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September 1, 2003

Temperature Rising

Summer passed quickly as major IT solution providers consolidated and refocused

by David Stodder

Something always makes me turn back for one final glimpse. The blue ocean filling the horizon; the gray rocks, dark green with seaweed down where the waves crash at steady intervals; the soft green grass running from the edge of the bluff to where my bare feet stand: yes, I must take one last look. Summer is over.

My annual attempt at reading Moby-Dick fell 353 pages short. There's always next year — as long as I can hear the ocean, which is essential to a deep understanding of the whaling nuances Herman Melville felt his readers must know in numbing detail. Frankly, the extensive preparations for whaling voyages make them seem for their time the equivalent of today's space flights. Backed by investors, the ships were typically gone for years. Return on investment did not come quickly — if at all.

But, the Pequod's chase of the Great White Whale will have to gather dust on the bookshelf. My attention returns to strategic business applications and the pursuit of the intelligent enterprise — a quest less maniacal and certainly more capable of delivering sustained value than chasing a rare sperm whale around the globe. This summer, my close reading of Melville's tale fell victim not only to sudden, uncontrollable impulses to doze but also to the distracting news generated by a hyperactive IT industry.

The July heat inspired big fish to swallow little fish, evidenced most recently by Business Objects' acquisition of Crystal Decisions, Hyperion Solutions' of Brio Software, and EMC Corp.'s of Legato Systems Inc. After fighting through an extended period on the defensive, EMC seems to be gaining momentum. Its flagship Symmetrix storage systems are riding out of a technology trough; the company's services group is better organized to fit solutions to what customers in leading vertical industries demand. The Legato acquisition continues EMC's efforts to expand its software portfolio and bring smarter automation to data storage management.

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BI Divergence

"Consolidation" is what comes to mind regarding Business Objects' Crystal acquisition. Business Objects picked up a large customer base and the opportunity to reign as the dominant reporting vendor. Does this mean that the company is choosing a path different from its major competitors, such as Cognos and Hyperion Solutions? These two companies in particular are moving aggressively into industry-vertical performance management. Business Objects clearly has similar interests, but it will be interesting to see how the Crystal move affects the company's direction. Of course, we will be watching how other BI providers respond to a dramatically altered competitive landscape in reporting, too.

Industry changes make our cover story (Neil Raden's analysis of new imperatives facing BI and data warehousing) all the more timely. Seth Grimes discusses the wider impact of homeland security; and Tulu Tanrikorur assesses a practical treatment of identity management, a major security issue for organizations serving a diverse set of users. Before you know it, you'll be more than ready to put away that inflatable sea horse and catch the next wave toward strategic IT success.