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by Diane Himes, MA Editorial Staff Posted on Wednesday, August 01, 2007 12:00:00 AM   | Abstract: | An industry update on the business intelligence (BI) software space with links to Managing Automation's online product directory. |
| Keywords: | scenario-based planning |
 One of the recent significant events in business intelligence that affected manufacturers was Microsoft's first BI conference in May, where the software colossus officially launched a broad suite of BI and performance management (PM) products. A recent report (subscription required) from AMR vice president and research fellow John Hagerty suggests that Microsoft's already pervasive presence throughout the enterprise will naturally translate to sales as its new BI platform is rolled out. Whether or not Microsoft's BI strategy proves successful, there's no doubt that companies are taking business intelligence seriously as they move ahead with their own competitive and forward-thinking strategies. AMR predicts that total spending across industry sectors for BI/PM will be $23.8 billion in 2007, an increase of 3.6%, with software spend alone increasing more than 8%. Consolidation among enterprise software vendors is an almost universal trend, and BI is no exception. Just a few recent examples in the business intelligence/performance management space: Oracle's acquisition of Hyperion; Business Objects ' purchase of Inxight and Cartesis; business process integration provider TIBCO's purchase of Spotfire ; and SAP's acquisition of Pilot Software. [Click to continue] |