Digital intelligence (DI) is the practice of bringing together the big data that we have on our customers to analyze and generate insights in so as to deliver the best, optimal and/or the most relevant experiences during moments of their digital interaction. Firms that get it right have a major competitive advantage in the digital age of the customer (For more information on the digital intelligence approach, see the “Optimize Customer Experiences With Digital Intelligence [61276]” Forrester report).

This hot topic is why I am excited to announce the publication of the brand new Forrester report entitled “TechRadar™: Digital Intelligence, Q2 2016 [76021]”.  In this report, I analyze and review the business success and growth of the 15 core technologies for digital data management, analytics, and experience optimization needed to deliver great digital intelligence capabilities.

Some of my findings include:

  • DI tech is really hot at the moment. Whether its technology to ingest, manage, and merge different customer data (e.g. tag management or data warehousing), or to generate digital insights (e.g. app analytics or spatial analytics), or that for optimizing digital interactions (e.g. online testing or behavioral targeting) we found all the core DI technologies are on a trajectory for delivering a moderate if not significant success.
  • Some DI technologies are table stakes.  DI technologies that are mature or maturing, and which are delivering high business value, are a must for any digital intelligence practice wanting to add real value across the enterprise. These include online testing, predictive analytics, and behavioral targeting tech that are currently in the growth phase; as well as tech in the equilibrium phase including recommendations engines and web analytics.
  • Some should be investigated for competitive advantage. Tech for IoT analytics and spatial analytics are in the creation or survival phases.  Be cautious of committing too heavily to early versions as product offerings and uses cases are relatively immature and still finding their way.  However, I recommend customer insights professionals to start investigating and piloting wherever possible. Younger technologies provide the biggest opportunity to innovate around customer understanding and provide a competitive advantage – so get started now!    

Please use this report to help you make sense of the digital intelligence technology landscape, keep up to date on trends, to prioritize your digital intelligence investments and make informed strategic decisions.  For further research and advice on building a digital intelligence practice check out Forrester’s Digital Intelligence Playbook. Our playbook consists of 12 reports that set the groundwork for the strategy, technologies, and best practices for building a digital intelligence practice.