Hurwitz & Associates Announces Results of Its Inaugural Victory Index for Predictive Analytics

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - Sep 28, 2011) - Hurwitz & Associates today announced the findings of its inaugural Victory Index report for Predictive Analytics. Designed as a market research assessment tool, the Victory Index highlights both the diverse uses of predictive analytics technology such as predicting consumer behavior, conducting economic forecasting and identifying fraud, and the vendors who make those applications possible. Led by Hurwitz & Associates Partner, Dr. Fern Halper, the Predictive Analytics study examines the most critical trends for end users to consider and analyzes 12 vendor offerings in the market across four key dimensions: Vision, Viability, Validity and Value. For more information or to download an excerpt of the report visit www.hurwitz.com.

Predictive analytics is one of the most important trends among information management technology today. Traditionally it was enough for decision makers to simply slice and dice data and produce conventional reports, but given today's difficult economic environment that is no longer enough. Companies need to make decisions about strategy not based on past indicators, but on future needs. Predictive analytics provides these organizations with more sophisticated techniques to better understand trends and anticipate future outcomes. As such, the Victory Index is intended to focus a spotlight on what the leading vendors are doing to support this important emerging market.

"For our inaugural Victory Index report we selected the field of predictive analytics as this has become a key component of a highly competitive company's analytics arsenal," said report author Fern Halper. "Companies realize that simply looking in the rear view mirror to gain insight and make decisions is not enough to remain competitive. Our research shows the clear business value of this technology and highlights the great potential for continuing innovation and market growth in this space."

Vendor highlights:

• Hurwitz & Associates named six vendors as Victors including SAS, IBM (SPSS), Pegasystems, Pitney Bowes, StatSoft and Angoss.
• Other vendors recognized in the Victory Index include KXEN, Megaputer Intelligence, Rapid-I, Revolution Analytics, SAP, and TIBCO.

Key market findings:

• Vendors have continued to place an emphasis on improving the technology's ease of use, making strides towards automating model building capabilities and presenting findings in business context.
• Predictive analytics is no longer relegated to statisticians and mathematicians. The user profile for predictive analytics has shifted dramatically as the ability to leverage data for competitive advantage has placed business analysts in the driver's seat.
• As companies gather greater volumes of disparate kinds of data, both structured and unstructured, they require solutions that can deliver high performance and scalability.
• The ability to operationalize predictive analytics is growing in importance as companies have come to understand the advantage to incorporating predictive models in their business processes. For example, statisticians at an insurance company might build a model that predicts the likelihood of a claim being fraudulent.

"At Hurwitz & Associates we take pride in providing a holistic view of the value and benefit of important technologies. We assess not just the technical capability of the technology but its ability to provide tangible value to the business," said Judith Hurwitz, President of Hurwitz & Associates. "The Victory Index will serve as a critical guide for those looking to adopt technologies that can deliver the competitive edge needed to succeed in today's dynamic business environment."

To learn more about the Victory Index please visit www.hurwitz.com. To stay up to date on the latest in the predictive analytics market visit Fern Halper's "Data Makes the World Go 'Round" blog.

About Hurwitz & Associates
Hurwitz & Associates is a strategy consulting, market research and analyst firm that focuses on how technology solutions solve real world customer problems. Hurwitz research concentrates on disruptive technologies, such as Cloud Computing, Service Oriented Architecture and Web 2.0, Service Management, Information Management, and Social and Collaborative Computing. Our experienced team merges deep technical and business expertise to deliver the actionable strategic advice clients demand. To learn more about our services please visit www.hurwitz.com.