2015

State of
Analytics
Insights on analytics trends from
more than 2,000 business
leaders worldwide

About This Report

Salesforce Research surveyed more than 2,000

business leaders, directors, and executives worldwide
to discover:
The changing role of analytics in business today
Areas where analytics usage is on the rise
How high-performing organizations approach
analytics
Throughout the report, data is examined relative
to business performance to identify patterns for
overall success. High-performing teams are defined
as those who rated their business performance as
much stronger than the competition. For more on the
makings of a high performer, see page 22 (Last Look).

Salesforce Research provides data-driven

insights to help businesses transform how
they drive customer success. Browse all
reports at salesforce.com/research.

2015 State of Analytics

Conducted mid-2015, this survey generated

responses from 2,091 full-time business leaders
(not limited to Salesforce customers) in the U.S.,
Canada, Brazil, U.K., France, Germany, Japan,
and Australia. Respondents included third-party
panelists. Due to rounding, not all percentage
totals in this report equal 100%. All comparison
calculations are made from total numbers (not
rounded numbers).

Table of Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Introduction: Analytics Growth and Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Analytics Jumps to the Forefront of Business Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Analytics Use Cases Expand Dramatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Era of Real-Time Analytics Begins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
High Performers Embrace a Culture of Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Whats Next: Unlocking Analytics Potential . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Last Look: The Path to Becoming an Analytics High Performer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

2015 State of Analytics

Executive Summary

2015 State of Analytics

Four key takeaways

Keeping pace with todays customer

expectations requires businesses
to be armed with the right insights
at the right time. In this study, we
examine the rising prominence
of analytics as a pillar of business
operations. Here are four key
findings from our research:

01

Analytics jumps to the forefront of business strategy.

(see page 8)

As analytics evolves, companies are beginning to see it as central to their

business strategy. High performers already place analytics at the core.
Ninety percent of high performers say analytics is absolutely critical or
very important to driving the companys overall business strategy and
improving operational outcomes. High performers are also 6.4x more
likely than underperformers to increase analytics spend by 50% or more
over next two years.

02

Analytics use cases expand dramatically.

(see page 11)

Successful companies are using analytics in more ways than ever,

deriving value across a broad spectrum of areas. High performers
are 3x more likely than underperformers to be heavy analytics users,
gleaning value from analytics in 10 or more disciplines. On average, high
performers analyze more than 17 different kinds of data almost twice
the number analyzed by underperformers.

Executive Summary
Four key takeaways

03

The era of real-time analytics begins.

(see page 14)

As the pace of business continues to escalate, business leaders increasingly

feel the need for agility and real-time decision-making. High performers
are 5.1x more able than underperformers to gain timely business insights
from their current analytics tools. Top teams are also 3.5x more likely than
underperformers to extensively use mobile reporting tools to analyze data
wherever they are.

04

High performers embrace a culture of analytics.

(see page 16)

Highly successful companies are building a culture of analytics where

information is instantly accessible from the boardroom to the front lines.
Ninety percent of high performers say their executive team is committed
to the success of analytics tools and technologies to help drive overall
business strategy and improve operational outcomes. Adopting analytics
for the everyday user, top teams are 2x more likely than underperformers
to say half of their employee base uses analytics tools.

2015 State of Analytics

Introduction: Analytics Growth and Challenges

The amount of data available to businesses

has grown exponentially in recent years.
Amid the data explosion, however,
companies have struggled to make sense
of it all.

2015 State of Analytics

Companies Race to Keep Up with Data Explosion

Growth in data sources analyzed has been slow in the past five years but will jump by leaps
and bounds in the next five years.
50

In this study, we found that the number

of data sources actively analyzed by
businesses has grown only 20% in the
past five years. This rise has been slow
and steady, but that is about to change.
Between 2015 and 2020, the number
of data sources analyzed will jump 83%,
bringing the 10-year growth total to
120% overall.

27
25
20
15

15

10
7

10

2010

2015
High Performers

Moderate Performers

2020
Underperformers

This shift in data analysis levels going forward begs the simple question: why?
To answer that, we look first at the biggest analytics pain points facing businesses today,
on the next page.

Introduction: Analytics Growth and Challenges

The significant rise (83% increase) in

analyzed data sources over the next five
years shows that business leaders face a
continued influx of data and still struggle
to make sense of it all. The four primary
sections that follow in this report highlight
key trends building the momentum
around analytics today.

