CHICAGO, Ill., April 1, 2008 —- Despite major consolidation among business intelligence (BI) vendors in 2007 and growing fears of an upcoming economic slowdown, BI platforms are expected to continue to grow at a strong rate, according to Gartner, Inc.

The worldwide market for BI platforms is forecast to reach $5.8 billon in 2008, an 11.2 percent increase from 2007. Worldwide BI platform revenue is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.1 percent through 2012, to reach $7.7 billion in 2012. Gartner analysts expect BI platform revenue to be less affected by an economic downturn than some other technologies because of the high priority BI platforms hold with CIOs. BI was the No. 1 technology priority in 2008 in a worldwide survey of 1,500 CIOs by Gartner Executive Programs.

Gartner analysts discussed the outlook for the BI market at the Gartner Business Intelligence Summit, which is taking place here through April 3.

“The fact that BI has held the top spot with CIOs in this survey for three years running makes us believe that BI will be more resilient against the effects of a possible downturn in IT spending than some other technologies,” said Dan Sommer, senior research analyst for Gartner. “Furthermore, the survey indicates that CIOs are looking to increase their budgets for BI by about 11 percent this year.”

“Despite BI being a top priority for 2009 and beyond, we expect a downward-sloping growth projection because of product and vendor consolidation, which will be offset somewhat by larger sales forces behind some of the products,” Mr. Sommer said. “Commoditization of BI across the board, but in particular for query, online analytical processing and reporting, will drive price points down. This will be partially offset by newer, innovative BI capabilities, as well as the general proliferation of BI, allowing it to reach more users within organizations.”

2007 saw a turbulent shakeout of BI vendors, with Microsoft growing its capabilities, and Business Objects (SAP), Cognos (IBM) and Hyperion (Oracle) being the most notable acquisitions of the year, resulting in a new playing field, dominated by these megavendors. Growth in 2007 has been partly inflated by Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), in which the strong euro has caused a boost of global growth rates when reporting in dollar terms. Overall for 2007, in dollar terms, EMEA and Asia/Pacific displayed stronger growth rates than North America, and they are expected to do so again in 2008.

Given the recent weakness of the U.S. economy, the technology market in North America is expected to see low growth for the first half of 2008. Much of the early weakness will be from organizations exercising caution in spending their budgets being prepared for a quick pullback should the economic situation decline more rapidly or severely than currently expected.

Additional information is available in the Gartner report "Forecast: Business Intelligence Platforms, Worldwide, 2007-2012.” The report is available on Gartner's Web site at http://www.gartner.com/

About the Gartner Business Intelligence Summit

The Gartner BI Summit is the only event designed to provide businesses with the knowledge required to create a visionary BI strategy. This event focuses on the methodologies, strategies, technologies and architectures that will move organizations from the tactics of cost cutting and compliance to increasing their agility and responsiveness, and improving overall business performance. Additional information is available at www.gartner.com/us/bi.

About Gartner:

Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 75 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.

Contact:

Christy Pettey
Gartner
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christy.pettey@gartner.com