"Google Analytics made a name for itself by providing a no-cost, easy-to-use service," explained CMS Watch contributing analyst Phil Kemelor, "but it’s no longer the only free analytics game in town."

Areas where Yahoo excels over Google according to CMS Watch include:

- Better access control options and simpler approach to multi-site analytics

- Larger default monthly page-view limits (200MM vs. 5MM – unless you have an active AdWords campaign)

- Access to traffic data: Both vendors retain the right to hold and use your web analytics data for their own purposes, but only Yahoo! gives you the ability to export out your raw, unaggregated data

- Longer historical availability of raw data

CMS Watch is quick to point out however, that Yahoo has its share of drawbacks, citing administrative complexity and lack of 24/7 tech support. A Yahoo Spokesperson tells me, "We’re considering adding 24/7 technical support but haven’t made a decision yet." So we’ll see waht happens there.

"Ultimately, for some enterprises, neither Google nor Yahoo! makes a good fit, and those customers should consider fee-based web analytics solutions," says CMS Watch founder Tony Byrne.

Many users are still going to be attracted to that Google brand. Google Analytics gets far more play in the media and in the Blogosphere, and Google is frequently throwing out tips on how to better use its service. This might be a strategy Yahoo wants to consider if it intends to boost its own use.

Google makes frequent posts to the Google Analytics blog, which is linked to from the Google Analytics homepage. There is no blog link present from the Yahoo Web Analytics page.

"Both platforms are increasingly important to professionals worldwide, but LinkedIn is beginning to make more progress towards services that can support enterprise-oriented social computing," explained CMS Watch analyst Jarrod Gingras.

The report found that from a functional standpoint, LinkedIn surpasses Facebook in Information Filtering and Discussion, although neither platform provides the broader Blog, Wiki, and Project Tracking services that support broader enterprise collaboration.

Reasons for this cited by CMS Watch include:

– Enterprises can use LinkedIn groups as internal and external discussion boards and link-sharing areas. Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn participants can be pre-authorized by e-mail domain, they can keep track of discussions through notifications, and they can search group content.

– LinkedIn has chosen to slowly control the release of several "approved" applications for professional use, unlike Facebook, which allows any developer to post applications.

– LinkedIn is perceived as more professional by members. "Enterprises should not assume that their employees and business partners are comfortable mixing professional and personal personas on Facebook, especially beyond North America," says CMS Watch analyst, Adriaan Bloem.

That is not to discredit Facebook as being the most popular social network all around. It’s membership is expected to double this year. "There’s good reason for all that growth," notes CMS Watch founder Tony Byrne, "and Facebook certainly has a better ‘fun factor,’ but I’m not as sanguine about the platform’s business potential as I was a year ago, whereas LinkedIn seems to be pursuing a measured plan to provide more value to the enterprise."

It has certainly been proven that there is money to be made using LinkedIn. And now that the network has a Google veteran behind it, it’s appeal to business owners might continue to grow as new innovations emerge.

24/7 Real Media – Open Ad Stream
AuriQ Systems – RTMetrics
Coremetrics – Online Analytics
Digital River – Fireclick Advanced Warehouse
Fovinace – WebAbacus v5.2
Google – Google Analytics
IndexTools – Web Analytics 9.0
Lyris – ClickTracks
Nedstat – Sitestat
Omniture – SiteCatalyst 13.5
SageMetrics – SageAnalyst
Unica – Affinium Netinsight 7.2
Visual Sciences – HBX Analytics 4.0 (Now Owned by Omniture)
Visual Sciences – Visual Science Platform 5.0
WebTrends – Analytics 8

This is definitely one of the most comprehensive reports I have seen on this subject. Whether you are new to web analyst or a seasoned web analytics professional this report will help you. The report covers basic information about web analytics, current methods of data collection and describes business case for web analytics. Then it provides an in-depth review of the process to follow to ensure the successful purchase of web analytics tool. And finally it provides in-depth review of the various tools. In this report, you will also find that you have more choice of tools (based on your business needs and budget) than you might think.

According to Phil Kemelor, "The web analytics marketplace has seen some instability and consolidation — such as ClickTracks and SageMetrics being acquired by larger entities, and Omniture’s imminent acquisition of Visual Sciences — and this has led some to believe that web analytics has become a two-party system. But don’t believe the hype that Google Analytics and Omniture are your only choices, because that’s hardly the case."

If you are looking to buy a web analytics solution then my recommendation is to start with this report. This report will prepare you with the questions that you might not normally think of to ask the web analytics solution providers. In my years of experiences I have seen several cases where a company invests in a tool without understanding fully what they are getting into in terms of functionality, support, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), licensing agreements etc, this report will provide you the required information so that you can avoid those pitfalls and make a sound investment decision. The report will pay for itself on the very first day.

Comments

BEA and Oracle customers in particular should expect to see major shifts pending yesterday’s acquisition, as four, overlapping enterprise portal products will compete for attention under Larry Ellison.

