Web analytics providers 'need to compete on cost and flexibility"

Choices in web analytics providers are being made on pricing, flexibility and scalability, according to a study by JupiterResearch. The internet and consumer technology analyst found that the costs of switching web analytics providers is high and more than two thirds of analytics customers are satisfied with their current provider. John Lovett, senior analyst and lead author of the "Web Analytics Buyer's Guide: Assessing Vendors' Competencies and Value", said leading businesses would make data "accessible and actionable". Data integration and the capacity to find out about customer experience through various means is a "new frontier" for web analytics. JupiterReseach president David Schatsky said that web analytics companies have a "substantial" opportunity to aggregate the new "wealth of data". Responding to the report on CMS Watch, contributing analyst Phil Kemelor stressed the importance of tracking audio and video, which he said are "increasingly important to all web content managers". He added that software vendors must keep their tools evolved "to keep investor money flowing", advising that they offer twice-yearly releases to show that they are market leaders.