First-Ever Decision Intelligence Platform by ManageEngine Transforms IT Operations

ManageEngine has announced Version 6.0 of its Analytics Plus platform, which introduces groundbreaking new features aimed at transforming IT operations through intelligent, data-driven solutions. Among these features is Spotlight, a cutting-edge contextual recommendations engine powered by AI, designed to pinpoint inefficiencies within IT operations and suggest targeted strategies to rectify them. This latest version focuses on reducing the time spent by IT managers and CIOs analyzing operational metrics, facilitating faster and more effective decision-making.

The 2023 State of Analytics Engineering report found that nearly 50% of directors surveyed struggle with "time to business insight," making it their biggest challenge. Spotlight addresses this concern by automating much of the analytical work, enabling IT teams to focus on implementation rather than diagnosis. By integrating decision-intelligence capabilities, Analytics Plus fills a critical gap in traditional analytics software, enabling contextual decision-making that aligns directly with operational realities. For example, the platform can analyze correlations such as the age of IT assets, their failure frequency, and the mean time to repair, then suggest an optimal time frame for asset replacement. This approach ensures organizations maximize the value of their assets without adversely affecting productivity.

With the introduction of Spotlight, ManageEngine further reinforces its commitment to enhancing IT operations through sophisticated AI-powered solutions. As Samantha Hall, Service Delivery Manager at Leathams Ltd., a UK-based food supplier, explains, “Traditional analytics tools excel at providing platforms for data analysis, but they often lack the context needed for actionable insights." Spotlight aims to close this gap, combining robust data mining capabilities with specific IT contexts, making it easier to translate findings into meaningful business strategies.

Analytics Plus’ built-in AI engine has been programmed to study common IT processes, automatically identifying opportunities to achieve desired outcomes faster. Acting like an intelligent assistant, *Spotlight* continuously monitors operations for bottlenecks or inefficiencies, offering tailored recommendations for corrective action. By embedding IT context within its analytical framework, Analytics Plus empowers organizations to identify and resolve issues more effectively, ultimately leading to improved operational performance.

“Organizations no longer want to spend hours mining data for actionable insights. They need ready-made strategies that can be implemented immediately for rapid results,” says Rakesh Jayaprakash, Product Manager and Chief Analytics Evangelist at ManageEngine. According to Jayaprakash, while the market is flooded with tools that promise automation and remediation for day-to-day failures, there’s a significant lack of focus on strategic decision-making. This is the precise gap that *Spotlight* intends to bridge.

Version 6.0 also introduces Root Cause Analysis, a feature designed to support backtesting of decisions, allowing IT managers and CIOs to verify whether new strategies are yielding the desired outcomes. This tool automatically pinpoints the primary factors contributing to particular operational trends, making it easier for decision-makers to validate the effectiveness of changes. For example, when auto-remediation tools are deployed for resolving L1 network issues, *Root Cause Analysis* will highlight how these changes contribute to increased uptime and reduced network failures, offering concrete evidence of improvement.

One of the most powerful tools introduced in Version 6.0 is the *Unified IT Metrics Library*, which serves as a comprehensive directory of all KPIs across an organization’s IT environment. This feature consolidates data from various IT tools and departments into a single, centralized platform, allowing teams to cross-correlate metrics and identify interdependencies that might otherwise go unnoticed. For example, resolution time for incidents, which is typically confined to IT service management (ITSM) systems, can now be correlated with device repair times from IT operations management (ITOM) systems. This holistic view of IT metrics offers organizations the complete picture they need to make more informed decisions and optimize their IT infrastructure.

Jayaprakash emphasizes the transformative potential of this unified approach: “Traditional IT data analysis is often siloed within individual tools, preventing organizations from obtaining a full view of their IT infrastructure. By bringing all these metrics together in a centralized platform, organizations can unlock significant value.” The Unified IT Metrics Library not only enhances searchability and usability of KPIs but also ensures governance and accountability by making critical metrics easily accessible to the entire IT team.

In summary, with the launch of Version 6.0 of Analytics Plus, ManageEngine is pushing the boundaries of IT analytics by integrating AI-powered decision intelligence, machine learning, and comprehensive metrics analysis into a single platform. These features are set to empower IT managers, CIOs, and other decision-makers with the tools they need to make faster, more informed decisions, optimize operations, and drive overall organizational success.