Embedded Analytics Beyond 3 SOPHISTICATED FEATURES TO SET YOUR APPLICATION APART
CONTENTS The Shifting World of Analytics...1 Modern Analytics Starts With Embedding... 2 Sophisticated Capabilities Worth Considering... 4 Build or Buy? Top Considerations for Embedded Analytics... 8 4 Steps to Finding Your Perfect Fit... 12 About Logi Analytics... 13
Availability of data is driving new levels of expectation and innovation in both consumer products and business applications. THE SHIFTING WORLD OF ANALYTICS For the past decade, the battlefield of better dashboards and reports has been fought with beautiful data visualizations. But over time, data visualizations have become a commodity. Last year Google and Amazon released Google Data Studio and Amazon Redshift, allowing users to visualize the data created on or contained in those platforms basically for free. Though Google and Amazon aren t leaders in the analytics or business intelligence space, the move undercuts the investments software vendors have made in data visualizations. Before, many software vendors rightfully saw embedded analytics drive new revenue, reduce customer churn, and grow their total addressable markets. Now that visualizations aren t enough to set your application apart, how can companies monetize their investments in analytics? By offering more than basic (albeit beautiful) embedded dashboards and reports with capabilities such as embedded self-service, direct data connectivity, and workflow and write-back functions product teams can create a compelling value proposition based on analytics capabilities. They can empower users to do their jobs better, smarter, and faster. 1
MODERN ANALYTICS STARTS WITH EMBEDDING Providing analytics is not just about improving your application s user experience. It s about improving the overall customer experience (CX). It s a nuanced distinction: User experience is about ease of use and eye candy to make customers happy. Customer experience includes all that but is more focused on driving real value the kind you can charge more for. Think of it as the difference between a nice tool to have and a tool you can t live without. As B2B tech companies focus more on CX and on creating sticky applications people love, they can t ignore users demands to access exactly the data they need, when and where they need it, and to share it across teams and departments. The best way to do this is to embed analytics in the applications people are already using. In fact, in a recent survey, 84 percent of end users said they want access to analytics in their existing business applications. This demand stems from the availability of data in both consumer products and business applications. The Internet of Things is only the beginning: People want relevant insights in the context of where they live and work. 2
To meet the demand for advanced insights in context, more and more business applications are embedding analytics. In the next five years, 90 percent of analytics for business users will be embedded in other core applications, according to Anne Moxie, Senior Research Analyst with Nucleus Research, in the report Augmenting Intelligence with Embedded Analytics. This is good news and bad news for application teams. On one hand, more access to analytics is great for end users and product managers alike. On the other hand, with so many applications offering embedded BI, it s more important to embed analytics with the future in mind. Don t stop at basic embedded dashboards. Consider what advanced features you can add to win more discerning users now and in the future. Preferred Applications & Portals Primary Application Embedded Analytics 3
Our customers want more than basic reporting. They want information, they want analysis, they want things that will actually help them do their job better. - Jonathan Alexander, QA Symphony THREE SOPHISTICATED CAPABILITIES WORTH CONSIDERING Business intelligence, embedded within applications, promises to deliver relevant insights at the right time and place, ultimately giving users exactly what they need without having to jump from one application to another or ending up in Excel. But in a world where embedded dashboards are the bare minimum, which advanced capabilities will make your application stand out? Of course, you need the basics: interactive dashboards, reports, and data visualizations. Then you should layer in modern capabilities your users will love: custom styling, mobile responsiveness, integrated workflow and write-back features, and embedded self-service. Also consider features to help your company keep up with user demands: things like extensible elements, a high-performance data store, and a rapid development environment. Interactive Dashboards Reports Super Visualizations Adaptive Security Custom Styling Integrated UX Mobile Ready and Responsive Integrated Workflow & Write-Back In-App Self Service Data In-Place OS Support Rapid Development Environment Extensible Development Framework Light Footprint & Linear Scalability High Performance Data Store Scalable Pricing & Licensing Structure Straightforward Requirements Sophisticated Requirements 4
Sophisticated Analytics Capability #1: Custom Styling Embedded analytics should look and feel like your brand TWEET THIS not your BI vendor s brand. Embedded analytics should look and feel like your brand not your BI vendor s brand. This is one reason Logi s State of Analytics Adoption survey has shown a continuing trend away from standalone data discovery applications like Qlik and Tableau. Historically, these solutions have either existed as completely separate applications or as bolton solutions that had some integration with an existing application, but with a distinct look and feel. Consumer applications have raised expectations for all software users, and analytics are no exception. In order to leverage analytics as a selling point for your application, you must customize the styling so the experience seamlessly aligns to your brand. Fortunately, modern BI vendors that specialize in embedded analytics no longer force you to rely on their style choices. Application teams are able to create completely consistent, branded analytics that not only look and feel like the rest of the application, but can provide unique interactions for each user based on their roles and rights. CONSIDER CUSTOM STYLING IF: You want to go beyond bolt-on experiences Brand consistency is a top priority Your users don t want to feel like they re bouncing between your brand and your BI vendor s 5
