Press Releases

San Ramon, Calif. – September 30, 2011 – New benchmark research from Ventana Research finds retail organizations that take a focused approach to each element of their operations can support improvement in the key areas of people, processes, information and technology to optimize retailer performance.

With retail organizations under increasing pressure to operate more efficiently and make better decisions, it is imperative that they avoid a general approach to business analytics and instead take active roles and give attention to the needs of each interconnected line of business, which range from retail to store operations and across supply chain, to marketing and customer experience to finance and human resources.

Ventana Research’s findings present comprehensive, research-based information on retail organizations’ attitudes regarding business analytics. The research shows that usability is the most important factor retail organizations seek in business analytics, with 67% of participants ranking usability as very important. Additionally, retail participants value reliability, functionality, adaptability, manageability and total cost of ownership & return on investment (TCO/ROI), which were each rated very important by more than one-third of retail organizations. The research found that retail needs to sharpen their business analytics by eliminating the barriers – including lack of awareness, small budgets, and limited resources – that currently stymie their analytics efforts.

This in-depth benchmark research on retail organizations’ use of business analytics, the latest from the leading business technology research firm, analyzed retail organizations around the world to assess the maturity and direction of their efforts. Ventana Research undertook this research to acquire real-world information about maturity, trends and best practices in how retail organizations use analytics and key indicators to optimize their business and IT processes. It explores how they do this now, how teams view the current processes and tools, plans they have to change or improve them, and the benefit they hope to gain by doing so.

"Our research found that while retail organizations are making advances in their ability to apply analytics, the vast majority still have substantial room for improvement and fall behind other industry sectors,” said Mark Smith, CEO and Chief Research Officer at Ventana Research. “Our new research provides detail on how retail can reach the goal of accessible, easy-to-use analytics that are intuitive but also are readily available via mobile-based technologies.”

To view the webinar, visit: http://www.ventanaresearch.com/Retlawebinar/

Those interested in learning more about this benchmark research can find additional information at http://www.ventanaresearch.com/Retla/. As a part of your registration you will receive insights and education from Ventana Research on using technology effectively in business. Ventana Research thanks those that participated in the benchmark and our media and association partners who helped make this vertical industry research a reality.

About Ventana Research

Ventana Research is the most authoritative and respected benchmark business technology research and advisory services firm. We provide insight and expert guidance on mainstream and disruptive technologies through a unique set of research-based offerings including benchmark research and technology evaluation assessments, education workshops and our research and advisory services, Ventana OnDemand. Our unparalleled understanding of the role of technology in optimizing business processes and performance and our best practices guidance are rooted in our rigorous research-based benchmarking of people, processes, information and technology across business and IT functions in every industry. This benchmark research plus our market coverage and in-depth knowledge of hundreds of technology providers means we can deliver education and expertise to our clients to increase the value they derive from technology investments while reducing time, cost and risk.

Ventana Research provides the most comprehensive analyst and research coverage in the industry; business and IT professionals worldwide are members of our community and benefit from Ventana Research’s insights, as do highly regarded media and association partners around the globe. Our views and analyses are distributed daily through blogs and social media channels including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Business Week’s Business Exchange.

To learn how Ventana Research advances the maturity of organizations’ use of information and technology through benchmark research, education and advisory services, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.

Media: Copies of benchmark research report and interviews are available upon request.

Media Contact: Bailey Donoghue (925) 242-2412 marketing@ventanaresearch.com