Key Analyst Reports

  • Article

Just seen this blog posting from Bruce Rasmussen who found this great blog summarising recent analysts reports which ultimately links here.

Some of the really interesting ones for me include:

  • IDE Usage Trends (Forrester Research, Feb 12, 2008, .pdf file, 560 kb) This Forrester report examines IDE usage trends via a survey of more than 700 application development professionals who are actively involved in .NET or Java development. Results of the survey shows that Microsoft Visual Studio is a leading integrated development environment (IDE) in the market today, with nearly one half of all respondents noting that Microsoft is their primary IDE provider. Among .NET developers in particular, Microsoft Visual Studio is the primary IDE of choice, with 97% usage – “nearly a clean sweep.”
  • Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms, 2008 (Gartner, February 1, 2008) Gartner positions Microsoft in Leaders Quadrant in the 2008 Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence Platforms.
  • Microsoft Pushes Virtualization Frontier (Enterprise Management Associates, February 2008, .pdf file, 182 kb) This impact brief covers recent announcements by Microsoft around its virtualization strategy. In particular, this paper discusses the acquisition of Calista Technology and a recently-announced expanded partnership with Citrix. This paper includes a brief introduction to current virtualization challenges and concludes with Enterprise Management Associates’ (EMA’s) favorable perspective on the announcements and Microsoft’s strategic virtualization vision.
  • Magic Quadrant for Software Change and Configuration Management for Distributed Platforms, 2008 (Gartner, Inc., January 23, 2008) This vendor evaluation looks at the Software Change and Configuration Management (SCCM) market. Gartner states that “the control of code configuration and the changes made to it are key to successful development” and “this sector has seen substantial activity during the past several years.”
  • SharePoint Redefines Document Management (Forrester Research, Jan. 3, 2008, .pdf, file 115 kb) This independent Forrester survey examines buying trends in team collaboration software and document management. Based on a survey of 216 decision makers at North American and European enterprises, Forrester found many organizations will invest in Microsoft for their ECM solution in 2008.
  • Magic Quadrant for Integrated SOA Governance Technology Sets, 2007 (Gartner, Inc., December 31, 2007) This Gartner Magic Quadrant by L. Frank Kenney and Daryl C. Plummer evaluates those vendors in the Integrated SOA Governance market focused on supporting heterogeneous environments. Gartner positions Microsoft in the Challengers quadrant.
  • SOA: The State of the Market (AMR Research, Dec. 18, 2007, .pdf , 705 kb) In this market roundup, AMR defines the structure of the SOA market, identifies the most influential players, and makes some predictions about the future. “The mega-vendors, Microsoft, IBM, SAP, and Oracle, are exploiting their deep pockets to build broad product suites. They also use their powerful relationships with customers to actively direct the market.”
  • Microsoft: Software Development and Delivery Has Never Had It So Good (Ovum, Oct. 31, 2007, .pdf, 200kb) This Ovum report discusses Microsoft’s role in the recent industry focus on the software development and delivery process, especially in relation to successfully managing the wider and more strategic application lifecycle. Ovum writes that “the last 24 months for Microsoft have been a period of strategic activity with no uncertain amount of innovation, the launch of new product strategies, new product releases, unnerving key competitors in important markets, and better clarity in the company’s future direction.”
  • The Impact of Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 in CPM (Gartner, October 25, 2007) In this report Gartner evaluates Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007.
  • Magic Quadrant for Data Warehouse Database Management Systems, 2007 (Gartner, Oct. 10, 2007) Microsoft is positioned in the leader’s quadrant for Magic Quadrant for Data Warehouse Database Management Systems, 2007.
  • Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management, 2007 (Gartner, September 21, 2007): This Gartner Magic Quadrant by Karen Shegda evaluates leading vendors in the Enterprise Content Management market which includes web content management, records management, document imaging, document management, workflow and document-centric collaboration. Gartner positions Microsoft in the Visionaries quadrant.
  • What’s the Point of SharePoint? (IBRS, August 2007, .doc, 547 kb) With business units and end users calling for, if not demanding, IT managers to deploy Microsoft SharePoint, IBRS explores the product’s many functions and how organizations can implement them effectively by educating stakeholders, setting proper expectations and making sure the right skills are deployed internally.
  • Microsoft Securing the Future of .NET in Asia Pacific (Longhaus, June 1, 2007, .pdf) With the recent release of the SoftwareAP.net initiative in conjunction with Intel, Red Herring, Group Intelligence and Asia Venture Capital Journal, Microsoft is aiming to take the lead in incubating emerging independent software vendors (ISVs) across Asia Pacific. Previous .NET initiatives, such as Victoria.net, have offered application developers training and a market for the commercial purchase of their technologies. In contrast, this latest incarnation offers advice and partnering with VC’s and regional governments. As Asia Pacific continues to develop as a service dominated market, Longhaus undertook to evaluate this latest effort towards the development of a local software economy.
  • Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 Coming Soon to a Desktop Near You (Gartner, June 1, 2007) Gartner evaluates Microsoft’s entry into the CPM suites market with Office PerformancePoint Server 2007.
  • Magic Quadrant for Application Infrastructure For New Service Oriented Business Application Projects, 2Q07 (Gartner, May 31, 2007): This Gartner Magic Quadrant by Yefim Natis evaluates those vendors within the Application Infrastructure market who proved the end-to-end enabling technology for building new service-oriented business applications. Gartner positions Microsoft in the Challengers quadrant. According to Gartner, “Challengers excel in their ability to attract large user following, but owe that ability to a relatively narrower focus on a particular usage pattern or user type.”
  • Forrester Wave: Software Change and Configuration Management, Q2 2007 (Forrester Research, Inc., May 23, 2007, .pdf, 564 kb) Microsoft was rated a Strong Performer in this Forrester Wave. Forrester analyst, Carey Schwaber, noted that while “Team Foundation Server is just a year old, it’s mature beyond its years” and “ready for prime time.” Additionally, she highlighted that “Microsoft’s strategy of focusing on the platform while letting the community develop add-ons like process editors and form editors has paid off handsomely.”
  • SPLA - blah, blah, blah? (Ovum, Nov. 2006, .pdf, 44K) This report is a result of announcements made at Convergence EMEA 2006 about Microsoft’s extension of its Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA) to the Microsoft Dynamics ERP solutions, which allows partners to pay for the licenses they use on a monthly basis. According to David Mitchell, this radically improves the cost model for Microsoft partners offering software as a service (SaaS), either as a standalone offering or embedded in a wider business offering, such as managed services, BPO or newly created products and services. In this report David Mitchell examines the announcements and the positive impact it will have in the market.
  • Microsoft SQL Server Runs the Security Table (Enterprise Strategy Group, Nov. 2006, .pdf, 78K) This recent Enterprise Strategy Group research note compares the security of Microsoft’s SQL Server to industry competitors. “ESG considers Microsoft, with proper execution, to be years ahead of Oracle and MySQL in producing secure and reliable database products.”
  • The Forrester Wave: BI Reporting and Analysis Platforms, Q1 2006 (Forrester Research, Feb. 8, 2006, .pdf, 410K). Forrester evaluated 10 leading business intelligence (BI), database, and application vendors across 92 criteria.