The only difference is that, this year, the mergers have gone one step up the analytics food chain. Last year we saw traffic analysis and personalization solution providers buying data-mining consulting firms and analytic applications in the quest to improve their online intelligence capabilities. This sets to the heart of why E.piphany bought both RightPoint Software and Octane Software, why Delano bought Digital Archeology, and why Broadbase Software bought Servicesoft Technologies. The Internet and e-business are pushing companies into more intimate contact with their customers, forcing them to be individually responsive to the needs and desires of their customers throughout their relationships and across all touchpoints. This means that analytical applications should become integrated with the operation of business processes providing ranking, categorization, and profiling services to any process that needs them.
Analytic applications can provide the operational basis on which to decide what steps to take.
The Ability to Quantify the Value of the Customer Interaction. The analytic applications' reporting solutions help quantify the value of the customer interaction. The metrics tracked and reported can help guide e-businesses with their CI and CRM strategies. For example, call center managers, sales managers, and marketing managers can determine the number of customers that interact and purchase at particular touchpoints. The Ability to Set Thresholds to Trigger Rules and Events.