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Category: Digital Analytics

The Cloud Data Analytics Revolution is Upon Us

February 1, 2016

The cloud based data analytics industry has been growing dramatically over the last few years and is expected to almost double in the next two years.

According to IDC, the worldwide business analytics market will grow from $37.7 billion in 2013 to $59.2 billion in 2018. While the Harvard Business Review Analytic Services Survey from July 2015 showed that business and technology managers are expecting cloud-based analytics tools to nearly double compared to current usage, as shown below (green = now, blue = in 2 years).

HBR analytics survey 2015 excerpt

Cloud analytics is being fueled, in part, by:

  • measurement demand,
  • the lower costs of data storage and processing,
  • and the exponential increase of devices capturing data (IoT).

Much like the software industry, that adopted SCRUM, business analytics projects need to prioritize delivering value and be able to evolve rapidly and iteratively with business needs.

This is where cloud data analytics is revolutionizing business analytics.

Read on to discover what is cloud data analytics, challenges that it solves, the benefits it provides, and who some of the organizations are developing these cloud based analytics solutions.

Catalyst for the Cloud Analytics Revolution

Thanks to cloud computing lower costs, data storage and processing have been democratized, much like photography, drones, GPS and cinema cameras, just to name a few.

In spite of the democratization of data storage and processing with cloud computing, there are many organizations struggling to embrace a data-driven culture, namely due to:

  • Siloed and outdated data
  • Complexity of data access
  • Lack of know-how for analysis
  • No analytics governance
  • Highly manual, time intensive reporting processes

What is Cloud Data Analytics?

And how can it help your organization become more data driven?
Cloud data analytics are turnkey solutions that allow organizations to aggregate, visualize and collaborate on data.

Many of these solutions are productizing the most common business problems, enabling businesses to start acting on data much faster than deploying a custom solution. Some cases include:

  • Churn Analysis
  • Customer Lifetime Value
  • Forecasting
  • Customer Segmentation

data analytics dashboard screenshot

Chart IO dashboard.

Cloud data analytics solutions are increasingly common, easier to work with, more accessible and faster to deploy. These solutions will be key to a transformational change in the way organizations achieve better outcomes from using data.

“It’s time to break data silos and manual processes and promote a human but data-driven culture.”

Cloud Data Analytics Benefits

Recently, a wave of new generation of analytics solutions has been revolutionizing the way organizations use data.

“Cloud data analytics solutions are democratizing data-driven culture.”

Organizations that adopt cloud data analytics typically benefit from:

  • Lower costs on technology.
    By connecting with multiple data sources through easy to use data connectors and not having to deploy your own IT infrastructure.
  • Consistent data across the organization.
    Develop a single and easily accessible version of the truth across your organization.
  • Increased value and speed of data insights.
    Through productized analysis you have highly valuable and otherwise complex analysis with a click of a button.
  • Cost savings in report preparation and analysis.
    By integrating data and visualization in a single platform and productizing analysis.
  • More insights by creating additional context around data.
    By enabling stakeholders to collaborate on the data you get additional context, fundamental to drive insights and action from data.

Overall, you will improve the quality of your planning, forecasting and decisions!

Some of the cloud data analytics solutions are being offered by traditional BI players, others are from startups whose sole purpose is to democratize how data is consumed.

Below is a list of startups and well-established companies that are driving cloud data analytics:

Startups:

Well established companies:

What Cloud Data Analytics Means to Business Leaders

Cloud data analytics solutions are democratizing data-driven culture and revolutionizing the business analytics world with lower costs, faster implementation and productized analysis. With the right guidance creating a data-driven culture is now easier and cheaper than ever.

For more on the rise of cloud data analytics check out, The Rising Cloud Of Business Analytics by the Harvard Business Review, and Tableau’s Why Business Analytics in the Cloud.

What’s your view on cloud data analytics? Share it in the comments.

Joao Correia
About the Author

Joao Correia is the Director of Data Insights at Blast Analytics & Marketing. His mission is to improve business performance through data, actionable insights and thoughtful strategy.

Joao Correia has written on the Blast Digital Customer Experience and Analytics Blog.