tablet. And, no, it's not an iPad.

But, this posting is not about the device. Instead, it's a story about the disastrous customer service associated with acquiring this device.

On Wednesday, I called the device manufacturer's sales line to order my new mobile tablet. The sales person was personable, knowledgeable and professional. I was quite impressed. Of course, I needed to receive the device ASAP, in support of Monday's event and impending road-tour next week. So, I requested (and paid for) overnight shipping. Since I was ordering after 1PM, I was told that the device would be delivered on Friday. I soon received email confirmation and an order number. I thought I was all set!

But, wait! While still on the phone with the sales person, I logged onto to their system and noticed that it indicated shipping via "ground" and delivery in 3-5 business days, not Next Day. My sales person assured me that the system was incorrect and that it would indeed be delivered on Friday.

The following morning (Thursday), I checked their system again. It still indicated 3-5 business days. I called and spoke to another sales person, who once again assured me that the package would ship Next Day Air and I would receive the unit on Friday, as promised. When asked about the online status of 3-5 business days, I was told that their internal system was accurate and the customer (my) view was out of date.

Later that day, I received shipping notice from the vendor's automated system, indicating that the unit had, in fact, shipped via ground and would be delivered in 3-5 business days - not next day. As you can imagine, I was rather upset. I immediately contacted my sales person, who still insisted that the package might still arrive on Friday and that the system must be in error.

With tracking number in hand, I verified this information the shipper's system and confirmed that the package would indeed be delivered via ground - and would not arrive until the following Monday (or Tuesday), NOT FRIDAY.

The last email that I received from my sales person (although apologetic) focused on the point that this error wasn't his fault. He put it into the system correctly and had never seen this happen before. To quote him: "it is simply not possible for me to charge for shipping without selecting it in our system. The only explanation I have is the same as before---a system error somehow failed to register the Next Day shipping as the shipping option once the order was completed." His only solution was to refund my $16 for overnight shipping, which didn't address my issue. He made certain to copy his boss.

So, with that lengthy explanation behind us, let's examine what should have occurred:

1) When the customer (me) alerted the sales person about the shipping method discrepancy, he should have sought help from someone with more experience. Fact is: systems typically do what they're told to do and the indicated status is probably accurate.

2) When the customer calls back and still indicates a problem, don't patronize him and do nothing. On Thursday there was still time to fix the problem. At that point they still could have shipped out another unit for delivery by Friday.

3) Don't blame the system for a customer service problem. The customer doesn't care who's fault it was. Acknowledge the mistake and come up with a solution.

As a final note, when I was tweeting about this issue, the vendor's social media customer service rep reached out to me and tried hard to fix the problem. In fact he had them ship another unit to me for overnight delivery. However, they (apparently) don't have the ability or didn't select "Saturday Delivery" as an option. So, the second unit will likely arrive at the same time as the first unit.

The old axiom of "A stitch in time saves nine" comes to mind. Fix a problem right away - when it's easier and there are more options - and before it gets out of hand creating (in this case) a customer service nightmare.

I'll share more of the saga at the webinar on Monday. For more info on the event - go to www.mobile-bi-study.com

Best,

Howard

Mobile BI Vendor Rankings

Hello Folks!

As you are probably aware, our upcoming Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study Webinar is just over a week away and will take place on October 25th at 12:00 PM ET.

In preparation for this event, I have created a series of vendor rankings and thought I'd share one here - with vendor names removed.

Vendors were scored based on platform coverage and BI features/functions supported. As you can see, there are clear leaders and laggards - which will be identified during the webinar.



Ultimately, our objective is to provide tools that will help organizations make informed decisions surrounding Mobile BI.

This and other analyses will only be available through the webinar.

Visit our official Mobile Business Intelligence Website at www.mobile-bi-study.com for more information and to register!

Best,

Howard

A Business Intelligence Software Directory?

Hi Folks.

After discussing with some colleagues, I have decided it might be worthwhile to create an open-access Business Intelligence Software directory.

I envision this as a simple database application with basic vendor and product information. But, who knows what it might evolve into.

Please feel free to post comments and suggestions here.

Thanks!

Best,

Howard

Why we're different

Hello All!

I was speaking to a client the other day and was explaining why our research studies are different than all others and thought I might share this with you.

At Dresner Advisory Services, our key differentiators are: Experience, Objectivity, and Inclusion.

Experience: As some of you already know, I spent 13 years at Gartner, where I was a Research Fellow and Team Leader for Business Intelligence. During my tenure there I conducted numerous market studies, was responsible for the BI Magic Quadrants and created and chaired its BI conferences. I have been in the industry for 30 years and in the BI segment for 21. I have also published two books on the subject. All of this experience and judgment is applied in all phases of our market studies - delivering - what I hope is - a more complete and useful perspective on the market - and one that will save clients time, energy and money!

