Now that Hyperion, Cognos, and Business Objects have all been purchased, it’s clear that we’re moving from one vendor era to another. Despite all the digital ink poured out over the acquisitions, relatively little has been written on what the next era looks like…
One thing seems clear: Oracle, SAP, and IBM have the same motivation — the move from the era of ERP and other “process applications” to applications designed explicitly for the activities of business people: more informal, more information-centric, more strategic — and more challenging.
Over the coming months, the vendors and analysts will be trying to define this new world to their advantage — watch this space.