Article

Thanks to Power BI, Microsoft Is One of Three Leaders in Gartner Magic Quadrant

by Dann Anthony Maurno
Assistant Editor, MSDW

Microsoft Power BI is one of just three market leaders, according to Gartner's just-released Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence (BI) and Analytic Platforms 2016. This puts Microsoft alongside Tableau and Qlik, both of which scored slightly higher in ability to execute, but Microsoft outpaced them in Completeness of Vision, in which it leads the pack of 24 vendors evaluated (see graphic).

The 2016 Magic Quadrant shows a considerable "shakedown." The Leader quadrant in 2015 included nine vendors. Several 2015 Leaders including SAP, IBM, Microstrategy, and SAS dropped below the "Ability to Execute" threshold, from the Leader to Visionaries quadrant. Oracle, a leader in 2015, dropped off the grid entirely.

Why? Because, says Gartner:

The BI and analytics platform market's multiyear shift from IT-led enterprise reporting to business-led self-service analytics has passed the tipping point. Most new buying is of modern, business-user-centric platforms forcing a new market perspective, significantly reordering the vendor landscape.

So the air is thinner for BI leaders, and just three companies meet those criteria.

Also new in 2016, Gartner recognizes a "bimodal delivery model." The traditional delivery model is Mode 1, which offers stability and accuracy but not the speed and agility enabled through exploration and rapid prototyping that is essential to Mode 2. Newer venders tend to offer products better suited to Mode 2, hence all the new names in 2016.

The authors explain:

Gartner's position is that organizations should initiate new BI and analytics projects using a modern platform that supports a Mode 2 delivery model, in order to take advantage of market innovation and to foster collaboration between IT and the business through an agile and iterative approach ...

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About Dann Anthony Maurno

Dann Anthony Maurno is a seasoned business journalist who began his career as International Marketing Manager with Lilly Software, then moved on as a freelancer to write for such prestigious clients as CFO Magazine; Compliance Week;Manufacturing Business Technology; Decision Resources, Inc.; The Economist Intelligence Unit; and corporate clients such as Iron Mountain, Microsoft and SAP. He is the co-author of Thin Air: How Wireless Technology Supports Lean Initiatives(CRC/Productivity Press, 2010).

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