Posts Tagged ‘SaaS BI’

Debuting ReadiMetrix and 4.3 at Gartner BI Summit

April 15th, 2010

qgallivan

I traveled to Las Vegas this week with some PivotLink customers and partners to attend the Gartner BI Summit 2010. We not only debuted ReadiMetrix for Sales, Marketing and Human Capital Management to the crowd but we announced the new 4.3 release of our SaaS BI Platform. As the only pure-play SaaS BI vendor in the exhibit hall we drew a tremendous amount of traffic to the booth, where we engaged both line of business users and IT professionals in extensive demos and discussion around the New BI.

PivotLink’s vision for the New BI intends to create a business world where everyone is empowered – especially business users who are ultimately responsible for the decisions and outcomes made using enterprise data. Of the many conversations I had with attendees and analysts, several points stood out in support of our vision for the New BI:

1. Business users are yearning for tools that will allow them to explore and analyze their data independently without waiting for IT
2. IT won’t resist something that makes business users more effective while reducing their workload
3. The New BI will help build a bridge between IT and the line of business thereby driving rapid cultural changes

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How to Select Integration Partners, the DMA Way

April 14th, 2010

dykeh

Just a quick post following the Computerworld SaaScon 2010 conference in Santa Clara recently …

I was very pleased by the extremely bullish outlook on cloud computing voiced at SaaSCon, especially by representatives from some of the larger companies. More than one speaker indicated that the market has reached a tipping point, where the maturity of services and software offered, combined with the current economic climate, are making the cloud much more attractive to large companies. Some, like Bob Sala, CEO of Distribution Marketing Advantage, stressed that moving to the cloud is now a strategic imperative. (more…)

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Gartner on the Security of SaaS BI. Analyze this!

February 10th, 2010

Ajay Dawar

A week or so ago Gartner released the Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms and commented on SaaS BI. Below is a relevant excerpt that needs some expounding:

“In the economic downturn, interest in SaaS solutions has increased in the past year, although it is still a small fraction of the overall market.” It continues “…. Moving BI off-premises may not suit all organizations and all use cases, especially those dealing with highly sensitive data. Many firms are evaluating hybrid options for deployments leveraging both private and public clouds, as well as a combination of on-premises and off-premises solutions. But firms that find the SaaS value proposition of more rapid, lower-cost deployments attractive should evaluate SaaS as an option.”

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What’s Happening at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market Show?

January 18th, 2010

terie

PivotLink will be exhibiting and presenting at the Outdoor Retailer Winter Show in Salt Lake City, Utah this week – January 21st -24th.

Retail automation systems combined with data from the web are yielding more information than ever. On Thursday, January 21, 2010 PivotLink and the North Face will present a session entitled Retail Analytics – How to Get the Numbers That Matter. Sarah Jones, Retail Floor Space Management Manager at the North Face, will discuss how she uses PivotLink’s On-demand Retail Analytics and Reporting solution to turn mountains of data about customers, merchandise and operations into knowledge that provides blue sky visibility into what sells, to whom, why and empowers the North Face to stay ahead of the pack.

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It’s all about tracking metrics

December 11th, 2009

Ajay Dawar

Ray Wang just posted an awesome and insightful article about how to approach the use of software to improve business in these tight times. I especially loved the last 2 suggestions quoted below, because it captured the essence of SaaS BI – a byte sized approach to tracking metrics:

  1. Choose your entry points to add business value. It makes no sense to boil the ocean.  Today’s analytic solutions require bite-sized entry points.  Clients often start with analysis of metrics and KPI by department and work their way to cross-departmental initiatives.  Advanced customers focus on external entry points such as customers and partners.  (see Figure 1.)
  2. Define the metrics that matter. Begin with the end in mind.  This Coveyism always rings true in transformational activities.  Metrics should be aligned with your entry points.  Quantify the baseline and determine the effort.  Adjust your ROI targets to align resources with efforts to move the needle. (see Figure 2.)

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TDWI Webinar Q&A: Better Understanding SaaS BI

December 2nd, 2009

Ajay Dawar

It’s clear that the Business Intelligence community is trying to better understand SaaS BI. Case in point, we held a webinar with Wayne Eckerson (When SaaS BI and On-premise Worlds Collide, Nov 19), and another with Claudia Imhoff (SaaS BI – The New Framework for End-user & IT Success, Oct 29), both of which showed heavy attendance. Wayne and Claudia started their respective webinars by defining SaaS BI to clear the confusion around terminology, applications, strengths and weaknesses. As if to reinforce this, there were many questions from the audience during Q&A – many more than you would typically have for a webinar.

The analysts’ approach reflects the mind-set of the business intelligence community. Yet, Claudia and Wayne were each followed by a case study presentation where the VP of Data Management at a distribution company (DMA) and the CIO of a consumer products company (Shaklee) discussed how effectively they have been using SaaS BI for several years.  Their passion is undeniable.  It was this very dichotomy that set off the avalanche of questions.

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