The Research

Our collection of independent and objective technology research is designed to help you make smarter, data-driven decisions.

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ROI Case Studies

An ROI case study is a thorough examination of the actual benefits a customer achieved from a technology deployment.

Value Matrix

The Nucleus Research Technology Value Matrix is concise assessment of the operational value a solution delivers.

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  • ROI Case Studies Q204

    Ultimate Software Ultipro ROI case study: Concord Hospitality Enterprises

    Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company deployed Ultimate Software’s Ultipro to replace a legacy system and centralize payroll activities for all locations. Nucleus found the project enabled…

  • Research Q211

    Salesforce delivers increasing ROI

    In analyzing the results of more than 20 ROI studies of Salesforce.com customers, Nucleus found that the average ROI from a Salesforce deployment has increased…

  • Research Q208

    HubSpot practices what it preaches at inbound

    At Inbound 2016, HubSpot prioritized educating attendees on inbound marketing methodology, and announced recent investments in increasing the functionality and democratization of its product stack….

  • Research, Value Matrix Q208

    Talent Management Technology Value Matrix 2016

    For years HR has evangelized for talent management as a way to buoy its strategic relevance and land a coveted seat at the table of…

  • Research Q210

    World of Watson delivers to the real world

    At the World of Watson conference, IBM released a host of announcements that reiterate its commitment to making Watson the figurehead of its future. Nucleus…

  • Research, Value Matrix Q206

    Control Tower Value Matrix 2016

    Control tower solutions remain one of the hottest areas for supply chain applications as more vendors enter this category to provide sense and response capabilities…

  • Research Q207

    Tableau expands its traditional portfolio

    At its recent user conference, Tableau released a series of ambitious announcements that include new products for IT along with more advanced functionality for business…

  • Research Q198

    Kinaxis continues SCM revolution at Kinexions

    At Kinexions 2016, Kinaxis continued its mission to transform supply chain planning and improve sales and operations planning. Nucleus found that the capabilities Kinaxis delivers…

  • ROI Case Studies Q200

    OutSystems ROI case study: Ricoh (Singapore) Pte Ltd

    Ricoh (Singapore) Pte Ltd. deployed OutSystems to build critical business applications three times faster than on its previous solution. Nucleus found that OutSystems helped Ricoh…

  • ROI Case Studies Q201

    OutSystems ROI case study: Worcestershire County Council

    Worcestershire County Council deployed OutSystems as part of its effort to reduce costs under tight budgetary constraints. Nucleus found that the applications developers built on…

  • Research Q202

    Achieving Intelligent Dynamic Service Maturity

    Customer service software and customer relationship management (CRM) vendors are integrating intelligence into their service offerings, increasing service agent productivity by an average of 25…

  • Research Q204

    Assessing Act-On Software

    Nucleus Research conducted in-depth interviews with current Act-On Software customers to assess whether the solution should make the marketing automation short list. Nucleus identified Act-On…

  • Research, Value Matrix Q199

    ECM Technology Value Matrix 2016

    The Enterprise Content Management (ECM) market continues to shrink as vendors absorb aging products and leaders offer more functionality without sacrificing usability to stay in…

  • ROI Tools Q195

    Dialpad ROI business case tool

    Today’s workforce requires a business communications solution that enables a work-from-anywhere model while improving employee productivity and communications.  Companies that provide the tools to support…

  • ROI Tools Q189

    Entrust Datacard Authentication ROI business case tool

    Cloud infrastructures, mobile workforces, and Internet of Things (IOT) are technology forces that increase both the opportunity and threat of digital business. Success in this…

  • Research Q196

    Microsoft charts its path forward at Ignite 2016

    At Microsoft Ignite 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia, Microsoft continued to focus on productivity gains through the operational synergies of its products. Nucleus found that the…

  • Research Q197

    Logi Analytics makes business apps smarter

    Embedded analytics solves adoption problems by offering information in the context of a user’s workflow, and in the next five years, 90 percent of analytics…

  • Research Q194

    Nucleus Top Ten Predictions for 2017

    Nucleus’s top 10 predictions for 2017 reflect the way innovations in technology are disrupting traditional power bases and business models. Top-down command-and-control processes are making…

  • Research Q192

    Leaders in marketing automation

    Nucleus evaluated the functionality and usability of marketing automation software to identify HubSpot, Marketo, Oracle Eloqua, and Salesforce Pardot as market leaders. Nucleus used the…

  • Research Q193

    Salesforce trailblazes Dreamforce 2016

    At Dreamforce 2016, Salesforce announced new products and services that increase the intelligence, performance, and customizability of its platform. Salesforce focused on positioning itself as…

  • Research Q181

    Guidebook: Salesforce Platform for CPG

    Consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies face new opportunities – and challenges – in leveraging cloud, mobile, social, and analytics technologies to streamline and automate the…

  • ROI Case Studies Q190

    HPE Content Manager ROI case study: Anonymous

    A biopharmaceutical company eliminated a legacy content management system (CMS) and consolidated multiple document management and archiving systems into Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Content Manager….

  • Research, Value Matrix Q187

    Analytics Technology Value Matrix 2016

    Analytics capabilities have become a core focus for customers across all industries and users have high expectations. Nucleus has found that they are demanding in-context…

  • Research Q182

    Oracle remains cloud-first at OpenWorld 2016

    At OpenWorld 2016, Oracle announced new products and services that extend its cloud capabilities. As it seeks to solidify its place as a leading cloud…

  • Research Q185

    The double edged sword of marketing automation

    As marketing automation vendors strengthen their enterprise legs, a new solution emerges with a platform that Nucleus believes has the potential to change the game….

