Once, dazzling visualisation coupled with data discovery for line of business users was enough to get Qlik, Tableau into the enterprise. Continued disappointment at real return on investment turns the spotlight on BI and Analytics. See "Damning analysis of Analytics".

BI and Analytics is a competitive hothouse now with ISVs and SaaS Solution Providers embedding world-class analytics in their products. Digital transformation embraces new online platforms with embedded analytics. 

This all means free-standing analytics and BI apps are competing for a shrinking share of available budget and consolidation is the outcome.

"With private equity firms and big software vendors prowling the sidelines looking for value, BI and analytics vendors are being swooped up and reconstituted to serve a variety of purposes. Gone are the days when every BI vendor chased an initial public offering; now there are many ways to reap the rewards of innovation and hard work." 

Wayne Eckerson LinkedIn February 24th 2017