Despite spending hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars on their data analytics solutions annually, 86% of SMB managers and executives surveyed by Onepath said their companies could be making better use of these technologies

Onepath, a long-time provider of managed technology services to small and midsize businesses, completed a survey of 100+ managers and executives in SMBs on the topic of data analytics. The research found that 67% of SMBs are spending at least $10,000 annually on people and technology to maintain their data analytics solutions, and 75% of survey respondents reported spending at least 132 hours each year on maintenance of these systems. And yet, the vast majority said their companies could be making better use of their solutions.

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The paradox of the survey results – that companies are spending excessively on data analytics tools but not getting full value for their investments – seems rooted in the fact that SMBs recognize the tremendous benefits data analytics can provide. 59% of survey respondents said it would take longer to deliver products if managers and executives didn’t have access to data from their analytics solutions, and 56% said it would take longer to service customers. 54% said that without the data, their companies might actually make decisions that would harm their business.

So, what’s keeping SMBs from maximizing the value of their data analytics tools? As is the case with other technologies, many SMBs simply don’t have the resources in-house to properly vet, deploy, and use these systems. 57% said they didn’t have the right people to manage the process of implementing the solutions, and 62% said they could make better use of the tools if they had more training. Of course, neither of these problems have prevented SMBs from buying data analytics solutions, which respondents reported are being used across major departments (Sales, Marketing, Finance and Engineering). Interestingly, IT is the biggest user of data analytics tools, per the survey results.

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“There seems to be very little debate as to whether data analytics tools are necessary for SMBs – they all agree these systems add tremendous value and could be delivering even more,” said Brian Kirsch, Senior Vice President of Sales at Onepath. “The issue is that the tools can be hard to set up, overly complicated, and a pain to maintain. We tell SMBs all the time: One way or another, you’re going to need help if you want to get the most value out of your data analytics technologies.”

A few more noteworthy data points from the Onepath survey:

• 60% of SMBs are using a web or cloud-based data analytics system. Only 9% are still using an offline tool such as Microsoft Excel.
• The systems are used for a variety of purposes, including decisions on how to grow the business (66%), budgets (59%) and staffing (40%).
• 35% said it took too long to implement their data analytics solution, and 49% said they could make better use of the tools if they were easier to use.
• Nearly 1 in 5 (19%) of respondents have three or fewer people inside the company whose job it is to maintain these solutions. 60% of the companies surveyed have between 100-500 employees.

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