Lack of Automation Leads Analytics Pain Points

Many business leaders struggle to find the right data, spend hours updating spreadsheets
or waiting for answers, and still think that too much data is left unanalyzed. Here we see the
percentage of business leaders who agree or strongly agree with these analytics pain points.1

Getting all the necessary data into one view is manual

Too much data is left unanalyzed

Spend too much time updating spreadsheets

Analysis is performed by business analysts not end users

Turnaround time to get answers is too long

Data isnt customized to the end user

No on-demand/mobile interface to access insights
Business users struggle with trusting data outcomes

No self-service interface to easily build reports

Critical business questions go unanswered

This chart shows the top 10. For a complete list, please see the Appendix.

2015 State of Analytics

53%
53%
52%
50%
49%
48%
47%
47%
47%
47%

01

Analytics Jumps to the Forefront

of Business Strategy

As analytics evolves, companies are

beginning to see it as central to their
business strategy. High performers
already place analytics at the core. Ninety
percent of high performers say analytics is
absolutely critical or very important to
driving the companys overall business
strategy and improving operational
outcomes. High performers are 8.2x more
likely than underperformers to agree.
Additionally, 84% of high performers say
the importance of analytics will increase
substantially or somewhat in the next two
years. Across all business leaders surveyed,
65% say the importance of analytics will
increase substantially or somewhat in the
next two years.

2015 State of Analytics

Analytics Is Critical to Driving Business Strategy

High performers are 8.2x more likely than underperformers to say analytics is absolutely critical
to driving the companys overall business strategy and improving operational outcomes.

High Performers

55%

35%

7% 3%

Moderate Performers

20%

56%

22%

3%

Underperformers

7%

35%

Absolutely critical
Very important
Moderately important
Not very/not at all important

47%

11%

01

Analytics Jumps to the Forefront

of Business Strategy

2015 State of Analytics

Increased Investment in Analytics on the Horizon

High performers are 6.4x more likely than underperformers to increase analytics spend
by 50% or more over the next two years. Business leaders are walking their analytics talk,
further showing their commitment to strategic analytics with increasing investments.

In the next two years, business leaders

will invest more resources in data and
analytics specifically in these areas:

High Performers

23%

23%

29%

19%

6%

Tools and technology

Moderate Performers

5%

21%

41%

27%

5%

Underperformers

4% 7%

29%

Increase 50% or more

Increase by 25% to 50%
Increase less than 25%
Stay the same
Decrease

51%

52%

7%

35%
People

35%
Training

Analytics Jumps to the Forefront

of Business Strategy

One dividing factor between highperforming and underperforming teams is

the role of analytics in the decision-making
process. Underperformers are almost 5.7x
more likely than high performers to rely
on their gut instinct instead of data when
making strategic business decisions.

2015 State of Analytics

Beyond Keeping Score: Data Drives Business Decisions

High performers are 4.6x more likely to say theyve moved beyond using data to keep score
and onto using data to drive business decisions. In fact, 60% of high performers agree
with this statement, solidifying the trend toward data-based decisions.
0%

01

10

Moderate Performers
Underperformers

High Performers vs.

Underperformers

13%

20%

4.6x
More likely to use data
to drive business decisions

30%

%
40

60%
50%

By stark contrast, 43% of high performers

rely on empirical data, developing
hypotheses and then experimenting
and observing the outcomes before
making a decision. Another 46% of
high performers say they are data-driven,
analyzing all of the data available before
making a decision.

High Performers

30%

10

02

Analytics Use Cases Expand

Dramatically

As companies become increasingly datacentric in their decision-making, the

number of use cases for analytics are
growing dramatically. Digging deeper, we
find that successful companies are using
analytics in more ways than ever, deriving
value across a broad spectrum of areas.

2015 State of Analytics

Analytics Finds Its Way Into Every Corner of the Business

Driving operational efficiencies and facilitating growth are baseline analytics-driven
priorities for businesses today. As companies improve performance, they begin to focus on
more advanced use cases such as automating business operations, enabling new business
models, and predicting customer behavior.1
Driving operational efficiencies

High performers are finding value through

analytics in many more areas of business
than their underperforming peers. High
performers are 3x more likely than
underperformers to be heavy analytics
users, gleaning value via analytics in 10 or
more disciplines (see chart to right).

