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It's the most wonderful time of the year - not because of the presents and the parties - but, the lists! I mean, who doesn't love lists (besides maybe The New Yorker)? So, we decided to put our analytics hats on and pull together our top 5 most widely-read posts of 2016. And, while our year in review might not be as much of an emotional rollercoaster as Google's #YearinSearch, we still feel it's worth reflecting on what we found to be the most popular topics throughout the year.

Our Oracle WebCenter Sites, Drupal, and Splunk practices all made the cut - with our Splunk team winning out (taking 3 out of the 5 spots) this year. All of the articles on our list lean towards the longer and more technical side, suggesting that readers really set aside some time to digest rather than just popping in for a quick distraction.

So, without further adieu, here are the pieces that resonated most with our readers, who visited us from a staggering 184(!) countries worldwide ... 

5. Trimming Down your Splunk Indexer Storage with TSIDX Retention Settings

Anshu kicks off our list at number five with his FAQ-style post detailing Splunk's tsidx retention feature (released in version 6.4) that helps users reduce storage costs for their indexers while maintaining actively searchable data. The article covers everything Splunk users need to know about tsidx from the fundamentals to the reduction process and its implementation.

4. Dude, Where's my Block?

At number four, our Drupal Practice Lead Jon offers a thorough overview of the improvements and updates in Drupal 8 with regards to Blocks. In this post, Jon discusses how to navigate Custom and Views Blocks in Drupal 8 - which is especially helpful if you are used to working in Drupal 7 (or earlier). If you are considering upgrading your Drupal 6 or Drupal 7 site to Drupal 8, this article is for you! 

3. Integrating External Asset Databases with the Splunk App for Enterprise Security

Damn, Anshu - back at it again with a Splunk post! In our third most popular article, readers were treated to a step-by-step guide to integrating an external asset database with Splunk App for Enterprice Security (ES).  Since this post is helpful for both ES newbies and pros alike, it's no surprise it ended up in the top three!

2. Installing Eclipse Groovy Plugin

In the runner up spot, Issa shows readers how to install the Eclipse Groovy Plugin for Oracle WebCenter Sites. Groovy has been supported as an element type since WebCenter Sites 11g, which works for users who want to implement some business logic in a familiar JAVA syntax-scripting environment... Far out!

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for, Function1's Most Popular Article of 2016...(insert drumroll)...

1. Creating and Using New Custom Visualizations in Splunk 6.4

We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words, but this old adage gives new meaning when applied to data analytics. Our Splunk experts are fluent in using visualizations as effective tools in presenting data to influence decision-making. This year, our readers made Karthik's guide to the visualization improvements introduced in Splunk 6.4 first on our list - further validating the power (and popularity) of data visualization. 

As we prepare to ring in another year (and kick off our 10th anniversary!), we want to thank our readers (and, of course, our consultant contributors) for making 2016 our best year yet!

As for me, I'll try not to be too offended that none of my articles made the cut. There's always next year...

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