Integrated Business Intelligence Report

Market Analysis

When compared to other technology markets the BI sector continues to perform well. Sales growth, although not as strong as at the beginning of the decade, remains reasonably buoyant. However, this in itself is not enough, and BI vendors are currently attempting to make the leap from being providers of point-based, or at best departmental solutions, repositioning themselves as providers of end-to-end IBI solutions.

In effect the market is at a crossroads in its development. Technology suppliers are moving ahead with end-to-end intelligence-driven offerings, but are being faced by a consumer sector that, whilst understanding the value of core products such as query, analysis, and reporting, is on the whole reluctant to commit to extending the use of BI outside its current areas of need.

The BI market in its own right is mature, but the fledgling IBI sector is only at an early adopter stage, hence the ongoing need to promote the value proposition that integrating BI across the enterprise, and its infrastructure systems, represents. At this stage the IBI market has no outright leader. There are a number of well-known and well-established vendors vying for position, including: Oracle, SAS, Business Objects, and Cognos. There are also others, including Microsoft, that recognise the potential that this market has, and are working hard to catch up with the market-leading solutions.

In the immediate future we believe that most of the well-established players will continue to build on their existing market share, and that at the head of the market they will be joined by pure-play vendors such as Information Builders and Informatica. Although there will continue to be no outright market leader, as too many similar and function-rich solutions already exist, we believe that some of the lesser lights will struggle to gain sufficient sales to survive.

It will not be until 2008 that the IBI technology sector reaches real maturity, but over the coming years as its value becomes established, and the leading vendors extend the range of their solutions to include 'Closed Loop' facilities. Then we expect Microsoft to position itself alongside the market leaders. We also expect that a number of pure-play vendors will disappear as larger late entrants look to establish their credentials by boosting their own BIofferings.