  • Research Q186

    Guidebook: Apttus quote to cash software

    Nucleus Research found that automating Quote-to-Cash (QTC) delivers significant benefits beyond core customer relationship management (CRM) software. In analyzing the experience of a number of…

  • ROI Case Studies Q184

    BlackLine ROI case study: Acsension

    Ascension deployed BlackLine’s financials controls and automation platform to centralize and simplify its financial reconciliations. Nucleus found that Ascension was able to stand up BlackLine…

  • ROI Case Studies Q183

    Oracle ERP and HCM Cloud ROI case study: Anonymous Company

    A company managing engineering and infrastructure projects deployed Oracle ERP and HCM Cloud to centralize and streamline company procurement, financials, inventory, projects, invoicing, and human…

  • Research, Value Matrix Q180

    CRM Technology Value Matrix 2H2016

    The blurring of the lines between service, sales, and marketing – the three legs of the customer relationship management stool – represent new challenges and…

  • Research Q177

    How JDA can make Shop and Ship a reality

    Brick-and-mortar retailers need the right set of supply chain management (SCM) technologies in order to actualize the Shop and Ship model. Nucleus found JDA Software’s…

  • Research Q178

    Informatica is the data lake lifeguard

    As IT teams are faced with exponentially increasing volumes of data, they also have to meet the demand for data democratization. Nucleus has found that…

  • Research Q179

    OpenText surges ahead with EMC acquisition

    OpenText’s acquisition of Dell EMC’s content division conveys its commitment to its information-focused ideology as it attempts to assert its lead in the enterprise content…

  • Research Q175

    Guidebook: HP Elite x2

    As users increasingly demand devices that can support both business and personal use, many have sought devices that serve as both a tablet and a…

  • Research Q174

    Acumatica release 6

    On September 8, Acumatica announced Release 6 of its enterprise resource planning (ERP) application for small and midsized businesses. With a focus on productivity and…

  • Research, Value Matrix Q172

    HCM Technology Value Matrix 2016

    Vendors of technology for human capital management (HCM) continue to double-down on developing functionality for talent management. In this way, most Leaders in this year’s…

  • Research Q173

    HPE is the Advil for a big data headache

    At the HPE Big Data conference on August 30, the company focused on positioning itself to be a pain reliever for data and analytics scalability…

  • ROI Case Studies Q171

    Hubspot Marketing ROI case study: Accrosoft

    2017 ROI AWARD WINNER! Accrosoft deployed Hubspot Marketing to replace a disjointed system with a marketing automation solution that would increase productivity and drive future…

  • Research Q168

    Customers say FinancialForce is sticky

    FinancialForce has cornered much of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market on the Salesforce platform, capitalizing on the stickiness of Salesforce customer relationship management (CRM)….

  • Research Q170

    Guidebook: IBM QRadar on cloud

    IBM QRadar on Cloud delivers security information and event management services to a hosted cloud environment enabling customers to outsource elements of their security system….

  • Research Q169

    Driving Micro-marketing with Leadware

    Leadware aligns with Nucleus’s concept of micro-marketing, enabling enterprises to decentralize the tactical aspects of marketing by outsourcing lead generation. Recognizing the same need as…

  • ROI Case Studies Q165

    GoodData ROI case study: Fourth

    Fourth deployed GoodData’s cloud platform to build its distributed analytics solution for customers in the hospitality industry. Nucleus found that Fourth achieved over a half…

  • Research Q167

    Salesforce shopping spree is more than retail therapy

    Salesforce has acquired seven companies in the last eight months, five of which are analytics startups. Nucleus identified three key areas of likely development: intelligent…

  • Research Q160

    Shop and ship is the future of retail

    Retail is at a turning point where technology can enable a new model of selling that helps brick-and-mortar retailers shrink inventory and cut costs. Rather…

  • Research Q163

    How to burn $3 billion: buy jet.com

    Earlier this month, two brick-and-mortar retailers moved to deepen their e-commerce business lines to better compete with Amazon. Wal-Mart’s purchase of Jet.com and Macy’s closure…

  • Research Q162

    Micro-marketing with Engagio

    Engagio’s “account based everything” software adds to the micro-marketing toolset by recognizing the need to distribute marketing responsibilities throughout the company. Although Engagio is not…

  • ROI Case Studies Q159

    HPE Data Protector ROI case study: Gardner Business Media

    Gardner Business Media eliminated an increasingly issue-prone backup solution and replaced it with Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s HPE Data Protector to address its backup needs. Nucleus…

  • Research Q164

    SAP ditches annual performance reviews

    A conventional relic, the annual performance review is dying, giving way to trigger-based performance management – a Nucleus prediction for 2016. By electing to ditch…

  • Research Q166

    Guidebook: Oracle HR and finance connected

    By integrating human capital management (HCM) with enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle helps employers connect HCM with financials – two critical areas of the enterprise…

  • Research Q161

    Acquisition of Platfora evolves Workday analytics

    By acquiring Platfora, Workday will improve users’ ability to mix and match internal HR and financial data with large troves of externally-sourced data, to support…

  • ROI Case Studies Q137

    Badgeville Channel Motivation ROI case study: CDW

    CDW deployed Badgeville Channel Motivation to provide motivation for sales performance through employee incentives, and produce analytics that delivered insight about sales force performance. Nucleus…