One of the more interesting threads that I've read recently was on the Web Analytics Association Yahoo! Forum. Called Why do we still need Omniture?, the discussion's starting point was based on how Omniture could differentiate itself in light of Google Analytics new features.

The ensuing discussion had dozens of posts with most of the focus on reporting features and capabilities.

But it was what didn't get mentioned that caught my attention: data usage as a differentiator. (This is a topic we explore in the Web Analytics Report.)

Google and Yahoo! use the data they collect from your website as fuel to develop new products, services, offerings and marketing programs. Omniture and all other fee-based vendors do not use the data they collect.

To be fair, both Google and Yahoo! clearly state how they use the data in their Service Agreements. Then again we all know about carefully reading the fine print.

I just find it surprising that folks tend not to mention data usage as a differentiator in the many World vs. Google Analytics/Yahoo! Analytics discussions or vendor evaluations that occur. The question for you is: does "free" makes it OK? For some enterprises the answer will be "no."