Deloitte’s Top Technology Trends for 2011: Data Visualization and Real Analytics

Last week, Deloitte released its annual technology trends report in which it discusses the top IT trends that will impact business over the next 18 months.

Last week, Deloitte released its annual technology trends report in which it discusses the top IT trends that will impact business over the next 18 months. The 2011 Tech Trends report puts trends into two categories this year, (Re)Emerging Enablers and Disruptive Deployments. In both categories, the #1 trend has to do with applying information and analytics to solve business problems.

The first category, (Re)Emerging Enablers, consists of trends that CIOs have probably spent time on in the past that deserve a fresh look in 2011. Topping the list of five enablers is Data Visualization. According to Deloitte, “organizations with solid information foundations can use visualization to leap-frog competitors.”

The firm acknowledges that the promise of visualization has been a long time coming – but believes that it has probably arrived. Organizations should take a new look at visualization and the benefits it offers given recent advancements in visualization tools and technology.  On the back-end, the ability to sort, join and query huge databases is now a reality with the introduction of in-memory databases and distributed processing. On the front-end, visualization tools not only have rich graphics and interactivity but also usability and an excellent end-user experience. Furthermore, that end-user experience is often accessible through a smartphone, tablet or mobile device.  Visualization is showing real promise as an analytical decision making tool, especially when trying to make sense of unstructured data. If your interested in how your business can benefit from data visualization checkout our webcast titled Visualize the Future with TIBCO Spotfire Analytics.

The other (Re)Emerging Enablers are “Almost-Enterprise” Applications, Cyber Intelligence, CIOs as Revolutionaries and The End of the “Death of ERP.”

In the second category of Disruptive Deployments, trends that offer the potential to transform the way business is conducted, the #1 trend is Real Analytics. Real Analytics is the convergence of information management, performance improvement and advanced analytics. It’s changing the way decision get made and the way companies view their customers, but it is complex and  requires an enterprise-wide information architecture to support it. Deloitte believes that competitive advantage will come from an organization’s ability to assess all the various information available in order to create clarity about the business problem at hand and to take action to do something about it. These will become important institutional skills to develop as Real Analytics becomes the accepted way that decisions get made.

The other Disruptive Deployments are “Social Computing,” “User Engagement,” “Applied Mobility” and “Capability Clouds.”

Steve McDonnell
Spotfire Blogging Team