New and Updated Evaluations: Brandwatch, Cision, SDL, and Synthesio
We have just released an update to our Marketing Automation and Social Technology vendor evaluation report.
Our focus for this update is Social Media Monitoring and Intelligence specialists. The vendors updated in this edition include Cision and SDL. We've also added two new vendors, Brandwatch and Synthesio.
Here is a sneak peek of the detailed evaluations.
Brandwatch: Brandwatch is a UK vendor trying to take on more established rivals in the space (like Salesforce Radian6), based on the strength of features such as a sophisticated querying engine. Note however that it does not have the same "long-tail" coverage of the social web as some of the other vendors we evaluate.
Cision: Cision is actually better known for its public relations software suite. It is a serial acquirer: Cision itself is the combination of Cision, Vocus, and Gorkhana. It has acquired Visible Technologies, the vendor of social media monitoring product Visible Intelligence, and then Viralheat, a social media marketing vendor. As you'd expect, there are many moving parts here, and the roadmap for Visible Intelligence as a standalone product is not very clear, although it continues to be available.
SDL: SDL also entered the social media monitoring space through an acquisition. Alterian's SM2 is tucked (hidden?) inside SDL's Social Intelligence and Customer Journey Analytics solutions. Here SDL seems more keen to offer analytics and monitoring services rather than providing the tools to do-it-yourself.
Synthesio: This French vendor has established a footprint across APAC and North America, and claims the largest (or at least one of the largest) collection of data sources monitored. That can definitely be useful. But in the social sphere, quantity may not necessarily make for better quality.
The full report is available for immediate download to RSG's Marketing Automation and Social Technology subscribers.
If you are not yet a subscriber, you can still take a test ride.