Sophisticated Analytics Capability #2: Integrated Workflow Most software vendors co-present themed analytics alongside their applications. While this works to create a more cohesive experience, it fails to create a truly effective analytic application. Why? Because these tools force users to switch from one application to another to do their work wasting up to two hours of an employee s time each week, according to Nucleus Research. In the last few years, forward-thinking application teams have built in workflow and database write-back capabilities to their analytics offerings. By enabling users to accomplish actual work in their application s analytics, companies are increasing the value and engagement of those applications. Imagine a sales chart that shows under-served buying segments. An analyst discovers a group that suddenly appears as an under-served outlier and wants to alert their colleagues to kick off a campaign targeting this group. In the typical co-presented analytics model, this process is manual: The analyst needs to switch to their email client to send colleagues a message, then have them login to the system to view any changes. Users are bouncing between one application to another to effectively target that segment. Now let s look at that same scenario, but with analytics fully integrated into the host application. An email alert could be triggered directly from the application, a target segment could be lined up, and a new workflow launched at the click of a button. By embedding advanced capabilities like workflow and write-back into embedded analytics, companies can create compelling and thoughtful use cases that differentiate their applications from the competition. CONSIDER INTEGRATED WORKFLOW IF: End users are leveraging three or more applications to kick off a workflow Your users need to update the information in the application through the analytics portal (via write-back) 6
Sophisticated Analytics Capability #3: In-App Self Service The consumer and business application markets have proven beyond a doubt that when users get access to data, they will eventually want more. After all, it s only natural; as users get accustomed to the analytics they have, they ll inevitably want data visualized in different ways or ask for a different cut of the data. Standalone self-service tools that support free-form data discovery have tried to solve this problem. But switching from one application to another is inefficient. Instead, users tend to send ad-hoc requests to application teams to get what they want. To answer this demand, companies usually make one of two mistakes. If they attempt to answer every ad hoc request, they take up valuable time and resources from IT and development teams and eventually end up with a bloated, antiquated product. But if they ignore the requests and focus on other (often more important) efforts, they ll wind up alienating users and losing customers due to poor experience. Fortunately, a new solution has emerged. By embedding self-service capabilities in the application, 64 percent of product teams were able to decrease the number of ad hoc requests. Embedded analytics empowers their users to investigate meaningful data on their own and share their findings with colleagues. And as ad hoc requests dwindle, developers are able to focus their attention on perfecting their core product. CONSIDER IN-APP SELF SERVICE IF: Your development or IT teams have a large backlog of requests Your end users are regularly asking for new capabilities from their analytics (new data visualizations, new information, etc.) You want to protect your developers time and free them up to focus on your core product 7
Software will never succeed if your engineering team is more focused on periphery features than the core product. TWEET THIS BUILD OR BUY? TOP CONSIDERATIONS FOR EMBEDDED ANALYTICS Your software product will never succeed if your engineering team is more focused on periphery features than the core product. Projects to add or enhance embedded analytics come with unique challenges, including an inability to keep up with changing requirements and the fact that anything beyond basic features often means complicated homegrown code. That s why many software companies prefer to partner with a vendor that specializes in embedded analytics. Companies that leverage a third-party solution either on its own or in conjunction with custom code are able to more deeply embed analytics in their products. They also get to market faster than if they were to code a solution themselves, according to Logi s State of Embedded Analytics report. But really, the biggest benefit of buying embedded analytics instead of building is the ability to capitalize on new features. The more sophisticated analytics capabilities you include and the deeper you can embed them the more likely you ll grow your user base, boost loyalty, and add revenue by upselling, cross-selling, and increasing renewals. When embedded analytics needs go beyond basic dashboards and reports, partnering with a third-party vendor is key to scaling the user adoption and consumption curve. Let s jump into a few key considerations when evaluating an analytics partner. 8
