Evidently, businesses heavily invest in processes, tools and people when running data-driven organizations. According to an eConsultancy report, 2011 is no exemption. In UK, services sector and Web Analytics technology were worth over £100 million a year. Nevertheless, numbers are not really as weighty as the trend. So let’s look back at the 7 top stories and trends of 2011.

1. Online and Offline Data Integration – Offline context is a must to get online intelligence and this connection was a great deal for many organizations last year. Understanding this connection brought organizations to recognize online distribution of marketing, prospect interaction and customer satisfaction. This significant connection makes it possible to optimize long lasting, if not life time online experience.

2. Social Media Analytics – There is no standardized system in terms of social media analytics since in 2011, vendors and agencies usually implement diversified service portfolios depending on business requirements and social media goals.

3. Mobile Analytics – There is no denying the fact that 2011 marked the dawn of mobile analytics. The mobile market as of today continues to establish its market and introduce an almost never ending supply of new operating systems and android handsets. This calls for an even larger share of interest this 2012.

4. Salesforce.com Buys Radian6 – Obviously, this $326 million purchase brought cloud computing to a whole new level.

5. Super Cookies – This brought bad news for several companies when they utilized “Super cookies” which led them to some nasty press and legal action. So what are these notorious “Super Cookies” again? These are Flash-based cookies that were responsible for multitude privacy concerns such re-spawning of traditional cookies after they’ve been cleared from user browsers. “Super Cookies” are also blamed for cross-domain and cross-client visitor identification.

6. Google Analytics Real-Time – It’s been a controversial trend since it enables millions of site owners worldwide to watch user interactions in real time. Who’s not excited to see things as they happen? What’s remarkable here is that Google Analytics Real-Time makes it all possible for users to experience this superb feature at no cost.

7. Google Chrome Passes Mozilla Firefox – Well, for the first time in history, Google Chrome outshone Mozilla Firefox in browser share worldwide! Of course, the battle between the two isn’t final yet and the effect on the analytics industry is still a bit shady. However, this call for re-evaluation to make sure your browser compatibility testing and quality assurance embrace these 3 browser minorities.