Facilitating growth
Optimizing operational processes
Improving existing products, services, and features

This chart shows the top 10. For a complete list, please see the Appendix.

Identifying new revenue streams

37%
37%
35%
35%
33%

Generating new ideas and innovating

33%

Monitoring customer loyalty

33%

Predicting customer behavior

32%

Improving employee collaboration

31%

Improving the speed and accuracy of decisions

31%

11

02

Analytics Use Cases Expand

Dramatically

On average, high performers analyze

more than 17 different kinds of data
almost double the number analyzed by
underperformers. As teams sharpen their
skills, theyre able to widen the breadth
and scope of data regularly processed.

2015 State of Analytics

Companies Track a Wide Variety of Data

Heres a more in-depth look at the overall types of data analyzed, listed by popularity.
For a complete list please see Appendix C.
41%

Emails

39%

Research data

Number of Data Types Analyzed

High Performers

37%

Transactional data

17
Moderate Performers

36%

Commercialized data

35%

Log data

15
Underperformers

33%

Enterprise system data

32%

Event-driven data

10

Social media data

Partner data

Call center notes

31%
30%
29%

12

02

Analytics Use Cases Expand

Dramatically

2015 State of Analytics

S P OT L I G H T

Analytics Makes Its Mark on

Customer-Facing Functions

74%

19x

54%

of sales leaders will be

using sales analytics in the
next 18 months.

is the difference between

high-performing and
underperforming service teams
for outstanding analytics use.

of marketers say analytics

is absolutely critical or
very important to the
customer journey.

Sales
Sales

As reported in the 2015 State of Sales research, 74% of sales leaders are using or will be using sales analytics in the next 18
months. High-performing sales teams are 3.5x more likely than underperformers to be currently using sales analytics. The full
report is available at salesforce.com/stateofsales.

Service
Service

High-performing service teams are 19x more likely than underperformers to be outstanding at using analytics and insights. Further
insights on the customer service industry can be found in the 2015 State of Service report, available at salesforce.com/stateofservice.

Marketing
Marketing

As revealed in the 2015 State of Marketing report, available at salesforce.com/stateofmarketing, 54% of marketers say marketing
analytics is absolutely critical or very important to creating a cohesive customer journey. Email is the number one most analyzed
data type among business leaders, with 41% saying their company is currently analyzing email data. For more on types of data
analyzed, see page 12.

13

The Era of Real-Time

Analytics Begins

High performers are 5.1x more able than underperformers to glean timely business
insights from their current analytics tools. Here we see the percentage of business leaders
who strongly agree with this statement, divided by performance level.

High Performers
10

This new era of analytics demands that

data is instantly available. High-performing
business leaders value timeliness of
their analytics tools, with 59% strongly
agreeing that theyre able
to derive timely insights.

Top Teams Get Timely Insights from Analytics

0%

As the pace of business continues to

escalate, business leaders increasingly feel
the need for agility and real-time decisionmaking. The challenge lies in ensuring
decisions are timely, while also based on
data and not just gut instinct.

2015 State of Analytics

Moderate Performers
Underperformers

11%

High Performers vs.

Underperformers

20%

5.1x
More able to glean timely
business insights from their
current analytics tools

30%

%
40

59%
50%

03

30%

14

The Era of Real-Time

Analytics Begins

High performers are 3.5x more likely than underperformers to extensively use mobile
reporting tools to analyze data wherever they are.

High Performers
10

As weve seen in our other 2015 research,

the shift to mobile has impacted broad
areas of business already, from marketing
to sales to customer service. Across the
board, its clear that the trend toward
mobile, real-time access to data is more
important than ever.

Top Teams Tap into Mobile Analytics

0%

To meet the demands of todays highperforming teams, analytics must be

accessible in order to give teams the tools
they need to actually see and use the data.

2015 State of Analytics

Moderate Performers
Underperformers

High Performers vs.

Underperformers

16%

3.5x
More likely to be
extensively using
mobile reporting
tools to analyze data

20%

30%

35%

%
40

55%
50%

03

15

04

High Performers Embrace a

Culture of Analytics

Highly successful companies are building

a culture of analytics where information is
instantly accessible from the boardroom
to the front lines.
At top organizations, this mindset is
embraced at all levels. Ninety percent
of high performers say their executive
team is committed to the success of
analytics tools and technologies to help
drive overall business strategy and improve
operational outcomes.

