Business Intelligence, Analytics Are Top Enterprise IT Priorities, Says Gartner

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A new report from market research firm Gartner says that CFOs believe business intelligence and analytics solutions should be enterprises’ top software priorities for 2013. The firm says that these types of applications will help organizations improve their business processes that need upgrading.

CRN’s Hannah Breeze reported, “Some 79 percent of business processes which need upgrading can be improved by business intelligence (BI) products, claims Gartner, which predicts a surge in its uptake this year. According to a new study the analyst carried out with the Financial Executives Research Foundation (FERF) and Financial Executives International (FEI), BI will be a top area of focus for businesses this year.”

Nathan Eddy with eWeek noted, “The survey results indicated that the top business process area that needs technology investment is to facilitate analysis and decision making–59 percent, up from 57 percent in 2012–followed by the ongoing monitoring of business performance (50 percent), and then collaboration and knowledge management (45 percent, down from 52 percent in 2012).”

In the Gartner press release, Bill Sinnett of the FERF stated, “The survey findings would seem to suggest that the CFO prioritizes business applications higher than the CIO does. If the CIO does not understand this, then there’s a chance the CFO will sponsor his or her own initiatives, and not coordinate them with the IT organization. This demonstrates the trend that BI is becoming less of a CIO responsibility and more of a CFO and line-of-business responsibility.”

Back in February, Gartner predicted strong sales for BI and analytics software. Saroj Kar with Cloud Times wrote, “The market for business intelligence (BI) and analytics continue to be one of the fastest growing software markets. According to research firm Gartner, the global market for BI will reach $13.8 billion in revenue worldwide in 2013, up 7 percent from last year. The market is expected to reach over $17 billion by 2016.”