Business Analytics Are Going Vertical

Vertical apps cut initial consulting costs by 65%, accelerate time to value by 57%

As if the business analytics space isn’t competitive enough for vendors, we are seeing a new battle line emerge – vertical offerings. Customers are demanding more off-the-shelf solutions, and smart vendors are responding with applications tailored to specific vertical markets. This is leading to results that are so compelling that we now believe ‘verticalization’ will emerge as a strategic differentiator and reshape the industry.

In fact, Nucleus Research found in a recent analysis that with vertical capabilities companies can reduce initial consulting costs by an average of 65 percent, while accelerating time to value by 57 percent.

We are not talking a slight edge here. Vendors have the ability to significantly reduce costs, streamline vertical solutions and take a significant lead over vendors offering stand-alone applications. All to the benefit of customers to shorten deployment time, reduce risk and maximize value.

The challenge for vendors will be to select the right vertical market to support and deliver the prebuilt industry templates and capabilities they require. Information Builders was one of the first vendors to embrace this trend, and have built a lead with solutions for a broad range of industries, including finance, government, healthcare, education, insurance, manufacturing, retail and energy. Infor is also delivering vertical capabilities for healthcare, hospitality and manufacturing and Birst has been adding vertical solutions too.

Large vendors such as IBM, SAP, Microsoft and Oracle all have a deep understanding of vertical markets and we expect to see more industry-specific solutions over the next 12 months. Stand-alone vendors risk becoming commoditized as companies opt for solutions that cut costs and deliver more value.

Of course the business analytics battle is fought on many fronts. In addition to vertical capabilities that deliver value, vendors must continue to offer innovative new features and make them as accessible as possible. (We recently noted that as analytics become more pervasive within companies, usability becomes a top priority. Strong functionality is squandered if those who need the insight cannot use the app. https://linkd.in/1DKuebN). Still, the vertical opportunity is both exciting and challenging for vendors. And will only benefit customers. Let the battle begin.