2015 State of Analytics

Top Teams Have Complete Executive Buy-In on Analytics

Among high performers, 90% say their executive team is committed to the success
of analytics tools and technologies to help drive overall business strategy and improve
operational outcomes.

High Performers

90%

8% 2%

Moderate Performers

82%

15%

3%

Underperformers

44%
Completely/mostly committed
Somewhat committed
Not very/not at all committed

44%

12%

16

High Performers Embrace a

Culture of Analytics

High-performing companies are 2x more likely than underperformers to say at least

half of their employee base uses analytics tools. Putting analytics tools into the hands
of many reflects a deep commitment to analytics across the organization.

High Performers
10

High performers ensure that analytics tools

are put in the hands of more employees
across many departments. Democratizing
analytics across an organization reflects
a commitment to data-driven decision
making in a company.

Top Teams Are Broadly Adopting Analytics for the

Everyday Business User

0%

As access to analytics tools expands

throughout organizations, the average
business user gets better visibility into data
and key insights.

2015 State of Analytics

Moderate Performers
Underperformers

High Performers vs.

Underperformers

20%

2x

21%
26%

More likely to be say half

of their employee base
uses analytics tools

30%

41%
%

40

50%

04

17

04

High Performers Embrace a

Culture of Analytics

2015 State of Analytics

10

High Performers
Moderate Performers
Underperformers

4%

12%

High Performers vs.

Underperformers

20%

15.5x

More likely to say they

are always collaborating
with other diverse roles
in their company around
analytics

30%

64%

50%

%
40

60

High performers are 15.5x more likely

than underperformers to say they are
always collaborating with other diverse
roles in their company to gather, organize,
and make use of insights gleaned from
analytics tools. Ninety-four percent of high
performers say theyre always or very often
collaborating around analytics.

0%

High Performers Collaborate

Around Analytics

18

04

High Performers Embrace a

Culture of Analytics

2015 State of Analytics

S P OT L I G H T

Speed and Ease of

Use are Top Factors in
Choosing Analytics Tools
High performers are 4.8x more
likely than underperformers to say
that mobile capabilities to explore
and share data are absolutely
critical when selecting an analytics
tool. Here we see business leaders
who agree that these factors are
absolutely critical or very important
when selecting analytics tools.

Many factors go into the decision about which analytics tool to use, but the value
of timely tools packs the biggest punch. Speed of deployment, ease of use, selfservice, and mobile capabilities all add up to faster answers from analytics tools.

68%

Speed/ease of deployment

65%

Ease of use for business users

61%

Self-service and data discovery tools

Mobile capabilities to explore and

share data

Cloud deployment

56%
54%

19

Whats Next: Unlocking Analytics Potential

0%

High performers are 5.3x more likely than underperformers to believe analyzing
unstructured data will be key to unlocking deep insights into customer behavior. Here we
see the percentage of business leaders who strongly agree that analyzing unstructured
data will be key to unlocking deep customer behavior insights.

10

High Performers
Moderate Performers
Underperformers

High Performers vs.

Underperformers

12%

20%

5.3x
More likely to believe
analyzing unstructured
data is key to unlocking
deep insights into
customer behavior

28%
30%

61%
%

%
40

50%

Also among high performers, 76%

strongly agree that their company primarily
uses analytics tools to gain strategic
insights from big data.

Analyzing Unstructured Data Will Unlock Customer Insights

60

As seen throughout this research, high

performers are already the biggest
adopters of analytics, yet they still see how
increased usage will add huge benefits.
As the number of actively analyzed data
sources continues to grow rising 83% by
2020 top teams see associated benefits
increasing along a similar trajectory.
Ninety-two percent of high performers
strongly agree that harnessing the power
of analytics is strategic to future success.

2015 State of Analytics

20

Whats Next: Unlocking Analytics Potential

The state of analytics is ever changing.

New technologies are emerging to help
companies understand and act on
the constant flood of new data. High
performers are ahead of the curve when it
comes to testing the waters with emerging
tech in order to get the most out of their
data. Over half of high performers have
started using up and coming technologies
like predictive and prescriptive analytics.

2015 State of Analytics

21

High Performers Are Early Adopters of Emerging Analytics Tools

High performers are starting to use prescriptive and predictive analytics tools significantly
more than underperformers.

