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
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 StudySimultaneously, 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
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
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:
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
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
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
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
