The world is changing—and rapidly so. Each passing year means new challenges and opportunities, and what these changes mean for businesses ultimately depends on their ability to adapt and overcome.
Business intelligence (BI), like many industries, is witnessing a major transformation as vendors seek to meet the evolving demands of their customers. With organizations reorienting their strategies to reflect these circumstances, new industry trends have begun to emerge.
Howard Dresner, one of the leading industry analysts in business intelligence and analytics, identifies many of these trends in his recent release of the 2023 Wisdom of Crowds® Business Intelligence Market Study. Keeping a watchful eye on these trends and understanding the direction the market is headed will be crucial for businesses hoping to remain ahead of the curve.
Businesses are willing to spend more
As businesses grow, so do their reporting and BI needs. According to 2023 Wisdom of Crowds® BI report:
- 51% of organizations plan to increase their investment in BI
- 42% intend to maintain their current budget
It’s not surprising that businesses that are experiencing high success with their BI initiatives are also more inclined to expand their budgets as well. According to the report, organizations that are increasing their budget report 43% current BI penetration, while organizations with only 33% BI penetration are opting to lower their budget.
The report also noted that despite the various market and financial disruptions following in the wake of COVID-19, global BI budgets remain very stable and are following a trajectory in line with historical norms.
(Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study, Copyright 2023—Dresner Advisory Services)
(Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study, Copyright 2023—Dresner Advisory Services)
User feedback is crucial for setting benchmarks
According to the 2023 Wisdom of Crowds® BI report, 2023 had the highest levels of success with business intelligence in the past eight years. But in order to understand what success with business intelligence means, we must understand how it’s measured.
According to respondents, the greatest measure of success is user feedback/satisfaction, coming in at an impressive 79%. Coming in second at only 49% is customer feedback/satisfaction, demonstrating a clear difference in value between the user and customer roles.
Additionally, the report found that the greatest contributors to success with BI are:
- Support from senior management
- A culture that understands and values fact-based decision-making
- Good communication between those who develop BI solutions and those who use them.
Likewise, the greatest obstacles to success with BI are:
- A lack of expert resources
- A culture that doesn’t fully understand or value fact-based decision-making
- Business objectives that were not understood or met
(Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study, Copyright 2023—Dresner Advisory Services)
Lack of data leadership continues to be a challenge
Despite support from senior management being considered a major contributor to success, many organizations still lack formal data leadership roles. According to the 2023 Wisdom of Crowds® BI report, only 36% of respondents were able to identify a current leader in place.
For organizations with leadership in place, 41% of respondents utilize a CDO (chief data officer) or CAO (chief analytics officer) title. Most organizations utilize a wide variety of titles, including other chief officers, directors, and VPs, indicating a lack of standardization when it comes to how businesses organize their hierarchies.
Unsurprisingly, success in achieving BI initiatives is also correlated with the presence of data leadership. At one end, 52% of businesses that rate themselves as “completely successful” have some form of leadership, while in comparison only 33% of businesses that rate themselves as “somewhat unsuccessful” or “unsuccessful” reported having leadership.
To put it simply, many organizations have some catching up to do if they want to make the most of their BI strategies.
(Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study, Copyright 2023—Dresner Advisory Services)
Longevity is improving
Many businesses are unfortunately more than familiar with the headaches involved in the revolving door nature of software solutions. Poor customer support, unrealized goals, and difficult implementations can all be motivating factors for why some businesses are quick to seek alternative options with stronger track records.
But it looks like things might be finally changing for the better, at least in BI. According to the 2023 Wisdom of Crowds® BI Report, the percentage of tools in use for six to 10 years and more than 10 years is set to reach all-time highs in 2023. Likewise, the percentage of tools in use for less than one year, one to two years, and three to five years is lower year over year. This means companies are utilizing the same tools for longer periods of time.
This could indicate increased spending from vendors on client retention and satisfaction, or it could also just be a result of the aversion that comes with implementing a new project of that complexity and scale. Whether or not this trend is necessarily a good thing in the long run remains to be seen.
(Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study, Copyright 2023—Dresner Advisory Services)
Better decision-making remains the #1 priority
Although BI plays a critical role in many functions across the enterprise, improved decision-making is often the primary driving motivator behind adoption. For the 13th year in a row, “better decision making” is ranked by respondents as the most important objective within the 2023 Wisdom of Crowds® BI report.
In the report, “better decision making” was ranked by 49% of organizations as a critical objective, whereas the second most important objective, “improved operational efficiency,” was considered critical by only 29% of organizations.
Additionally, “better decision making” was consistently the highest rated objective across all functions, from executive management to sales & marketing. This means that, regardless of role and responsibility, everybody is hoping to make smarter decisions within their work.
(Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study, Copyright 2023—Dresner Advisory Services)
How does Dimensional Insight compare?
Consistent with our unrelenting commitment to delivering world-class solutions and even better customer service, Dimensional Insight received top scores in this year’s report. Considered an “Overall Leader” in both customer experience and vendor credibility, Dimensional Insight maintains what Dresner considers a “perfect recommended score.”
(Wisdom of Crowds Business Intelligence Market Study, Copyright 2023—Dresner Advisory Services)
Want to learn more about the state of the industry and how Dimensional Insight compares to the competition? Download the full 2023 Wisdom of Crowds® BI report below.
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