Predictive Analytics Tools

59%

High Performers

37%

Moderate Performers
Underperformers

16%

Prescriptive Analytics Tools

58%

High Performers

35%

Moderate Performers
Underperformers

15%

2015 State of Analytics

22

Appendix A: Growth and Challenges

2015 State of Analytics

Manual processes top the charts for the analytics pain points. Challenges around analytics for todays business users often
involve time constraints and a lack of automation.

53%

Getting all the necessary data into one view is manual

53%

Too much data is left unanalyzed

52%

Spend too much time updating spreadsheets

Analysis is performed by business analysts not end users
Turnaround time to get answers is too long
Data isnt customized to the end user
No on-demand/mobile interface to access insights
Business users struggle with trusting data outcomes
No self-service interface to easily build reports
Critical business questions go unanswered
Unable to analyze data across disparate sources
Data insights lag the business; figures are outdated
No easy way to share data among colleagues
Cant drill into or filter data to glean actionable insights
Inconsistent/unreliable results across reports/analytics tools

50%
49%
48%
47%
47%
47%
47%
45%
45%
43%
42%
41%

23

Appendix A: Growth and Challenges

Analytics adds value to a wide range of business disciplines. Here we see the full list of use cases for analytics today.
37%

Driving operational efficiencies

37%

Facilitating growth

35%

Optimizing operational processes

35%

Improving existing products, services, and features

33%

Identifying new revenue streams

33%

Generating new ideas and innovating

33%

Monitoring customer loyalty

Predicting customer behavior
Improving employee collaboration
Improving the speed and accuracy of decisions
Reacting to market trends more effectively
Delivering proactive customer service
Improving partner collaboration
Gathering competitive intelligence
Automating business operations
Enabling new business models
Reprioritizing resources
Finding correlations across data sources

32%
31%
31%
30%
30%
28%
28%
27%
26%
25%
25%

2015 State of Analytics

24

Appendix A: Growth and Challenges

2015 State of Analytics

Data security and privacy remain a top priority. Here we see the top priorities for analytics across an organization, divided by
performance level.
High Performers

36%

Data security and privacy

Complexity of analytical tools

Data volume (e.g., storing and analyzing big data)

29%
29%

Moderate Performers
Data security and privacy
Data governance

Complexity of analytical tools

30%
27%
26%

Underperformers
Budgetary contraints/high cost of deployment (e.g.,
subscriptions, manpower, hardware, software, support)

Data security and privacy

Technical knowledge of analytical tools

25%
24%
24%

25

Appendix B: Business Strategy

2015 State of Analytics

26

Tools and tech take the lions share of analytics budget. Here we see the breakdown of analytics spending, split by
performance level.

High Performers

Moderate Performers

59%

Tools and tech

Training
People
Data governance
Third-party data

Tools and tech

Training
People
Data governance
Third-party data

42%
38%
36%
34%

Underperformers

56%

Tools and tech

43%

Training

41%

People

37%

Data governance
Third-party data

29%

42%

Tools and tech

29%

Training
People
Data governance
Third-party data

26%
24%
16%

Appendix B: Business Strategy

2015 State of Analytics

High performers are more likely to make decisions empirically. Here we see how business leaders describe their
organizations decision-making process, divided by performance level.

Empirical: Develop hypotheses and then experiment and observe the outcomes before making a decision

High Performers
46%

43%

4% 7%

Moderate Performers

Data-Driven: Analyze all of the data available before making a decision

Intuitive: Primarily use gut instinct or intuition in making decisions

57%

21%

9%

12%

Collaborative: Primarily collaborate with others before making a decision

Underperformers
49%

18%

20%

13%

SMB companies are more likely to make decisions based on intuition. Here we see how business leaders describe their
organizations decision-making process, divided by company size.
Empirical: Develop hypotheses and then experiment and observe the outcomes before making a decision

SMB
43%

19%

24%

14%

Data-Driven: Analyze all of the data available before making a decision

Intuitive: Primarily use gut instinct or intuition in making decisions

MID
58%

23%

9%

11%

Collaborative: Primarily collaborate with others before making a decision

ENT
53%

30%

7%

10%

High performers are 5.5x more likely than underperformers to say the importance of analytics will increase
substantially in the next two years. Heres how the role of analytics will change for organizations at each performance level in
the next two years.

