There have never been more tools at our fingertips. On the surface, that sounds like progress, having more ways than ever to collect feedback, analyze behavior, and measure impact. While these tools promise speed and efficiency, the explosion of choice has introduced a new problem. Tool overconsumption is starting to get in the way of effective work.
Many organizations now juggle up to 10 tools and most are not using all of them to their full potential. Realistically, how could they? When tools do not connect or share data cleanly, they create a spaghetti bowl of silos where information lives everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.
Drowning in Data but Starved for Insights
Every additional platform or tool introduces the potential for added complexity, slowing decision-making processes, and increases cost. A messy research stack does not just make work harder, it quietly undervalues your insights.
At the end of the day, the research industry does not have a data problem. It has a consolidation problem. Most organizations are not lacking information. They are struggling to extract value from the data they already have. We do not need more dashboards, more inputs, or more disconnected tools. We need better systems for turning existing data into meaningful analysis not just for the researchers but for the entire business.
So Where Do You Start? Look Closely at Your Toolkit
How many platforms are solving the same problem? How many point solutions could be replaced by a single integrated system? The goal is not to reduce capability, it is to remove friction. A strong research platform should support both quantitative and qualitative approaches, provide integrated analysis of all your data, and help your teams surface rich insights through built-in intelligence and automation. And usability matters just as much. If only a small group inside your organization can access the data, understand it, and apply it, your research strategy is greatly limiting its own impact.
What Consolidation Looks Like in Practice
Consider Aristocrat, a company that built an in-house community of its most loyal users to capture continuous, on-demand feedback. Their goal was to amplify player voices across the business so that gameplay development, marketing, and user experience decisions were grounded in real insight. By centralizing research and consolidating multiple tools into a single platform using Alida, Aristocrat transformed how their team operates. The outcome was richer insight, faster execution, and meaningful cost savings.
Paramount offers another great example of what a simplified approach can unlock. Over a decade ago, they launched an exclusive user community with Alida to deliver fast, targeted feedback that could directly shape content development, marketing campaigns, and the viewer experience. By consolidating their research efforts and partnering with a dedicated community management team, they doubled participation while freeing internal resources to focus on strategic impact. The result was lower costs and insights that influenced the development of multiple successful franchises.
Simplicity Is a Strategic Advantage
The lesson is clear. Complexity and tool sprawl can create hidden costs that go far beyond subscription fees or duplicated work. They slow decisions, obscure insights, and increase the risk that valuable data gets buried and forgotten. Consolidating research into a streamlined ecosystem allows teams to move faster, focus on analysis instead of administration, and deliver insights that actually drive the business forward. The most effective research teams understand that fewer tools, centralized processes, and a commitment to simplicity turn good data into actionable insight that accelerate great decision-making.
