Logi Analytics released findings from a recent survey of knowledge workers, 2021 State of Analytics: Why Users Demand Better. This research explores the use of analytics within knowledge workers' daily operations and its impact on business decisions. Nearly 2,000 knowledge workers - individuals employed primarily to develop or use knowledge - across the U.S. responded to the survey conducted by Hanover Research. Responses came from an array of industries, including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and more.

According to the findings, 90% of knowledge workers consider analytics very to extremely valuable when making business decisions, yet 99% spend time looking for information they couldn't easily find in their analytics solution. Additionally, 77% of the respondents said they would likely adopt a new analytics solution if it were embedded within an application.

"There is an obvious disconnect between knowledge workers' desire to use analytics in decision-making practices and their ability to find the information they need to do so in the tools at their disposal. If we can't give our people the ability to derive meaningful insights from our business data with existing BI tools, how can we ever expect them to make smart business decisions?" said Brett Hansen, CMO at Logi Analytics. "This research not only spotlights the importance of analytics in businesses' success, but uncovers the inadequacies of traditional stand-alone analytics and BI products that leave users searching for insights. We need to integrate analytics within knowledge workers' existing workflow so they can quickly draw out impactful insights."

Fifty-seven percent of knowledge workers also claim analytics have become increasingly important amid COVID-19, particularly in healthcare and manufacturing. These specific knowledge workers range anywhere from 46-57% more likely to use analytic solutions to adapt workflows, monitor impact and perform safety assessments due to COVID-19.

"Working with Logi Analytics, this report aimed to outline the needs of knowledge workers and the value of analytics when making informed business decisions," said James Wilcox, Senior Director at Hanover Research. "The results of the study clearly indicate that analytics are essential for increasing the efficiency of informed decision making. Nonetheless, the pandemic has shaken multiple industries and made the need for valuable insights and data arguably more critical than ever before. Specifically, with workforces adapting to working remotely and historical predictive indicators becoming unreliable in the current context, the use of user-friendly analytical tools will increase in 2021."

Other key findings include: 

• Eighty-seven percent of knowledge workers use analytics to make business decisions often or very often
• On average, knowledge workers spend over five hours a day working with analytics
• More than half of healthcare (60%) and finance (54%) analytic solutions are embedded with current applications, while manufacturing (55%) and other (54%) industries utilize separate stand-alone applications
• Three-quarters of knowledge workers are likely to adopt a new solution if it is embedded with current apps (77%)

"The pandemic increased the need for rapid digital transformation in many industries previously thought of as slow to adopt like healthcare, manufacturing and financial services," said Hansen. "Knowledge workers must be able to capture the information they need to do their jobs and standalone BI solutions have repeatedly failed these decision-makers. Embedded analytics is the answer and is the most effective solution with rapid innovation taking center stage in today's environment."