CIOs should prepare for the battle between old BI and new BI

A war is brewing in the business intelligence and analytics market. “We’re about to see rapid adoption of BI and analytics in 2014 and going forward,” said Gartner analyst Dan Sommer during his session at the Gartner BI and Analytics Summit. That’s after years of slowed-down — and even flat — market share growth.

But while the business intelligence (BI) and analytics market is on the brink of experiencing a “best of times” moment, it’s also in the midst of a “worst of times” battle. The markets are going through major change, Sommer said, pointing to traditional vendors that are pivoting to keep from being disrupted by younger, more nimble cohorts.

Consider IBM and its restructuring announcement from earlier this year, Sommer said. The $1 billion move combined layoffs and the sale of some divisions with investments in analytics, cognitive computing and the cloud. At MicroStrategy Inc., former COO and co-founder Sanju Bansal left in 2013 only to resurface at startup Hunch Analytics. SAP also signaled a new strategy in 2013, announcing a research-and-development shift away from traditional BI to “advanced analysis and agile visualization.”  CIOs should prepare for the battle between old BI and new BI.