CONSIDER: Time to Market Considering that most products miss their launch date, improving time to market (TTM) helps companies increase sales and profitability. Meeting product development TTM goals generates more sales (as the competition lags behind you) and greater profitability (as customers decide to pay you for what they want now instead of waiting for others to catch up). Products that get to market on time: Maximize the window of opportunity in the market capitalizing on seasonality, trends, and evolving customer demand Avoid revenue loss from losing to competitors Command premium prices early in the lifecycle Most companies have internal and external factors that drive the roadmap and determine time to market for enhancing existing capabilities, ripping and replacing an outdated solution, or creating an entirely new offering around analytics. Regardless, more often than not, the timeline is aggressive: develop and deploy within weeks, train and ramp up within days. When reviewing vendors for embedded analytics features, TTM has to be at the top of the evaluation criteria. Partner with a vendor that has the resources to meet your needs, can help with a project plan and project management, and is able to get you to your launch date without scope creep. Sample Blueprint for Enhancing Embedded Analytics DEV KICK-OFF APP REVIEW 1 APP REVIEW 2 APP REVIEW 3 QA ACCEPTANCE Product Software Development Lifecycle WEEK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 DESIGN DEVELOPMENT DATA VALIDATION & TESTING LAUNCH 9
CONSIDER: Usability and Customer Experience In the highly competitive software market, a good user experience can set a company apart from the competition, drive revenue, and improve customer retention. No surprise, then, that application teams are constantly looking for new ways to shape a better, faster user experience one where users don t have to jump in and out of an application to find information, where they get everything in one place with a consistent look and feel throughout. This is where embedded analytics helps product managers. Companies can create a compelling application that people will actually use. And as end users get access to dynamic dashboards and data, they become more willing to adopt the application. As you add new capabilities to your analytics offerings, you continue to push users up the adoption curve. Your application becomes institutionalized a critical part of business users day-to-day routines. Capabilities such as built-in workflows and write-back mean users don t have to leave your application to get the insights they need. They ll spend more time in that application and place more value on the experience it delivers. Ultimately, happy users who are addicted to your application will become advocates leading to reduced customer churn, more users, and higher revenue. USER ADOPTION CURVE IMPROVEMENTS TO USER EXPERIENCE AWARENESS ONBOARD INSTITUTIONALIZE USER ADOPTION STAGES EVANGELIZE 10
CONSIDER: Roadmap Transparency Recognizing the need is the primary condition for design. Charles Eames As mentioned earlier, data visualizations are being commoditized. This trend is driving down the perceived value of visualizations including those embedded within software. When more applications offer dashboards for free, those companies looking to monetize embedded analytics need to offer more than the basics. Will database write-back move the needle? What about in-app self-service tools or shared authoring tools that let users customize the application to meet their needs? ISVs and SaaS providers must consider which sophisticated requirements will be most compelling to their users and focus on bringing those features to market. Companies should also consider their data connectivity strategies before partnering with an analytics vendor. The explosion of mobile phones, fitness trackers, and the Internet of Things (IoT) has made streaming data in the consumer world a reality. The same is true for the business space, where more devices providing real-time data may affect your embedded analytics plans. Many analytics tools require data to go through a transformation process before analysis, which can lead to latency. While this strategy has some benefits, it can make accessing IoT data which often demands real-time access to allow for rapid situation assessment more difficult. One way software vendors will differentiate their analytics going forward is how quickly users can gain access to and react to their data from streaming devices. When evaluating BI vendors, look for a partner who s not only a good fit for today but for the next five years. Think in terms of outcomes not in terms of dashboards and reports and find a like-minded vendor with a roadmap to match. 11
FOUR STEPS TO FINDING YOUR PERFECT BI FIT Product managers and app developers measure success through a range of metrics, but the goal is almost always the same: Create an application that users will adopt, love, and evangelize. STEP 1: To get started, assign a point person to research vendors and evaluate whether their functionalities match your requirements. Consult independent industry resources to create your initial vendor list. For instance: Gartner Critical Capabilities for BI and Analytics Platforms report Dresner Advisory Services Embedded Business Intelligence Market study STEP 2: ISVs and SaaS providers should focus on vendors who specialize in the OEM market. To confirm a basic fit, attend product demonstrations by each vendor. Discuss your requirements and ask each one to show how they would meet your needs. STEP 3: Once you ve narrowed down the list to the top two or three vendors, begin a structured evaluation with each. During this process, you ll define a proof of concept and establish guidelines for what you want to accomplish within a reasonable timeframe. STEP 4: If you re aligned so far, confirm ballpark pricing to move forward. Evaluate each vendor s ability to ensure your success from implementation to best practices, community, consulting, support, and training. This partnership is crucial to the future of your product, so leave no stone unturned. Your roadmap depends on it. 12
ABOUT US Logi empowers companies to embed analytics into the fabric of their organizations and products enabling anyone to analyze data, share insights, and make informed decisions. With Logi, product teams create analytic applications that are purpose-built to users unique roles and skills and infused within existing workflows and security models. More than 1,800 customers worldwide rely on Logi Analytics. The company is headquartered in McLean, Virginia. Learn more at LogiAnalytics.com and join the conversation @LogiAnalytics. Want to see exactly what you can do with embedded analytics? Hop on our live demo: www.logianalytics.com/demo Access our community, resource library, case studies, and on-demand webinars to learn more: Community Library Customers Webinars 13