Firstly thanks for your comments. It’s always good to get the perspective of one of the vendors. Let me first say that this is my opinion and not that of Satama. Let me also stress that I am not saying that Omniture is poor solution, far from it, it excellently caters for the needs of enterprise clients which is why Satama is a parter.

Omniture have as you say a proven track record in working with enterprises whereas IndexTools have more small to medium level companies, again this is true. There is a lot which Omniture offer in terms of support and knowledge of the enterprise level client that IndexTools have less experience with. This is Omnitures strength and along with the acquisitions you’ve made why Omniture is in the position it’s in.

My 99% claim is from a purely technical standpoint. Technically there is nothing that SiteCatalyst alone (without any add-ons) can do that IndexTools cannot. I know this being an experienced consultant working with Enterprises such as Nokia, Kone, MTV3 (all your enterprise clients), and over the years with dozens of clients using IndexTools. I personally have IndexTools running on my site and know how powerful it is.

Working on a daily basis with the enterprises I mentioned (as well as others using other tools) has taught me what is needed by the enterprise and I can tell you that IndexTools 9 (without Rubix) does an equally good job as SC alone.

Just because IndexTools doesn’t have your client base doesn’t mean that the tool couldn’t do a job for them with the right people and process behind them. This is why this is potentially an industry changing move.

This is the main point of my post. Google analytics has never been a threat to Omnitures business because over time it became clear it lacked fundamental tools like strong segmentation, a data wharehouse upon which filters could be run, easy tagless campaigns etc. etc. Enterprises all tried it and then realized they couldn’t get the same level of insight as with a tool like SiteCatalyst or HBX.

The great thing about GA was the awareness raised around the industry. It probably helped Omniture get more clients. However the Yahoo acquisition means if they role out a similar program to Google to support IndexTools the landscape will change fundamentally.

The question is no longer about the tool but rather about the people and the process.

This is my point.

I’ve read other analysis disagreeing with my opinion and they could also be right. It’s why I said that it’s potentially going to shift (not that it WILL shift) from being about the tools to being about the process and people. What I also see is most of the enterprises being advised by highly paid consultants and with a recession coming up in the USA cost cutting is going to happen.ÂÂ

The “game changer” is that if a tool like IndexTools is free then why pay tens of thousands on SC when analysis and insight is not handled as part of the cost?ÂÂ

Neils comment came from a standard release sent to Omniture staff, but yes I physcially saw it first on Lars’ blog who was the first to break the news. I only posted it when I saw an email from an (undisclosed) member of Omnitures staff. I think there was probably only one other person outside of IndexTools/Yahoo aside from Lars that knew about IndexTools before their official release and that was another Satama connection, Eric Peterson who wrote a great response about this as well.ÂÂ

I agree with that. I feel the basic Enterprise 9 version is fine for most people and as intuitive as GA.

Modular add-ons could be provided and it will be interesting to see how they handle it.

Ah, I’m allready working with some of the features of Indextools 10, just never heard the name Rubix before.

To answer your question: Some features of IndexTools, like Campaign Management, Bid Management, Segmentation Setup, Custom Fields, Filters etc. etc., is IMHO so advanced that the majority of those who’s after a free analytics tool will only be confused by it.

Now, I’m not saying that Yahoo/IndexTools should necessarily charge for those additional advanced features, they just need to be hidden away a little in the “basic” edition that most users will want to use.

What I like most about Google Analytics has allways been its ease of use even for people who don’t fully understand web analytics. If Yahoo/IndexTools is able to do the same PLUS having all these advanced features implemented in a way that doesn’t confuse the basic users, that would be perfect. Unrealistic IMHO, but perfect

I definately think they should launch a basic, simple version that could get people new to the business started. And another version(s) or additional modules for those that need to take their analytics to the next level.

IF, that is, “Yahoo Index” will actually happen. There’s still no confirmation on this.

Rubix is the latest version of IndexTools which has yet to be released – now we know why as it was on schedule till about February. It’s a very advanced system designed for the analyst which I have seen demonstrated a couple of times. I was the first person (outsider) to review it last year;
http://www.blackbeak.com/2007/11/22/indextools-might-just-fill-the-void/

Regards whether it will be a limited version. Firstly I disagree with the business logic of that argument. Why buy a tool only to continue selling advanced features? Yahoo will gain more credibility by releasing the full version of the enterprise level than they could ever earn by selling it. Think about it, what is a few million a year in turnover to them? It’s better to offer their customers high end analytics that draws many Google customers to them (if even to only get better analytics). That is far more valuable to Yahoo than the turnover IndexTools even with Rubix would bring.

Secondly the evidence I have seen and heard points to this being the case. When folks at Microsoft (Ian Thomas) and Google (Brian Clifton) tell you it’s very difficult to make money as a web analytics vendor in comparison to adding value to their own systems, you have assume that Yahoo will follow suit.

My question back at you is, Why wouldn’t Yahoo give it all away if you’re a Yahoo customer?

Thanks for your comments.

- If Yahoo Index was released, I’m pretty sure it won’t be based on a FULL version of IndexTools. Rather the free Yahoo analytics package will be a limited version, and then you can perhabs subscribe to additional functionality.

It IS very interested to see what will happen with IndexTools. I myself haven’t decided yet whether I think this is good or bad news.