The global market for business intelligence, analytics and corporate performance management grew by 13.4% in 2010 to reach $10.5 billion, according to IT industry analysts Gartner.

Analyst Dan Sommer remarked that the growth reflected uptake of an "information-driven" approach to management and strategy. "“It is clear that BI continues to be a technology at the center of information-driven initiatives in organizations," he said.

But Sommer also acknowledged that it also reflects the emphasis the software industry has placed on BI in recent times, (arguably because the applications market has become so saturated). "Vendors aggressively market their capabilities in this area, so revenue growth is as much a function of vendor push as a demand pull.”

The market share breakdown was relatively unchanged from 2009, Gartner found. SAP held the lead (thanks to its 2007 acquisition of Business Objects) with a 22.9% share, followed by Oracle (15.6%) and the SAS Institute (13.2%). IBM, which has made analytics the focus of its recent marketing thrust and has acquired a number of companies in the space, came in fourth with an 11.6% share.
Source: Gartner