Spending on BI and related apps up 13.4 per cent in 2010

Revenue growth is as much a function of vendor push as demand pull, says Gartner

Global spend on business intelligence (BI), analytics and performance management (PM) software reached $10.5bn (£6.4bn) in 2010, a 13.4 per cent increase on 2009 ($9.3bn), according to a report from research firm Gartner.

The report, called Market Share Analysis: Business Intelligence, Analytics and Performance Management Software, Worldwide, 2010, argued that the growth was the result of stimulus packages, improvement in the macro-economy and new product releases.

Dan Sommer, principal research analyst at Gartner, said: "BI spending has far surpassed IT budget growth overall for several years, and it is clear that it continues to be a technology at the centre of information-driven initiatives in organisations.

"Vendors aggressively market their capabilities in this area, meaning revenue growth is as much a function of vendor push as demand pull," he added.

The market overall is consolidating, with the four large "stack" vendors SAP, Oracle, IBM and Microsoft accounting for 59 per cent of the market.

In the BI platform and performance management suite segments, they hold close to two-thirds market share, while in analytic applications, SAS dominates the market.

As was the case last year, SAP remained the market leader with 23 per cent of the market followed by Oracle, SAS, IBM and Microsoft.