So IBM is buying SPSS to give it analytics capability and to allow it to better compete with Oracle and Microsoft.
Although I have never thought of Oracle or SAP providing true Analtytical capability, so I would say this gives IBM a one up.
Although Although, Oracle brought Thinking Machines ages ago which had a credible Data Mining capability/tool but then swallowed them up and delivered nothing that customers really used (well not in NZ anyway)
So will IBM leverage SPSS to provide a compelling message or lose it in its already massive product stack?
Also SAP/BO and SPSS were already partnering and playing nicely, so is this a first foray into the rumoured IBM buyout of SAP?
And as always where does this leave SAS, HP and Teradata?
So many questions and only time well tell I suppose.
But one thing that is a fact is the big boys are getting bigger, and there are fewer companies out on their own.
I am trying to remember the days of Mainframe Accounting Systems (McCormack & Dodge, CA Mastermind etc) and see if there is a parallel, but that was more death by new entrant (SAP, Peoplesoft, Oracle Apps etc)
So can you remember a time where massive vendor consolidation happened and the companies left out survived, let me know if you can.
Ps, I am undecided if I will add Sybase to my SAS/HP/Teradata mix as I cant see how they can survive in the BI market (Sybase IQ etc) but then they still have a credible Relational Database.