Analytics Services Boom in U.S. as Data Takes Center Stage

More U.S. enterprises are investing in analytics services and solutions as they recognize the need to use data to achieve their business goals, according to a new research report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2022 ISG Provider Lens Analytics Services report for the U.S. finds that companies are starting to realize that data is central to business competitiveness. Enterprises and providers are now focused on enabling the use of decision science and evaluating data analytics tools within a business context.

“Data has never been more important to U.S. enterprises, and data wars are fast replacing cloud wars,” said Sush Apshankar, principal consultant, technology modernization and Americas analytics lead at ISG. “It is becoming essential for effective decision-making that will deliver strong business results.”

Most companies begin their data analytics initiatives by investing in solutions and processes to create more personalized customer experiences, ISG says. Collecting and analyzing customer data helps brands build customized, omnichannel experiences that attract and retain customers. A further step for many firms is introducing tools that enable human-machine collaboration for better overall decision-making.

Data analytics initiatives are ultimately leading organizations to adopt a new mindset that understands data as the prime enabler of business, the report says. This approach can increase employee engagement and improve operations and results. A few large U.S. enterprises, including Google, Apple, McDonald’s and Walt Disney, and some small niche firms are already using highly data-centric approaches, and at many companies this is a major goal for 2023, ISG says.

Undergirding a data-driven culture is data literacy, or an understanding of the value of an organization’s data and how well it is using that data. In data literacy, most U.S. enterprises have slightly lagged behind those in Europe, which began focusing closely on data analytics when laws such as the EU General Data Protection Regulation began to take shape over the past several years, ISG says.

Most large organizations first engage a transformation service provider to examine and reconfigure their IT environment for better data use, then hire specialized analytics providers for solutions to particular needs, ISG says.

“A company can’t become truly data-driven all in one go,” said Jan Erik Aase, partner and global leader, ISG Provider Lens Research. “There is a growing ecosystem of service providers to help clients through each stage of evolution.”