This analysis stems from research CMS Watch conducted for its recently released "Enterprise Portals Report 2008," which evaluates 16 portal solutions head-to-head.

CMS Watch contributing analyst, Janus Boye, served as lead researcher. "CIOs increasingly view enterprise portals as a key element in strategies ranging from SOA to Web 2.0, so they naturally seek to minimize product and vendor risk," said Boye. "However, procurement managers and technology leaders who ultimately make product adoption decisions should understand that some of the biggest names in this business are undergoing substantial transformation that will lead to shifting roadmaps and product sets over the next few years," Boye added.

The trend is clear among the largest vendors:

• Oracle has leapfrogged its longstanding Oracle Portal product with a quite new and lightly implemented Oracle WebCenter, and now has acquired BEA – itself supporting two different portal products, after cancelling plans to merge them into a single platform. Upon concluding the take-over, Oracle will support four separate enterprise portal products that substantially overlap.
• Sun is transitioning its Portal Server to an open source license – boosting the trajectory of a traditionally low-profile offering – but also introducing a new model and set of relationships to the customer base.

Conversely, SAP of late has invested only minimally in its portal solution, which has fallen behind its peers functionally, even if it remains very much a "known quantity" within the SAP customer base. Meanwhile, Microsoft SharePoint 2007 has changed very little in the past year, as customers and integrators alike continue to experiment broadly with the core platform in the absence of clear roadmap signals from Redmond.

Although product and institutional evolution is healthy, highly rapid or unduly tepid change can introduce different types of risk to enterprise technology investments. To plot the current state of product and vendor evolution among major Enterprise Portal suppliers, CMS Watch has developed a "Vendor Risk Profile."

The Enterprise Portals Report evaluates 16 major solutions from:

– Apache

– BroadVision

– eXo

– IBM

– Liferay

– Microsoft

– Oracle / BEA

– Plone

– Red Hat/JBoss

– SAP

– Sun

– uPortal

– Vignette

Comments

For mid-sized and larger enterprises in particular, and buyers in the UK and Europe, there are many established vendors who can provide advanced analytics functionality.

This analysis stems from the 2008 edition of the Web Analytics Report, released today by CMS Watch, which evaluates 15 major Web Analytics suppliers based on extensive vendor research, interviews with customers across a range of industry sectors, and hands-on testing of solutions.
 

"The web analytics marketplace has seen some instability and consolidation –
such as ClickTracks and SageMetrics being acquired by larger entities, and
Omniture’s imminent acquisition of Visual Sciences — and this has led some to
believe that web analytics has become a two-party system," said Phil Kemelor,
lead analyst for the report. "But don’t believe the hype that Google Analytics
and Omniture are your only choices, because that’s hardly the case."

While Omniture is the largest pure-play web analytics firm and Google has brand cachet, CMS Watch research finds that enterprises can select from a broad selection of established vendors that work well in diverse scenarios and can scale as web site traffic grows. Moreover, Microsoft is planning to enter this space later in 2008. "Especially with Microsoft’s looming entrance, the Web Analytics marketplace is far from limited," Kemelor added.

Comments

The Web Analytics report is divided up into 6 main parts:

Part 1 – How to Use this Report
Provides an overview of the various sections and depending on your role in the organization suggests the best path to follow in order to get the most out of the Web Analytics report.

Part 2 – What is Web Analytics
An overview of web analytics including history and definitions of some commonly used phrases.

Part 3 – Business Case for Web Analytics

Talks about the reasons why Web Analytics is so important in an online solution by addressing business goals such as Improving Customer Service and Increasing Revenue/Audience/Operational Efficiency. It’s followed by the report addressing the various costs that come with web analytics above and beyond licensing. This section concludes by addressing why web analytics is such a worthwhile investment.

Part 4 – Web Analytics Technology and Features

This section goes into detail about the various features that were used to compare the various web analytics vendors:

- Technology (Architecture, Availability)

- Data Collection and Processing (WebServer, JavaScript tagging, Complexity)

- Data Accuracy (Verification, Sampling, User Id)

- Data Services (Importing, Exporting, Integration)

- User Administration (Permissions, Distribution)

- Reporting (Standard Reports, Usability, Advanced Features, Dashboards, Help Features)

- Vendor Intangibles (Implementation, Support, Licensing Costs, Future Development, Stability)

Part 5 – The Web Analytics Initiative

Part 5 talks about purchasing and implementation starting from the requirements all the way to implementation and best practices.

Part 6 – The Web Analytics Vendors

This is where all the major Vendors are compared using the items addressed in part 5. The following web analytics vendors are compared in this report:

24/7
AuriQ
ClickTracks
Coremetrics
Fireclick
Google Analytics
Nedstat
Omniture
SageMetrics
Unica
Visual Sciences
WebSideStory
WebTrends
The Report can

For information email: info@cmswatch.com. I will be interviewing Lead Analyst (and author of this report), Phil Kemelor on Friday so stay tuned for some further insight via podcast.

Comments