Companies Prioritize Business Intelligence, Collaboration Tools for Application Integration

SAN MATEO, Calif., Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- -SnapLogic, the cloud connection company, today released its 2011 report on Application Connection Priorities. As organizations strive to become more intelligent, adaptive and responsive by improving information access, decision-making and business processes, the integration of key enterprise applications and data sources has become an integral business priority. Based on a study of over 100 IT executives, the 2011 Application Connection Priorities report reviews the most urgent application connection needs and challenges facing businesses today.

According to the study, companies prioritize connectivity with Business Intelligence & Analytics applications as well as Productivity & Collaboration tools such as Google Apps, Box.net or Slideshare, over the next year. Businesses also increasingly recognize the importance of social media data, seeking connectivity with popular applications Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

"Businesses are inundated with data as they add more and more applications to their ecosystem and strive to listen to and engage with customers via social media channels – a trend that is only accelerating," said Gaurav Dhillon, CEO, SnapLogic. "The biggest challenge companies face is getting this lifeblood of data flowing effectively throughout the entire organization. The ability to make fast, easy connections between multiple applications has quickly become a business necessity."

Research Highlights:

• Almost 40 percent of all companies identified Business Intelligence & Analytics (39 percent) and Productivity & Collaboration (36 percent) as high priority applications to connect in the next year. Sales, Finance and Social Media round out the top five categories of applications businesses would most like to integrate.
• A third of all companies identified Facebook as the social media application they are most likely to integrate with marketing and customer support programs in the next year, over Twitter and LinkedIn. Only 22 percent of businesses are likely to integrate Twitter, while 20 percent are likely to integrate LinkedIn. Fifteen percent of companies are likely to integrate the relatively new social media application, Google+.
• The number of companies deploying at least four SaaS applications will double over the next two years, to 33 percent. At the same time, the majority of companies expect enterprise data to grow by at least 25 percent over the next 12 to 18 months. Many companies cite struggles with integration (45 percent) and data quality (40 percent) as the primary roadblocks to leveraging the full value of that data.
• Roughly half of all companies believe that better application connectivity would lead to enhanced time-to-market and competitiveness (50 percent) as well as better business decision-making (49 percent). Additionally, roughly 80 percent of companies believe it is important to have mobile access to monitor their IT ecosystems.

SnapLogic has already seen these connection priorities reflected amongst its own customer base. In the first half of 2011, the three most popular downloads from the SnapStore were Snaps for Twitter, Box.net and GoodData – reflecting an emphasis on connecting business intelligence, productivity and social media applications with enterprises' other applications in the cloud or on the ground.

Online Resources

• Download a copy of the 2011 Application Connection Trends report.
• Visit the SnapLogic Blog to read more about the survey and Snap download trends.
• Download Snaps at the SnapStore.
• Download a free trial of SnapLogic.

See SnapLogic in Action

• SnapLogic and its partners will be demonstrating integration solutions at Salesforce.com's Dreamforce '11, August 30 to September 2 in Booth 509.

About SnapLogic

SnapLogic is the cloud connection company, intuitively snapping together any business application or Web service. SnapLogic's modern connection architecture delivers fast, smart data by integrating sources in the cloud and on the ground. SnapLogic was built on proven consumer Web standards that bring cloud speed, scale and ease to businesses. The company's Snaps – standardized containers that connect any kind of data – are available for instant download in the first of its kind SnapStore, where developers, system integrators, and independent software vendors can build and sell reusable application-specific connectors. Based in San Mateo, CA, SnapLogic is funded by leading venture investors, including Andreessen Horowitz. Follow SnapLogic on Twitter: @SnapLogic, and visit the SnapLogic blog.

SOURCE SnapLogic