Cloud analytics: year in review

Automation, digitalization and customer focus are driving the need for business analytics. The business-to-business companies we meet are gathering increasing amounts of data in their current systems, and in new systems as they increase investment in apps.

In this article we take a look at what happened in 2016 and what our customers can expect in the new year.

Our customers use CRM systems, websites, marketing automation tools, order, payment and invoicing systems, and specialized applications to continuously develop their offerings. All the systems gather increasing amounts of valuable data – but there is less time to figure out what all the data means. How can data be put together and used to make better, more accurate decisions?

The answer is clear: Cloud analytics.

-No installation. No server maintenance. Easier to combine data from different systems into one view.

This was our goal at the start of 2016. With more than 350 business customers across the Nordic we believed 2016 was the time to ‘Go Cloud’.

The development of our visual analytics platform as a cloud service was well underway. During the first months of the new year we continued tweaking, testing and preparing the service for launch in the second quarter.

Cloud analytics for SuperOffice

In March, we introduced the new ‘Business Analyze Cloud’ at our partner conference. The response was warm – participants agreed this was a milestone in a complex transition. The potential for customers was clear: 1) faster access to their data 2) easier to tailor-make to specific requirements.

We focused first on connecting to SuperOffice Online CRM. By June, the service was certified and available directly from SuperOffice app store. We owe special thanks to pilot customers, partners, Visma and SuperOffice for their commitment and support in making this not only possible, but a truly rewarding experience.

Throughout the summer we pressed on, making adjustments to ensure that it was easy to connect data. The more data that is connected, the more interesting insight can be gained.

Combine data from multiple sources

The ‘Data Connector’ was ready in the autumn. This smart piece of software does an important job – making on-premise data available in the cloud.

Turns out this was a popular alternative – analyze either on-premise or cloud data, wherever it lies – using a cloud solution. The number of customers requesting a ‘Trial’ doubled.

Looking ahead

We appreciate expectations are high and customers have put their faith in us. We take this seriously and have increased focus on helping customers use the service:

This includes:

• introducing a 30 day free trial
• redesigning the user community
• developing videos, resources and tools to support self-learning

As we look to 2017, three key areas of development are:

• Design and configuration – making it easier to customize and configure your own custom dashboards from an increasing number of datasources
• Availability on mobile devices – the benefits of dashboards, reports and analytics available from mobile devices
• SaaS metrics – ready-to-use dashboards and analytics to help businesses with a SaaS model or mixed business model track key metrics and identify opportunities

Deep thanks again to our customers and partners for a great year. We look forward to meeting each of you in 2017.

Should you have any questions or comments, please get in touch.