Data is flowing into corporations at a rapid-fire pace, almost as quickly as the competitive landscape of business is evolving. This is prompting business users to increasingly demand access to analytic applications to use data to gain actionable insights as fast as the market moves.
However, the traditional structure of the IT organization often has not been able to keep up with this changing paradigm. As a result of this schism, business users are increasingly turning to cloud applications that they can quickly and cost effectively launch to mine the data they need.
For example, a recent Frost & Sullivan survey finds that 81 percent of line of business workers and 83 percent of IT staff admit to using unapproved cloud applications. Furthermore, 38 percent of business users and 32 percent of IT workers use these apps because IT approval processes are too slow.
The cloud can also level the playing field for companies of all sizes. With the increasing availability of integration technology to preserve legacy investments such as data warehouses, larger companies can move to cloud analytics without the costly addition of new software on premises or staff to support these systems.
On the flip side, smaller businesses have the opportunity to tap into powerful analytics without the heavy investment required for running the software in-house. Companies large and small benefit from the speed to deploy and upgrade cloud analytics.
Those companies that have deployed cloud analytics are garnering benefits, according to a recent research report from Aberdeen Group.
For example, the report finds:
- Companies that provide analytics via the cloud provide access for a 40 percent greater portion of their workforces than their counterparts
- At organizations with cloud analytics, 50 percent of users are actively engaged with analytics compared to 32 percent of companies with in-house analytics
- At organizations with cloud analytics, an average of 52 percent of their users have self-service access to analytics compared to 36 percent at companies with on-premises offerings
“The research also demonstrates that top-performing cloud business intelligence users are able to access more data, deliver critical information more quickly and boost revenue and profitability as well,” according to the report.
Next Steps:
- Please join us for our complimentary, on-demand webcast, “Top 10 Best Practices for Cloud BI,” presented by Enterprise Management Associates. In this webcast, EMA Vice President of Research, Shawn Rogers discusses the strategic importance of incorporating Cloud BI into your data management ecosystem and the Top 10 Best Practices in choosing a Cloud BI solution.
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