Cognos leapfrogs Microsoft

The decision by Cognos to acquire Applix for $339 million signals the big business intelligence (BI) vendor's desire to move into in the mid-market space, says CIO.com.

Applix's online analytical processing (known as OLAP) fills a gap in Cognos' product offerings. Applix's TM1, 64-bit OLAP engine takes large data sets, particularly financial data, and intuitively allows users to enter in complex or unique queries.

"Now [Cognos] leapfrogs Microsoft and Oracle with one of the fastest OLAP technologies on the market," says Boris Evelson, a Forrester analyst.

MicroStrategy will be hosting an 'Open Talk' event on enterprise BI in Melbourne and Sydney on 19 September, according to CRN.com.

Delegates will be able to see first hand how MicroStrategy 8.1 delivers five styles of industrial-strength BI: scorecards and dashboards, reporting, OLAP, advanced analysis, alerts and proactive notification.

This event is aimed at both technical and business users and will include a live demonstration.

Business Objects will be joined by five of its local partners for GITEX Technology Week this year, taking place between 8 and 12 September, explains Arabian Business.

Al Mazroui & Partners, Imtac, Mastermind Technologies, Naizak and Planet Sky will all be present on the Business Objects stand, to promote the vendor's regional channel capabilities.

David Brierley, regional GM for the Middle East, said: "Gitex Dubai plays an important role in our company's success in the Middle East, as it gives us the opportunity to meet existing and potential customers from the entire region."