Objectivity: Unlike other organizations, we do not pre-fund market studies with sponsor money. In other words, we determine those areas that warrant in-depth research and then carry out the work of design, execution, analysis and documentation - without any guarantees of funding. This means that our market studies are unbiased and uninfluenced by vested interests. However, once all of the work is done, anyone can license our research - including vendors.

Inclusion: Although we invite members of our user community to participate in market studies, we also actively leverage social media to invite all to participate. This technique of "crowd sourcing" better ensures a more diverse and richer data sample. We also believe it serves as a better barometer for what's really going on in the market.

Current Efforts: Earlier this year we released our Wisdom of Crowds BI Market Study (TM) which has received both critical acclaim and broad adoption. This study will be conducted annually - with the next cycle planned to begin late Winter of 2011.

Our latest study focuses upon Mobile Business Intelligence and was released earlier this month. Enterprise licensees have been receiving their copies this month. This study has already been written up by Forbes, TechTarget, Datamation and B-Eye Network!

On October 25, 2010 at 12PM ET, I will deliver a webinar on Mobile BI called "The Five 'Ws' of Mobile BI". All attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the research study findings report, immediately following the event.

To learn more about our latest Mobile BI Study and to sign up for our upcoming webinar, please visit www.mobile-bi-study.com

I look forward to continuing as an alternative voice in the Business Intelligence and Performance Management markets and appreciate your ongoing support!

Best,

Howard

Visit my Website

Order my latest book

Announcing "The Five 'Ws' of Mobile Business Intelligence" Presentation

Now that our Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study has been released to enterprise licensees, I'm focusing my attention on our upcoming webinar, scheduled for October 25th at 12PM ET.

In support of the webinar, I've created a new presentation abstract called the "Five W's of Mobile Business Intelligence".

For anyone considering deploying Mobile BI, this is a "must attend" event which could save you considerable time, effort and money!

The Five 'Ws" of Mobile Business Intelligence

With the advent and adoption of devices like the iPhone, iPad and Android devices, we are in the midst of a profound shift in favor of mobile computing and the mainstreaming of Mobile Business Intelligence.

In this presentation we'll review the findings from our landmark Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study and will answer:

- Who: Who will deploy Mobile BI (Which users/organizations) and which vendors will offer the most complete solutions?

- What: What mobile platforms will be embraced or abandoned for Mobile BI? And, which features and functions are most important?

- Where: Where will Mobile BI be deployed most? How does geography impact deployment?

- Why: Why are organizations deploying Mobile BI (rationale)? What are the anticipated benefits and drawbacks? What are the greatest vendor challenges to delivering Mobile BI?

- When: When will Mobile BI be deployed over the course of the next two years? How will vendor solutions evolve to meet user needs?

To register for the October 25th webinar, please visit or Official Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study website at http://www.mobile-bi-study.com today! "Early bird" pricing will be in effect until September 26th and seating will be limited.

Webinar attendees will also receive a complimentary copy of the Official Study Findings Report, immediately following the event.

Hope to see you there!

Best,

Howard

Mobile Business Intelligence Study Availability

I am please to announce that our latest market study is now complete and ready to be released!

The Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study will be released to enterprise licensees tomorrow, September 8th!

All others can receive a copy of this landmark study by attending our webinar on October 25th at 12:00 PM ET. The study findings and analysis report will be released to attendees immediately following the event.

Please visit our Official Mobile BI Study website at www.mobile-bi-study.com for details and to sign up.

Here's what's included in the report:

• 70 pages of in-depth analysis and commentary
• Over 40 charts and tables – with deep insights into: Mobile BI adoption plans, platforms, features/functions and tools - to inform your planning processes and road-map
• Detailed mobile capabilities for 18 BI vendors - including supported features/functions and platforms and key challenges
• Customer case study profiles, with details surrounding actual implementations
• Conclusions and recommendations

"Early bird" pricing will be in place until September 26th and seating will be limited. So reserve your place today at www.mobile-bi-study.com!

Best,

Howard

Video Preview of our Mobile BI Study

Hello Everyone!

The Findings and Analysis Report for our Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study is NOW COMPLETE!! The report will be first released to enterprise licensees on September 8th.

For all others, the study webinar will take place on Octber 25th at 12:00 PM ET. Webinar attendees will receive a complimentary copy of the study findings report immediately following the event!

Here's a short video preview of what you'll see on the 25th:



Please visit our Official Mobile BI Study Website at http://www.mobile-bi-study.com for more details and to register!

Best,

Howard

Mobile BI Platform Priorities

Hello!

Here's another insight form our upcoming Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study. This one surrounds user preference for Mobile BI Platforms.

