Investment in business analytics and analytical talent will rise in 2012, but organizations still have their work cut out for them when it comes to making projects effective and instilling the right analytical culture and skills, according to new research from Accenture and SAS. Of the 258 North American business leaders surveyed by the Accenture SAS Analytics Group, 72 percent indicated they will increase spending on business analytics in 2012 as compared to 2011.
According to the Accenture/SAS survey, the top three priorities for investment are:
- Improving analytical skills of current employees (70 percent)
- Improving decision making processes (63 percent)
- Hiring analytical talent (52 percent)
The findings underscore a recent IDG survey, which found that 60-percent of respondents are missing the right analytical business skills, technical skills or both. Furthermore, with inadequate analytical skills cited as the main reason more than a quarter of respondents described their analytical projects as underperforming, it is not surprising that organizations will look to increase investment in analytics talent and education in the near future.