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2020 Business Intelligence Buyer's Guide

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2020 Business Intelligence Buyer's Guide 2020 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE BUYER’S GUIDE 1 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE BUYER’S GUIDE MARKET OVERVIEW The process for evaluating and selecting business intelligence software can be complex. These complexities are growing even wider when organizations consider emerging analytic capabilities like AI and machine learning. Augmented analytics – which uses machine learning to change how analytic content is developed and used – is set to become the dominant driver of new BI buying by 2021, according to analyst house Gartner, Inc. If your use cases involve a large degree of manual data analysis, augmented analytics products may be an immediate consideration. Automation is impacting virtually every industry and business process, and data analytics software is about to become the next frontier. The technology behind automating analytics is heavily reliant on AI and machine learning. While some organizations are using this functionality already to speed past manual data tasks, BI solution providers are increasingly tying automation to natural language processing. This will soon enable an entire swath of business users to run complex analysis just by asking a question. Auditable (or explainable) AI is an emerging field in machine learning that addresses how black box decisions of AI systems are made. In data analytics, users want to be able to inspect and understand the steps and models involved in decision making. And given the pervasive nature of AI-powered business intelligence tools entering the marketplace, this technology is quickly becoming mainstream. AI will continue to be a game-changer for BI users, especially those without technical data science skills. However, the best AI- focused data analytics tools can explain the processes behind each prediction. Business user ease of use and complexity of analysis are two top-of-mind considerations for buyers in the current space. Product support capabilities and services offered are also key attributes that require some thought. Common support packages include assistance for non-technical users who require self-service, but there’s also sometimes deployment assistance, dedicated use case representatives, and user training modules that can be a great help. The BI and analytics marketplace is mature and crowded with excellent software tools for a variety of use cases, verticals, deployment methods, and budgets. There are very large providers we refer to as ‘mega- vendors’, like Microsoft, Tableau Software and Qlik. There are also lesser-known innovators with interesting products that play in niche areas, such as Looker, Pyramid Analytics and Yellowfin BI. Cue the process of seeking out, evaluating, choosing, purchasing, and deploying a BI and data analytics solution. Solutions come in a variety of flavors—ranging from traditional enterprise reporting to data discovery and augmented analytic options. Each features a particular set of capabilities, strengths, and drawbacks. Choosing the right vendor and solution is a complicated process—one that requires in-depth research and often comes down to more than just the solution and its technical capabilities. Solutions Review has developed this buyer’s guide to assist buyers in search of the best possible tool to fit the needs of their organization. This resource features 10 important questions to ask during the buying process, and full, one-page vendor profiles that provide a solution overview, three key features, contact information, and our own ‘Bottom Line’ analysis. Companion research, including our popular vendor comparison matrix, can be found at solutionsreview.com. Timothy King, Senior Editor Map Key Solutions Review B This solution offers Embedded BI © 2020 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 2 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE BUYER’S GUIDE 5 Questions You Should Ask When Evaluating A Business Intelligence Solution What is my budget? Your organization’s budget is going to play a major role in deciding the type of analytic tool you wind up selecting. Large solution providers with expansive product portfolios for enterprise use cases are unlikely to be budget-friendly. However, startups and emerging vendors trying to make a splash may offer more competitive pricing, especially in this marketplace where there are plenty of excellent solutions. Matching your budget with a provider’s technical capabilities can sometimes reveal a bargain. What business problem(s) am I trying to solve? Purchasing a BI or analytics tool can be an overwhelming task. However, it is easier to narrow down the types of vendors and tools under consideration when you outline specific business problems you are trying to solve. If you’re in a vertical-specific industry that tracks against a distinct set of KPIs, that makes your search even easier. It’s best to align prospective solution providers with overarching business goals. Who are my BI users? Are your users mainly going to be technical people like business analysts or data scientists, or line-of-business users? ‘Self-service’ has been one of the most popular buzzwords in the market for a several years now. Organizations are increasingly seeking software tools that provide users of various skill levels to analyze data. Is that a relevant consideration for your situation? What are my must-have capabilities? Modern BI and analytic platforms offer a dizzying selection of features. Capabilities that were once considered advanced in nature are now mainstream. Likewise, predictive analytics and visual data discovery are the industry-norm. This makes it difficult to pick just one tool from the pack. Buyers are advised to jot down a shortlist of must-have features and then compare that against the various offerings to see which best matches up to your specific use case. What are my expectations? It’s easy to get swept up in the hype that a flashy new BI platform will solve all of your company’s pain points overnight, but it’s best to temper expectations. Vendor marketing campaigns and industry pundits sometimes inflate the true value that BI tools can bring in the early stages. With nearly 3 in 4 BI initiatives set to fail within the first year, keeping a realistic outlook remains a key practice. Its fine to get excited about solving critical problems, but the road to insight generation is not a one-size-fits-all approach. © 2020 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 3 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE BUYER’S GUIDE 5 Questions You Should Ask Your Potential Business Intelligence Solution Provider Can your BI tool scale with my business? Your current data sources, KPIs, business questions, and overall situation may very well change. It would be foolhardy to select a BI platform based only on how it can serve you at the current time. Very little remains static, so what may seem like the best possible solution now could be virtually useless in two, three or five years down the road. Weigh the vendor’s current capabilities with its ability to scale as your organization grows. Can you provide customer recommendations? You’ll want to ask prospective vendors to provide references that can show how their software helped other customers achieve positive ROI. In-vertical references are best, so we recommend seeking first-hand accounts from similar size organizations that do business in related industries and analyze similar data sources. It’s not about securing the best overall tool; it’s about selecting the best solution for your specific set of circumstances. Is there a support package included? What does it include? The rise in self-service has been a difference maker for many organizations. However, this requires solution providers to offer support services to keep non-technical users on their feet. You’ll want to find out what types of services are offered with the purchase of a license. Popular support add-ons range from deployment assistance and dedicated customer service representatives to user training, certification, and even community forums. What is the total cost of ownership (TCO)? There are usually outside costs associated with the purchase of a new BI platform, but does that come with subscription pricing, third-party expenses, or hidden operation fees? There can be many surprises hidden below the surface. Stakeholders will want to find out whether there are expenditures for user training, upgrading, troubleshooting or consulting as a result of re-engineering processes that are being automated. How long does deployment take? Once you decide on a BI and analytics product, it takes time to get up-and-running. Have a discussion with the vendor representative about what that looks like, and how it will impact existing business systems and protocols in the interim. Does the solution provider offer on-site or remote help with deployment? These are vital questions that have a direct impact on the cost of the tool and the impact on ROI. © 2020 | Solutions Review | 500 West Cummings Park | Woburn, Massachusetts 01801 | USA 4 BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE BUYER’S GUIDE Solution Provider Profiles 7 ....................................................................................... Altair 8 ....................................................................................... Alteryx 9 ....................................................................................... AnswerRocket 10 ..................................................................................... BOARD 11 ....................................................................................
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