Turns out that in the LATAM region, Tableau is not the preferred data visualization platform. In fact, it is not even in the top five. As shown in the chart below, among the business sites in the TUDLA database for which an indicator of business intelligence software exists, Tableau ranks 7^th. The number 1 vendor is Qlik Technologies.

This preference does appear to vary by country, but not in Tableau’s favor. In Peru, Qlik is 7x more likely to be present as compared to Tableau – the largest relative penetration in the TUDLA database. Tableau is never more likely to be present relative to Qlik. The smallest Qlik differential, among countries with sufficient data, is 2.4x in Colombia.

The TUDLA data are corroborated by an analysis of web searches conducted by Kalinax. Their infographic (shown below) indicates that in terms of impressions, Qlik is more popular than Tableau in the LATAM region. The exception is in Colombia where there are more searches for Tableau than for Qlik. Kalinax posted several analyses of Tableau and Qlik which can be found here, here and here.

You never know what you are going to find when you start to dig. You can do your own exploration of the TUDLA database free of charge here.

At the core of the TUDLA database is a 70,000+ phone verified panel. Data from this panel include firmagraphics, contact information and full technology profiles. Surrounding this core are an additional 1 million+ business locations. Associated with these expanded data are basic firmagraphics (company name, address, URL) and expanded firmagraphics, where available (employee counts, industry and revenue). Indicators of what technology may be used at these business sites are also available.

The post Tableau vs. Qlik in Latin America appeared first on KDD Analytics.

In regions where data are less complete, like Latin America, a descriptive approach offers a very cost-effective way to reveal what the size of the prospective market might be. In fact, such an approach may be the only feasible approach depending on fill rates in the database.

Once identified, this population of prospective sites or look-alikes can then be pulled from the database, matched with a contact database or passed to a call center for verification of firmagraphics, contact details and technology usage.

TUDLA’s Latin America database

As we discussed in a previous post, TUDLA maintains a database of over 1 million business sites in Latin America and the Caribbean. The data include basic firmagraphics (company name, address, URL) and expanded firmagraphics where available (employee counts, industry and revenue). Also, indicators of what technology may be used at these business site are available.

TUDLA also offers free access to the data through interactive Tableau dashboards. This allows users to explore the data at an aggregate level and get a sense of TUDLA’s coverage. It also allows users to perform their own descriptive look-alike analysis.

Descriptive look-alike analysis

As a simple example, suppose I am SAP and I want to know how many prospective customers there might be for an SAP branded ERP offering in Brazil. (Alternatively, I could be an SAP ERP competitor and I am looking for possible SAP customer sites for a competitive kill campaign). Consider the following screenshot from TUDLA’s interactive Tableau dashboard.

TUDLA’s database shows (lower left-hand corner) that there are 2,828 sites in Brazil that are known to have SAP ERP. And the charts show the characteristics of these sites (i.e. the employee, revenue and industry distributions).

Also in the left-hand corner is shown that there are 424,693 sites in Brazil that share the same characteristics (employee count, revenue size and industry) as these 2,828 sites known to have SAP ERP (i.e. these are SAP’s look-alikes). So, this is the size of the prospective market for SAP in Brazil.

Further refinement to a specific firmagraphic, say, revenue size, will more narrowly focus the prospective market. For example, suppose SAP is only interested in sites with enterprise revenue greater than $50m. In this case, the prospective market size is reduced to 19,144 sites, nearly 50% of which are in the manufacturing industry (see below).

Interactive visualization

Interactive visualization is an excellent way to get a comprehensive view of exactly what is in your database. Lack of coverage in firmagraphics, geographies and other business attributes, such as technology presence, can quickly become apparent.

Moreover, it can be used, as in the case of TUDLA, to examine your look-alike market. You can quickly and cost-effectively (don’t need to pay to have a predictive model built) see the size of your prospective market based on the characteristics of your current customers.

Are your sales territories aligned as they should be?  With just a few clicks, an interactive visualization can provide the answer.

For more information on providing an interactive visualization for your data, give us a shout.

KDD Analytics is providing analytical services to TUDLA.

