Five Analytics Predictions for 2011

In 2011 analytics will take center stage as a key trend because companies are at a tipping point with the volume of data they have and their urgent need to do something about it. So, with 2010 now past and 2011 to look forward to, I wanted to take the opportunity to submit my predictions (no pun intended) regarding the analytics and advanced analytics market.

• Advanced Analytics gains more steam. Advanced Analytics was hot last year and will remain so in 2011. Growth will come from at least three different sources. First, advanced analytics will increase its footprint in large enterprises. A number of predictive and advanced analytics vendors tried to make their tools easier to use in 2009-2010. In 2011 expect new users in companies already deploying the technology to come on board. Second, more companies will begin to purchase the technology because they see it as a way to increase top line revenue while gaining deeper insights about their customers. Finally, small and mid sized companies will get into the act, looking for lower cost and user -friendly tools.
• Social Media Monitoring Shake Out. The social media monitoring and analysis market is one crowded and confused space, with close to 200 vendors competing across no cost, low cost, and enterprise-cost solution classes. Expect 2011 to be a year of folding and consolidation with at least a third of these companies tanking. Before this happens, expect new entrants to the market for low cost social media monitoring platforms and everyone screaming for attention.
• Discovery Rules. Text Analytics will become a main stream technology as more companies begin to finally understand the difference between simply searching information and actually discovering insight. Part of this will be due to the impact of social media monitoring services that utilize text analytics to discover, rather than simply search social media to find topics and patterns in unstructured data. However, innovative companies will continue to build text analytics solutions to do more than just analyze social media.
• Sentiment Analysis is Supplanted by other Measures. Building on prediction #3, by the end of 2011 sentiment analysis won’t be the be all and end all of social media monitoring. Yes, it is important, but the reality is that most low cost social media monitoring vendors don’t do it well. They may tell you that they get 75-80% accuracy, but it ain’t so. In fact, it is probably more like 30-40%. After many users have gotten burned by not questioning sentiment scores, they will begin to look for other meaningful measures.
• Data in the cloud continues to expand as well as BI SaaS. Expect there to still be a lot of discussion around data in the cloud. However, business analytics vendors will continue to launch SaaS BI solutions and companies will continue to buy the solutions, especially small and mid sized companies that find the SaaS model a good alternative to some pricey enterprise solutions. Expect to see at least ten more vendors enter the market.

• On-premise becomes a new word. This last prediction is not really related to analytics (hence the 5 rather than 6 predictions), but I couldn’t resist. People will continue to use the term, “on-premise”, rather than “on-premises” when referring to cloud computing even though it is incorrect. This will continue to drive many people crazy since premise means “a proposition supporting or helping to support a conclusion” (dictionary.com) rather than a singular form of premises. Those of us in the know will finally give up correcting everyone else.