I, too, have been watching Microsoft's machinations in BI (and BPM) closely, and with much interest. However, I think the company is challenged to deliver truly pervasive BI, as discussed in Joe McKendrick's recent musings, by the same things that challenge Microsoft's still-evolving, still-muddled online/software-as-a-service (SaaS) strategy.
Those challenging things? Microsoft's "jewels in the crown." Windows and Office (including Exchange), at least in their traditional "bits on disks" forms.
I think Cognos, which announced just today BI offerings configured as an appliance and as SaaS, may be a better example of how BI is likely to pervade business architectures, infrastructures, and users. As reported by ebizQ here, Cognos has announced a new BI appliance, as well as BI as a service available for users of Salesforce.com's SaaS solution for customer relationship management (CRM). Both the BI appliance and BI as SaaS represent ways of insinuating BI into the normal workflow of most users, without their direct involvement or knowledge.
As long as little to no changes are necessary to the way users do things, all the things they do can ultimately be analyzed in ways that feed BI efforts. In fact, pervasive, invisible capture of how users do what they do, and with what tools, is the best way to achieve the level of knowledge necessary to generate maximum business value from BI and/or BPM efforts. Appliances and SaaS may be the best approaches toward this goal at many businesses.
I fear that Microsoft may take an approach to BI and/or BPM support with its aforementioned crown jewels that force IT decision-makers into choices they'd rather avoid. Just as an example, it is all but impossible to extend the power of Microsoft Active Directory's management of responsibilities, restrictions, rights, roles, and rules to non-Windows users, without a third-party offering such as those from Centrify and Quest Software. As another example, Microsoft is in the process of revamping its Dynamics applications line – another potential place for the company to park or hide BI/BPM features. However, Microsoft is making some of these applications available traditionally, or as hosted services from Microsoft partners, or as hosted services from Microsoft itself. (You can read more about this sticky situation in my "BPM in Action" blog.)
Confusing? You bet. And it seems likely that Microsoft will face similar challenges with BI and BPM – and that those challenges will bedevil Microsoft customers, developers, and partners as well. It will be, as we analysts often opine prematurely, interesting to see if Microsoft can BI/BPM-enable its crown jewels in ways that generate revenue for Microsoft and straightforward business benefit for its customers and partners. I am hopeful, but not riotously optimistic, at least not yet. What about you?
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