The post Finding B2B “Look-Alikes” in Latin America appeared first on KDD Analytics.

TUDLA

Since 1999, TUDLA (Technology User Database Latin America) has maintained a 70,000+ phone verified panel of business locations across LATAM and the Caribbean. The data from this panel include firmagraphics, contacts with direct phone numbers and opt-in email addresses and full technology profiles with hardware, software, and telecom information. Using an in-region call center, TUDLA regularly interviews IT Decision-Makers across the region to collect, update, and validate the information in the database.

But as is often the case in B2B marketing, numbers matter.  So TUDLA has partnered with other data providers to expand its database beyond the 70,000 phone-verified panel.  Today, the full database covers over 1 million business sites across the LATAM region.  These expanded data include basic firmagraphics (company name, address, URL) and expanded firmagraphics where available (employee counts, industry and revenue).  Also, indicators of what technology may be used at these business sites are available.

Tableau dashboard access to data

TUDLA is offering free “access” to their data so users can see what’s available. This access is through interactive Tableau dashboards embedded in TUDLA’s website.  Users can view and interact with data aggregations (but are not able to download any data) to get a sense of TUDLA’s coverage.

So, check it out and let TUDLA know what you think.

KDD Analytics is providing analytical services to TUDLA.

The post B2B Marketing in Latin America with TUDLA appeared first on KDD Analytics.

This is not just a single year phenomenon but the result of strong upward trends in IT investment by the Information Services industry since at least 2000.

The information services industry

The industry classification system used by the US government largely changed in 1997.  As a result of NAFTA, Canada, Mexico and the US collaborated on a new classification system called the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) (the US was previously using the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system).   Many sub-industries were reorganized in the new system.  And a new “industry” was created representing sub-industries involved in some way with providing  “information” services.

Although there are officially six, 3-digit NAICS Information Services sub-industries, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) collapses these into four:  Broadcasting & Telecommunications, Information & Data Processing, Motion Picture & Sound Recording and Publishing.  Since our investment data come from the BEA, we will focus on these four sub-industries here.

Software investment

One of the IT investment themes in recent years has been the transition to “cloud-based” solutions.  In the case of software, Software as a Service (SaaS) is supplanting software installed on local computers (aka “packaged software”).   The BEA does not break out SaaS spending from other types of software investment.  So, unfortunately, we cannot tell whether SaaS is simply cannibalizing packaged software or whether it is contributing to net growth.

However, we can see that there has been strong growth in software investment in the Information Services industry since 2000.  As the interactive dashboard below shows, software investment grew by 9.8% per year per worker (measured in 2009 $) between 2000 and 2015, the most current year for which BEA data are available.  This is higher than the national average rate of growth in software investment of 7.9%.

As you read our analysis below, we invite you to follow along by making changes to the dashboard to show the trends we are discussing.  Changes are made in the “filters“ “Select industry”, “Select years” and “Select investment type” found at the top of the dashboard.  Also selecting “Select sub-industry to highlight” will bring the selected sub-industries to the forefront in the bottom two line charts.

There is wide variation, however, within the Information Services industry.  Software investment by the Information & Data Processing sub-industry has been growing by a whopping 15.9% per year per worker since 2000.  However, this has moderated some in recent years (8.0% per year over the 2010 to 2015 period).  In 2015, the Information & Data Processing sub-industry invested over $65,000 per worker in software (2009 $).

At the other end of the scale, Broadcasting & Telecommunications has been investing at only a 3.5% annual rate since 2000 (5.1% since 2010).  In 2015, this sub-industry was investing over $12,000 per worker in software.

Storage investment

Another but related IT investment theme has been the transition away from physical storage to virtual or cloud-based storage…think DropBox.  As we saw in a previous article, according to BEA data, total investment in physical storage (in 2009 $) began to decline in the US private sector in 2000.

However, not all industries (and sub-industries) have shown the same effect.  In the Information Services industry, physical storage investment per worker has declined by 1.4% per year since 2000 (3.8% since 2010).  Use the “Select investment type” filter to affect this change in the dashboard.

