Reading all those predictions got me thinking about some of my own:

1. Google will release a major upgrade to Google Analytics which will really put the heat on the major vendors. This will be a good thing for everyone (except the other non-major vendors) as the competition will force the competitive vendors’ technical and marketing teams to really move their products, messages and support materials forward.
   
   
2. Avinash’s 90/10 rule will become broadly accepted and even the vendors will begin to admit that analytics software is a tool not a solution.
   
   
3. A new metric – the ROWA – will be born. “Return on Web Analytics” will track the ROI of this newly recognized increase in the cost of analytics (software + people). Shouldn’t web analysts be able to document its’ own contributions?
   
   
4. By the end of the year there will be at least two more analytics consultancies in the U.S. (or depts. within larger agencies) with at least 20 people devoted to web analytics. (I think the analytics group at ZaaZ is that large already but don’t’ believe there are any others today. Please comment if I’m wrong.)
   
   
5. By the end of the year at least major one analytics vendor will demonstrate beta software, or announce the upcoming release of, a completely revitalized web analytics application that isn’t pageview-centric but instead starts with the broader goals of the business and its traffic sources, website, content and people (as suggested a few days ago).

In other words, they’ll stop making us twist our heads to fit our questions to their data, and will instead start presenting data (and more) that answers our questions.