Increase substantially in importance

High Performers
36%

49%

14%

2%

Increase somewhat in importance

Stay about the same

Moderate Performers
55%

22%

21%

3%

Underperformers
9%

38%

47%

5%

Decrease

27

Appendix C: Use Cases Expand

2015 State of Analytics

Analytics tools are heavily used to drive operational efficiencies. Heres how business leaders are deriving value from
analytics tools.

37%

Driving operation efficiencies

37%

Facilitating growth

35%

Optimizing operational processes

35%

Improving existing products,

services, and features
Identifying new revenue streams

33%

Top teams use analytics to facilitate growth. Here are the top ways that business leaders at all performance levels are using
analytics tools to derive value.
High Performers

Moderate Performers

Underperformers

1. Facilitating growth
2. Improving existing products,
services, and features
3. Identifying new revenue streams

1. Facilitating growth
2. Monitoring customer loyalty
3. Driving operational efficiencies

1. Driving operational efficiencies

2. Optimizing operational processes
3. Improving existing products,
services, and features

28

Appendix C: Use Cases Expand

29

2015 State of Analytics

High performers are 3x more likely to be deriving value from analytics in more than 10 different use cases. Here we see
the number of use cases through which business leaders are adding value to the business.
High Performers

More than 10 use cases

24%

12%

28%

8 to 10 use cases

37%

5 to 7 use cases

Moderate Performers

18%

Less than 5 use cases

14%

26%

42%

Underperformers

9%

20%

63%

What types of data are high performers analyzing more than their peers? Here we see the types of data currently
analyzed by business leaders at all performance levels.
62%

59%

58%

56%

57%

53%

53%

54%

53%

51%

52%

54%

55%

High Performers
Moderate Performers
Underperformers

52%

52%

49%

48%

47%

45%

46%

Weather Data

Beacon Data (e.g.,

pinpoinwhere a customer is/
time spent in location

Third-party data

POS or RFID scams

Geo location data

Sensor or device data

Imaging data

Mobile apps

External feeds (e.g.,

news/web feeds)

Connected devices (IoT)

Audio, videos, or images

Call center notes

Partner data

Social media data

Event driven data

Enterprise system data

Log data

Commercialized data

Transactional data

Research data

Emails

40%

42%

Wearables Data

8%

Appendix C: Use Cases Expand

2015 State of Analytics

Data types most commonly analyzed. Business users are analyzing more and more different types of data from a wide variety
of sources.
41%

Emails

39%

Research data

37%

Transactional data

36%

Commercialized data

35%

Log data

33%

Enterprirse system data

32%

Event-driven data

31%

Social media data

30%

Partner data

29%

Call center notes

29%

Audio, video, or images

29%

Connected devices (IoT)

29%

Exernal feeds

29%

Mobile apps
Imaging data

28%

Sensor or device data

28%
27%

Geolocation data

24%

POR or RFID scans

24%

Third-party data

22%

Beacon data

21%

Weather data
Wearables data

19%

30

Appendix D: Real-Time Analysis

2015 State of Analytics

High performers are 3.9x more likely to have over 80% of their companys data available for users to make decisions in
real time or near real time. Here we see the percentage of the companys data that business leaders say is available.
High Performers

1% to 19%
20% to 39%

8%

21%

23%

22%

25%

40% to 59%
60% to 79%

Moderate Performers

11%

80% or more

25%

28%

26%

9%

Underperformers

20%

27%

28%

18%

6%

31

Appendix D: Real-Time Analysis

32

2015 State of Analytics

Cross-device connectivity in analytics tools matters most to high performers. Here we see the percentage of business leaders
who rate capabilities as absolutely critical when selecting an analytics tools, split by performance level.

Flexible schema
Prebuilt templates/metrics/KPIs
Unstructured data storage and analysis
Robust dashboard capabilities
Dynamic visualization
Mobile capabilities to explore and share data
Cloud deployment
Advanced data visualization
Complex querying capabilities
Collaborative interface
Cross-device connectivity
Ease of use for business users

9%
9%
10%

50%

22%

50%

23%
26%

10%

24%

10%

25%

10%

25%

11%

26%

12%
10%

51%

24%

13%
16%

47%
50%
51%
49%
48%

24%

12%

49%

29%
29%
34%

54%
56%
51%

Ease of use for developers

Enterprise information management
Industry-specific applications
Integration with enterprise applications
Performance management
Powerful governance and trust
Search-based exploiration
Scalability
Self-service and data discovery tools
Speed of querying, report load times
Speed/ease of deployment
Supports a large volume of concurrent users

