January 1, 2009 - Despite the economic downturn, consumer goods (CG) companies continue to turn to downstream data for consumer and customer insights to drive revenue. According to Lora Cecere, vice president, Consumer Products, AMR Research, demand data analytics will continue to be "an area of investment through the downturn" as companies attempt to leverage insights across the enterprise. Dale Hagemeyer, research vice president, Industry Advisory Services - Manufacturing, Gartner Inc., adds that "uncertainty underscores the need to sense and respond."

As this market matures, however, expect changes in the type of solutions that technology providers offer. Peter Bambridge, research director, Industry Advisory Services - Manufacturing, Gartner Inc., explains, "CG manufacturers will increasingly look to web-based software-as-a-service approaches to reduce setup and running costs, as well as to broaden access to the information." Not only will the delivery change, but the type of analytics will change. Cecere predicts that the market will continue to develop predictive analytics to allow companies to get better at shelf sensing and market demand shaping. Hagemeyer also expects optimization capabilities to eventually play a role.

The Holy Grail is still a centralized repository where all demand data can be managed, cleansed, normalized and leveraged by the entire organization. The need for data transparency combined with the need for global insights is driving most initiatives, although not all technology companies are prepared to provide such broad offerings. Many CG firms aren't prepared for enterprise-wide initiatives either, focusing instead on meeting the short-term needs of their sales and marketing organizations.

Expect the vendor landscape to shift as larger technology providers attempt to differentiate themselves. According to Bambridge, the bigger syndicated providers are facing changes to their business models as credible alternatives to traditional sourcing continue to mature, although they do remain at the top of our list. Predictions on mergers and acquisitions within the vendor community vary, with some experts predicting more consolidation and some predicting that smaller vendors will simply disappear. Cecere feels the market will continue to consolidate around the IBM, Oracle and Microsoft ecosystems.

About Kenosia Corporation

Kenosia Corporation provides award-winning enterprise solutions that empower manufacturers, retailers and sales agents to analyze and profit from critical information. The company’s flagship product, DataAlchemy is a user-friendly desktop application that automates the data analytics process by providing a single platform for disparate data sources. Its dynamic PowerPoint and Excel charts make it easy to provide actionable and timely insights that are critical to the business decision process. For additional information, visit: http://www.kenosia.com