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SAN RAMON, CALIF., March 18, 2014 – Ventana Research today released the findings of its latest benchmark research, on the topic of customer analytics and its intersection with next-generation technologies including big data, cloud computing, mobile technology and social collaboration.

The research explores how customer analytics impact organizations’ performance and how technology is being used to improve the efficiency and value of their business processes. The findings in this new research, the latest from the leading business and technology market research firm, have yielded important best practice recommendations for gaining value from customer analytics. Notably, the research finds a great deal of dissatisfaction with the current use of customer analytics: Only 15 percent of organizations are fully satisfied with their efforts. Contributing to this are a number of factors, including the use of spreadsheets universally or regularly by more than half of organizations (52%); 57 percent say that their use has made it difficult to produce timely and accurate customer analytics.

Applying analytics generates insights that enable business to take better action faster and improve the effectiveness of many business processes, chief among them those related to customers. Three out of five organizations view big data as contributing to the advancement of the use of customer analytics, and particularly the use of predictive analytics that can deliver more sophisticated, forward-looking and relevant metrics and information to help guide actions and decisions. Unfortunately, though, the research finds that almost half of organizations are trapped in a data quagmire, spending more time on preparing and reviewing data than on the analysis itself. This impacts the time available for analysts to do the real value-adding work of gaining insights on customers. These data challenges can impede what according to the research is most important reason organizations apply customer analytics; close to two-thirds indicate that is to identify customer service improvements, create customer service strategy and improve customer experience processes.

“The opportunity to exploit customer analytics is available to every organization that has useful information that can be acted upon,” said Richard Snow, VP and research director at Ventana Research. “The lack of clarity about where to make improvements and lack of insight on how customer engagement can be optimized is exactly what customer analytics done properly can address.”

This research also finds that that most important technology innovation that can be applied to improve customer analytics is collaboration. This is critical to derive maximum value from both technologies since interactions with customers happen today across a number of business areas like marketing, sales, customer service, operations and finance. Being able to collaborate contributes to the most important benefit in 55 percent of organizations identified, an improved customer experience.

The insights this new research provides will enable Ventana Research to provide more accurate and insightful guidance on methods and best practices in customer analytics and how organizations can gain the most benefit from their investments. This research-based expertise, not found in traditional analyst and consulting firms, will enable business units and IT organizations to improve their ability to work together using technology to provide the right information efficiently and effectively. The Performance Index analysis in the research also can help organizations to more accurately pinpoint areas of needed competitive improvement quickly.

To learn more about Next Generation Customer Analytics please visit: www.ventanaresearch.com/nextgencustomeranalytics. The research was sponsored by Transera (www.transerainc.com), supported by our partner International Customer Management Institute (ICMI). (www.ICMI.com). Ventana Research, a leading business technology research and advisory services firm, provides access to a free copy of the executive summary of the research report and other educational materials.

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 On-Demand. 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 Google+.

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. 

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