Large BI-PM vendors must keep abreast of current IT and economic trends to remain competitive
Tech
Written by CTA Team   
Saturday, 18 April 2009 12:02
The Business Intelligence (BI) and Performance Management (PM) software market globally continues to undergo significant change. This, according to a new report from global advisory and consulting firm Ovum, “Supplier considerations for BI-PM market in 2009”, is resulting in a shake-out of vendors and the emergence of new technologies and deployment models that are challenging the basic economics of implementing BI-PM systems.
 
“Rampant consolidation around a handful of large suppliers – Oracle, SAP, IBM and Microsoft – will expand the addressable market for BI-PM leaving enough room for revenue expansion for both large and small vendors”, says Madan Sheina, Software Applications principal analyst and co-author of the report.

“Large IT infrastructure vendors have been preoccupied with integrating and rationalising their BI-PM suites and also aligning them to their middleware offerings. That will mean more BI-PM technology sales included as part of larger infrastructure deals”.

However, Ovum’s report also warns that while this will be beneficial to both acquiring and acquired companies, it will also foster a wait-and-see attitude among many customers, as they assess the technical and financial impact of upgrading and migrating to an enterprise-standard BI-PM platform. “Traditional BI-PM vendors can ill afford to stand still. They must keep abreast of the current trends in the IT and economic environment that are impacting their business”.

The report advises vendors to refocus their efforts on product innovation and recognize the opportunities from a relatively untapped mid-market segment and the threats arising from disruptive technologies like software-as-a-service (SaaS), pre-packaged appliances and open source. “Vendors also need to take into account the importance of channel partnerships, the need for services provision, new expectations on licensing and pricing and look to new markets for growth”, says Helena Schwenk, Software Applications senior analyst and the report’s co-author.

Ovum’s report highlights trends and opportunities for BI-PM vendors as follows:
  • The mid-market is the next big opportunity and battleground
  • Service providers will continue to fill a necessary skills gap 
  • A fresh look at licensing and pricing is required
  • Corporate sustainability is currently in vogue
  • Extend BI-PM beyond its relational data niche
  • Customers expect BI-PM systems to be vertically aligned.