IDC MarketScape Highlights Growth of Decision Intelligence Platforms

While different forms of decision support software have been around for many years – most often as siloed, departmental applications – customer interest has reached a whole new level since we launched FICO Platform years ago. Back in 2015 companies spent $1.75 trillion worldwide on IT to improve operational efficiency and aid decision-making; that more than doubled to $3.88 trillion in 2023… and is expected to triple to $5.29 trillion by 2032, according to research firm EMR.

This burgeoning growth resulted from two market factors: first, the widespread threat of digital disruption, followed by the widespread adoption of new enterprise decisioning platforms by traditional companies to defend against that disruption. Not only were decisioning platforms an effective counterpunch against disruptors, but companies who deployed them quickly began reaping benefits like:

• New, unobstructed visibility into their customers’ real-time activities and future needs
• Cross-enterprise customer strategies and decisions optimized by AI, ML, and analytics
• Unified, compelling customer experiences that boosted revenue and customer retention

IDC MarketScape on "Decision Intelligence Platforms"

Given their powerful capabilities and strong customer interest, these platforms and their vendors have been the subject of assessments by industry analysts like Gartner, Forrester, and IDC.

The most recent evaluation comes from IDC, which just published its 22-page “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Decision Intelligence Platforms 2024 Vendor Assessment.” IDC describes the category as “software technology that helps organizations design, engineer, and orchestrate decisions by fully or partially automating all the steps in the decision-making process,” including decision design, decision engineering, and decision orchestration. 

If you are seeking to expand your knowledge of this growing and important software market, it’s a very thorough and understandable report. One the most useful sections of the IDC MarketScape’s report was “Advice for technology buyers.” Their advice, and my take on it, includes:

1. Ensure that your organization has a clear understanding of the use cases for which it intends to leverage decision intelligence.

My take: I agree, and will take it a step further: as companies prioritize the rollout of their use cases, they should do so with the knowledge that use cases deployed using a platform will have force-multiplying effects on one another: they make one another smarter, faster, and more collaborative. By bringing together information that used to reside in siloed, departmental use cases, and then unifying their collective insights, companies can now enjoy an unobstructed, holistic view of every customer and their needs… both now and into the future.

2. Take stock of the data that a solution needs to leverage, both external and internal sources; ensure data security, privacy and, in some cases, residency based on the regulatory requirements. 

My take: Data can be like quicksand: it’s hard to assess the value of your data when you are drowning in it, and flailing just makes you sink at an even faster rate. A platform makes it far easier to assimilate, analyze, and orchestrate rapidly increasing levels of data, and transform it into what FICO calls “decision assets”: decision-ready customer characteristics and other variables with proven predictive value. I was pleased that IDC noted that one of FICO’s strengths was scalable data integration capabilities across internal and external data sources.

3. During the evaluation process, note aspects such as integration to other systems, scalability, ease of upgrades, and the ability of the solution to adapt to changing market dynamics and requirements.

My take: This is certainly true, and a pitfall companies can overlook in the evaluation stage. In our view, a platform is merely the technological component of the “people, process, technology” iron triangle: it can’t just coexist with existing business requirements, goals, and processes, it must complement and optimize their effectiveness. Platforms need to advance efficiency, cost effectiveness, TCO, maintainability, ROI, and all other facets of the business, not just be a tool for IT. “Return on decisions” needs to be a bottom-line KPI upon which the entire enterprise must be focused.

4. Consider how the organization is going to build out their decision workflow. While most vendors provide no-code/low-code capabilities, it is important to consider the training and support being provided by the vendors as well as evaluate the ease of use for both developers and business users. 

My take: No-code/low-code is generating a lot of headlines. FICO is marrying this with business composability, which empowers business users to be self-sufficient in areas that used to be the exclusive domain of IT. With FICO Platform users are able to decompose complex decisions into smaller and more usable “building blocks” for their digital business that can be discovered, shared, combined, and recombined, to enable rapid solution innovation.  Non-technical employees across the enterprise can easily get involved to quickly build their own custom offerings, and share them with colleagues.

5. Evaluate the availability and road map around the latest decision and AI/ML capabilities as well as incorporation of generative AI.

My take: FICO has been an AI innovator for more than 30 years, having launched the first AI-powered fraud protection system in financial services in 1992.  Ever since, we have been constantly broadening our patent portfolio, finding new ways to operationalize AI, and building synergy between codified AI and human experts, with full transparency and human-guided outcomes.  This empowers the business to leverage machines for what they excel at – processing, analyzing, and curating data – but preserve human judgment as the ultimate decision maker.

6. Note that partner ecosystems will be critical to scale adoption, hence it is important to consider decision intelligence vendors that have professional services partners that meet the requirements of your organizations.

My take: The term “partner” can have many meanings in our industry.  Companies think of their core technology provider, such as FICO, as being a “partner.”  In developing solutions for our clients, we have professional services partners, who are experts in solutions design and integration. We also have technology partners, who provide specialized software applications and components that enhance the value of FICO Platform, just like an app store enhances the value of your smart phone, especially when there is interoperability between them, as there is on FICO Platform.

What Analysts Say About FICO Platform

IDC is one of three industry analysts covering this technology, joining Gartner and Forrester. according to IDC, FICO’s strengths include:

• Strong brand equity especially when it comes to regulated industries (given the company's legacy) and is scalable across regions and deployment options
• Scalable data integration capabilities across internal and over 100 external data sources; positive client feedback around support and machine learning capabilities
• Flexibility around decision models whereby the company can either provide its own model for the platform or enable customers to bring their own model

The IDC MarketScape concluded that “companies should consider FICO if they are seeking a scalable platform for decision intelligence around fraud and risk, supply chain, and customer engagement decisioning with experience across several industries.”

Of 15 vendors evaluated in the report , FICO was one of only seven vendors named as a “Leader.” This is consistent with a similar Forrester Wave Report on AI Decisioning Platforms which only lists five “Leaders”.  Interestingly, FICO is one of only two vendors to be named a Leader in both the IDC MarketScape and Forrester lists, and remains the only vendor to earn leader status in every Forrester ranking since the first was published in 2018. Gartner also produced its Gartner® Decision Intelligence Market Guide in July, which does a deep dive on technology and methodology; Gartner lists the 30 top vendors, but does not rank them.

When you are betting the future of your company on technology, it’s wise to learn everything you can about your options, to keep the odds in your favor. After reading these reports from IDC, Gartner, and Forrester, I think you’ll conclude – as more than 130 FICO clients have – that an advanced analytic and decisioning platform like FICO Platform is your best bet.

Learn How FICO Platform Can Power Your Digital Transformation and Boost Collaboration

• Read the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Decision Intelligence Platforms 2024 Vendor Assessment
• Explore innovation with FICO Platform
• Watch the video “FICO® Platform: Applied Intelligence, when and where it matters”
• See customers discuss their use of FICO Platform
• Read my article from The Journal of Digital Banking, “How Financial Services Leaders Are Using Enterprise Intelligence to Optimize Efficiency Ratios”
• Watch FICO Platform in action with the story of your everyday consumer, Digital Jane