The Information & Data Processing sub-industry continued to invest in physical storage at a 6.7% annual rate since 2000.  It was the disinvestment by the Broadcasting & Telecommunications sub-industry (-7.3% per year) that is reflected in the overall Information Services industry negative growth of 1.4% per year.

However, in recent years, since 2010, the annual rate of change in storage investment has been negative across the entire Information Services industry, with Motion Picture & Sound Recording sub-industry leading the charge at -19.1% per year.

Other stories

There are many more stories the data can tell.  And we invite you to play with this dashboard to uncover them.

For example, a previous article discussed investment trends in the Healthcare industry.  Does using investment per worker (the above dashboard) change any of our conclusions in that article?

Drop us a line and let us know what you find.

The post Information Technology Investment in the US Information Services Industry appeared first on KDD Analytics.

Interactive investment dashboard

The interactive dashboard below shows IT investment for a group (1 or more) of user-selected, 3-digit NAICS industries (blue).  The rest of the US market is shown in gray.  The default selections are the 3 healthcare sub-industries of Hospitals, Ambulatory Care and Nursing Facilities (see “Select industry” in the dashboard).  The top chart shows investment over time in 2009 $; the bottom chart shows CAGR over time.

As you read our analysis below, we invite you to follow along by making changes to the dashboard to show the trends we are discussing.  Changes are made in the “filters” “Select industry”, “Select years” and “Select investment type” found at the top of the dashboard.

Healthcare information technology investment

In 2015 (the last year for which BEA data are available), the Healthcare industry invested $10.6 billion (2009 $) in computers, software and communications equipment (e.g. phone systems, internet and networking equipment).  62% of this was invested by Hospitals, 32% by Ambulatory Care providers and 6% by Nursing Facilities.

Note that Healthcare industry spending on information technology consists of more than equipment and software.  A sizable share is spent on IT services (such as system integration and consulting) and IT outsourcing.  Forrester estimates that the Healthcare industry spent over 3.5 times what it did on equipment on IT services and outsourcing in 2016.  Over 70% of this additional spending is on outsourcing alone.  The BEA data only cover “fixed asset gross investment”.

Of the three “equipment” components of Healthcare information technology investment, software has exhibited the strongest growth (see “Select investment type” in the dashboard).  Since 2000, software investment has grown by a compound annual rate of 7.6%, mirroring the growth seen by rest of the US market (7.9%).

Pop quiz: Using the dashboard above, of the three healthcare sub-industries, which one had the highest rate of growth in software investment over the 2000 to 2015 period? It may not be what you first suspect.

As of 2015, Healthcare investment in communications equipment has grown by 4.0% per year while computer (hardware) investment has grown by 3.6% per year.  Nursing Facilities exhibited the strongest growth in hardware investment at 5.7% per year.

Note that this is total investment which can rise due to higher demand at each facility and/or an increase in the number of facilities over time.

Computer hardware investment

Digging deeper into computer (hardware) equipment investment reveals some startling trends.

Both PC and server investment have been growing at 6.7% and 4.3% per year since 2000.  However, the annual rate of change in PC investment has been negative since about 2007.

Also, the annual rate of change in physical server investment has been essentially flat since about 2005.  This latter trend is consistent with movement towards virtual and cloud-based servers.

The real standout is investment in physical storage equipment.

Physical storage investment by the Healthcare industry has actually declined by 1.6% per year since 2000.  The most likely reason for this trend is again the movement towards “cloud” storage solutions.  Physical storage investment peaked in 2007 in the Healthcare industry.  Selecting “Select years” in the dashboard to show “1980 to 2015” and the “Select industry” to display to “All” reveals that the peak in physical storage equipment investment in the total, private US market occurred 7 years earlier in 2000.

Printers have also apparently lost their luster.  Healthcare investment in printers has declined by an annual rate of 1.7% since 2000.  Again, looking over the entire 1980 to 2015 time frame, printer investment peaked in 2002 and has been in a downward trend every since.

Healthcare investment in displays increased by 3.0% per year since 2000.  However, since 2004, the trend in annual investment has been flat.  Nursing Facilities exhibited the strongest growth in display investment at 5.3% per year over the 2000 to 2015 period.

