The OLAP online analytical processing tools market grew at rates above 45% in 1998, according to the latest OLAP Report, by Wilton, Connecticut-based research group Business Intelligence – an unexpected acceleration of a market which has seen compound growth rates of 40% over the last few years. The total size of the market in 1999 was just over $2bn, according to the report. Market size will pass $4bn in 2001, even allowing for a tapering off of growth, the company said.
Small suppliers are continuing to enter the market and thrive, despite the recent entry of large players such as IBM Corp and Microsoft Corp, according to Nigel Pendse, lead author of the report. 1998 saw Hyperion Solutions Inc – the result of the merger between Arbor Software Inc and Hyperion Software Inc – take the market lead, with a direct market share revenue of 29%. With reseller sales, its total market share was 34%. Hyperion’s Essbase product showed strong growth through the VAR channel. According to the report, Hyperion is likely to retain its market lead next year, but with a sharply reduced share.
Oracle Corp’s market share slipped from 20.7% to 17% as it became the number two supplier following the Hyperion merger. But even if the merger hadn’t happened, Oracle would have lost its number one slot to Hyperion. Cognos Inc stays in third position with a slightly reduced 9.6% share. Microstrategy Inc is fourth with a 6.4% share, up from 4.5% last time. Comshare Inc, which was the second largest OLAP supplier in 1994 with a 22% share, has slipped every year since and is now down to 4.8%. Last year it had a 7.5% share. Other significant suppliers included Business Objects Inc, Seagate Software Inc, SAS Institute, Information Advantage Inc and Applix Inc, all with market shares below 4.5%.
Microsoft entered the OLAP market at the end of 1998 with SQL Server 7, too late to gain any share in 1998. Its share, however, is likely to be significant in 1999. IBM takes Essbase as an OEM product, and was at one time widely expected to acquire Arbor.