28%

16%
11%

25%
30%

13%

28%

12%
17%

28%

15%

27%

12%

26%

12%
11%

25%

15%
17%
12%

30%

32%
33%
32%

51%
50%
51%
55%
51%
54%
52%
51%
52%
49%
54%
52%

Appendix E: Culture of Analytics

2015 State of Analytics

Enterprise companies have more employees actively using analytics tools. Here we see the percentage of employees who are
active users of analytics tools, split by company size.
SMB

50% or more active users

24%

15%

28%

30% to 49% active users

32%

10% to 29% active users

MID

Less than 10% active users

26%

24%

37%

13%

ENT

30%

22%

38%

11%

Underperformers struggle to provide adequate training and resources to analytics users. Sixty-five percent of
underperformers say that half their analytics users have inadequate training and resources. Here we see the percentage of analytics
users who have adequate training and resources to be successful, split by performance level.

High Performers

50% or more receive adequate training

54%

21%

20%

6%

Moderate Performers

10% to 29% receive adequate training

Less than 10% receive adequate training

46%

22%

25%

7%

Underperformers

35%

30% to 49% receive adequate training

21%

24%

19%

33

Appendix E: Culture of Analytics

2015 State of Analytics

Technology and financial services companies lead the pack in analytics adoption across the broader organization. Thirty-six
percent of high-tech companies and 32% of financial services companies say at least half of their employee base uses analytics tools.
Agriculture & Mining
11%

34%

41%

14%

Automotive
30%

23%

27%

20%

Consumer Products & Retail

21%

20%

35%

23%

Education
24%

17%

33%

26%

Energy
25%

22%

45%

7%

Engineering, Construction & Real Estate

26%

24%

27%

23%

Financial Services
32%

24%

34%

10%

Healthcare & Life Sciences

24%

21%

35%

20%

High Tech
36%

22%

32%

11%

Hospitality, Travel & Transportation

15%

Manufacturing

16%

23%

43%

26%

22%

38%

17%

Media & Communications

30%

18%

35%

17%

Professional Services
24%

19%

39%

18%

Public Sector
29%

14%

50% or more active users

30% to 49% active users

10% to 29% active users

Less than 10% active users

30%

27%

34

Appendix E: Culture of Analytics

2015 State of Analytics

Public sector organizations (54%) and technology companies (50%) lead the way in providing adequate training and
resources to their analytics users. Here we see the percentage of analytics users, by industry, who have adequate training and
resources to be successful.
Agriculture & Mining
32%

27%

36%

5%

Automotive
50%

22%

15%

13%

Consumer Products & Retail

34%

19%

27%

20%

Education
37%

19%

26%

19%

Energy
42%

35%

20%

4%

Engineering, Construction & Real Estate

41%

25%

18%

16%

Financial Services
47%

25%

23%

4%

Healthcare & Life Sciences

41%

21%

24%

14%

Technology
50%

22%

20%

9%

Hospitality, Travel & Transportation

43%

11%

34%

12%

Manufacturing
34%

28%

22%

16%

Media & Communications

38%

23%

26%

13%

Professional Services
45%

20%

25%

10%

Public Sector
54%

18%

50% or more receive adequate training

30% to 49% receive adequate training

10% to 29% receive adequate training

Less than 10% receive adequate training

21%

8%

35

Appendix F: Unlocking Analytics Potential

2015 State of Analytics

36

High performers are 5.4x more likely than underperformers to primarily use analytics tools to gain strategic insights
from big data. Here we see the percentage of business leaders, split by performance level, strongly agreeing that their company
primarily uses analytics tools to gain strategic insights from big data.

76%

High Performers

35%

Moderate Performers

14%

Underperformers

Top teams excel at managing big data. High performers are 3.1x more likely than underperformers to be confident in their ability
to manage data from internal systems, customers, and third parties.
High Performers

83%

17%

Moderate Performers

51%

47%

2%

Underperformers

26%

62%

12%

Confident: My company excels at managing big data using a rigorous system of standards and data management practices to integrate data across the organization
Room for Improvement: My company does an average job of managing big data, but could employ more stringent standards and data management practices to integrate data across the organization
Overwhelmed: My company struggles to manage big data with few standards and data management practices that integrate data across the organization

salesforce.com/research