Remember: We will be releasing the report exclusively to enterprise clientele on September 8th. All others can get a copy by signing up for our webinar, which is scheduled for October 25th.

Visit our Official Mobile BI Website at www.mobile-bi-study.com for webinar details and to register. Attendees to the webinar will receive their copy of the report immediately following the event.

Mobile BI Platform Preferences:
It was important to learn which mobile platforms were at the forefront of user priority (and investment). Although there were a few respondents that mentioned Palm and Nokia (Symbian), the great majority specified one of five major mobile platforms: Apple iPhone and iPad, Google Android, RIM Blackberry, and Windows Mobile. For each of these mobile platforms we asked respondents to place them in priority order: first through fifth.

As specified in the figure below, in overall sample, RIM Blackberry remains the top priority for Mobile BI, followed by the iPhone. However, when looking at the combination of 1st and 2nd priorities together, the iPhone stands out as the single strongest platform for Mobile BI. This is followed by the iPad, Windows Mobile and Google Android. It should also be noted that Windows Mobile was the top choice as the 5th priority platform and Android the top 3rd priority – giving it “dark horse” status.

Click on this link to view the current table-of-contents for the findings and analysis report.

Best,

Howard

Mobile BI Market Study to be Released September 8th

Hello Folks!

The long wait is almost over for the release of our landmark Mobile Business Intelligence Market Study! Just going through some final edits and awaiting approval for two customer "profiles" which will be including.

In addition to the customer profiles, I've also decided to include comments from 18 vendors (not attributed) surrounding perceived challenges in developing and delivering Mobile BI products. Very interesting reading!

The final analysis and findings report will be approximately 70 pages in length, with 38 charts, three detailed vendor tables and many great insights!

We will be releasing the report exclusively to enterprise clientele on September 8th. All others can get a copy by signing up for our webinar, which is scheduled for October 25th.

Visit our Official Mobile BI Website at www.mobile-bi-study.com for webinar details and to register. Attendees to the webinar will receive their copy of the report immediately following the event.

Click on this link to view the current table-of-contents for the findings and analysis report.

Best,

Howard

Another Insight from our Mobile BI Market Study: User-perceived Drawbacks

Hello Folks!

Here's another interesting insight from our impending Mobile BI Market Study. This one focuses on user-perceived drawbacks of Mobile BI:

Not surprisingly, there remain a number of perceived drawbacks of Mobile Business Intelligence. In Figure 13, we see that “security” is the number one issue. In particular, organizations are concerned about lost devices and the sensitive data that may be on them. This is followed by “form factor”, which refers to phones versus tablets. Below are a few comments from respondents which further articulate some of these points:




A large telecommunications company:

“The obvious risks are allowing the data to escape from a mobile device that is properly locked down. This already happens today as we email reports directly to these devices. This is an important thing to keep in consideration when we make data easier to access”

A large retailer:

“Given the limitations of bandwidth and screen size, it can be tough to boil down everything users need in a mobile-sized package. The risk is that they rely too much on the scaled-down analytics without really digging into an issue using a full-fledged BI suite.”

As promised, I'll continue to post some selected analyses from the study, which will be released in early September. Keep checking back for more great content!

We've now launched the official Mobile BI Market Study site at www.mobile-bi-study.com and will host a Mobile BI Market Study webinar on October 25th. Those that sign up for the webinar will get a complimentary, personal-use copy of the report.

Best,

Howard

An Insight from Our Mobile BI Market Study: User Perceived Benefits

Hello Folks!

Here's one of the interesting insights from our impending Mobile BI Market Study. This one focuses on user-perceived benefits of Mobile BI:

As a final set of questions, we asked user respondents to share with us their perceived benefits and drawbacks of Mobile Business Intelligence. In Figure 12 we see that the most popular benefit is “pervasive access”, followed by “fast access”, “flexibility”, “better decisions” and “better access”. Below are a few comments from respondents which underscore these statistics:

A large health care organization:

“Benefits are access to the information anywhere, but more importantly, enabling the right information to show up at the right time. In our environment, being able to access the data as discussions are taking place in conference rooms, etc. is absolutely key to successfully using that data.”

A small manufacturing company:

“Few people in management sit at their desk to make decisions. Decisions are made on the floor and good BI tools are crucial in the decision making process.”

A large consumer products company:

“Provides our leadership with the ability to see their key business drivers anytime, anywhere.”

As promised, I'll continue to post some selected analyses from the study, which will be released in early September. In the next posting, I'll include the analysis of user-perceived shortcomings of Mobile BI.

As a reminder, we're going to be launching the official Mobile BI Market Study site at www.mobile-bi-study.com and will host a Mobile BI Market Study webinar on October 25th. Those that sign up for the webinar will get a complimentary, personal-use copy of the report.

Also take a look at the study draft table of contents that I recently posted.

Best,

Howard