What have been the IT investment trends in other industries?

We invite you to play with this dashboard to conduct a similar analysis for any one (or multiples) of 60+ industries.  The limitation, as alluded to above, is that the investment shown is total or aggregate investment.  On a per business or employee basis, trends may be quite different.  We will pick this up in a future article.

The post Healthcare Information Technology Investment Trends appeared first on KDD Analytics.

Why does information technology investment per worker matter?

While information technology (IT) investment per worker has grown over time across all industries, there clearly are industries that use IT more intensively in their production of goods and services.  Knowing how this intensity varies across industries can inform public policy decisions.  For example, the demand for labor may be impacted by the amount of IT workers have to work with.  Thus any policy (e.g. tax) targeting business investment decisions can have a differential effect on labor markets depending on the intensity with which IT is used.

Knowing how IT intensity varies across industries is also useful from a micro perspective.  How much ABC Corp located at 100 Main Street, Any Town USA spends on IT is probably unknown to B2B marketers.  However, knowing in which industry ABC Corp plays and how many employees work at the 100 Main Street location can yield a ball park estimate of how much ABC Corp can potentially spend on IT.

Such information would be quite useful for IT vendors selling into ABC Corp.

Where does one find data on IT intensity?

The big IT market research houses, such as Forrester and IDC, provide industry-level estimates of IT spending.  But usually at an aggregated industry-level (e.g. 2-digit NAICS or 1-digit SIC).  And they are unlikely to provide employee counts.

Fortunately, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) provides estimates of investment in IT “equipment” (computers, software and communications).  While they do not provide estimates of spending on IT services (e.g. IT consulting, system integration and outsourcing), the BEA data provide insights into how much businesses are spending on the three other main components of IT.

Moreover, the BEA provides these data at the sub-industry, 3-digit NAICS level; they provide estimates of employment at this same level of disaggregation; and they provide these data every year.

What more could a data junkie want?

Information technology investment per worker (IT intensity)

IT intensity is defined as gross investment in hardware, software and communication equipment per worker.  In 2015 (the last year for which data are available), IT intensity averaged about $3,100 per US private sector worker (in 2009 $).  This is 3 times what it was in 1998.

However, this national average hides the dramatic variation across industries.  Below is an interactive dashboard which shows IT intensity expressed as an index (industry intensity/average intensity) for 2015.  Not surprisingly, the Information Services industry invested over 8 times the national average; the Agriculture industry just .03 times.

Drilling down into the Information Services industry (click on the bar chart) shows that it is the Data Processing and Broadcast and Telecommunications sub-industries that account for the lion’s share of Information Services industry investment (see the bottom chart).  Again, not too surprising.

The dashboard allows one to select the type of IT investment.  Selecting “Communications” reveals the intensity of investment in communications equipment (phone systems, internet and networking equipment).  Again, the Information Services industry leads the pack as a result of heavy investment in the Broadcast and Telecommunications sub-industries.

However, the bottom chart shows the ranking of all sub-industries (3-digit NAICS).  Interestingly, the Water Transport and Pipeline Transport industries are relatively intensive users of communications equipment.

If anyone knows why, drop us a line, we would like to know!

Other interesting findings…selecting “HW – Servers” reveals the intensity of investment in physical servers.  The top three sub-industries are Federal Reserve Banks, Rental and Leasing and Credit Intermediation.  At the 2-digit NAICS level, it is the Finance industry that is the top investor in servers, followed by the Wholesale industry.

We will leave it to the reader to play with the dashboard and uncover other interesting stories (e.g. in the Manufacturing industry, which sub-industry invests the most in storage equipment? in printers?).

Takeaway

Our takeaway is that although the “usual suspects” appear as high intensive users of IT, at the sub-industry (3-digit NAICS) level, there is wide and not always predictable variation.  Especially when drilling into the different categories of IT investment.

What is your takeaway?

In a future article, we will take up this subject again and examine in more detail how information technology investment per worker (IT intensity) has changed over time.

The post US Information Technology Investment per Worker appeared first on KDD Analytics.