At Forrester we have talked about the fact that digital intelligence has replaced web analytics.  Digital intelligence tackles emerging channels, sophisticated consumers, technical challenges, and the enterprise democratization of digital analytics.  Achieving this requires a technology toolkit which far outstrips the data, analytics and action remit of even the top web analytics tools.  Does that mean we throw away web analytics?  Absolutely not!  Forrester’s most recent research shows that web analytics remains relevant even as digital intelligence strategies mature because top vendors are:

  • Extending the capabilities of their web analytics tools to collect and ingest multiple on and offline data sources and democratizing insights and discovery by improving usability and support of sophisticated data and analytics techniques.  
  • Supporting other processes, systems and tools within the digital intelligence toolkit which provides actionably (e.g testing, behavioral  targeting, etc.) by making web analytics data and insights available to these systems – in real time.

Don’t throw away web analytics; use it as a starting point and cornerstone for your firm’s digital intelligence journey.

Check the recent Forrester Wave™: Web Analytics, Q2 2014 wave report to get further insight as to how enterprise web analytics vendors have advanced their products to support digital intelligence.