This IDC study shows that the rapid growth and evolution of the data warehousing (DW) software market is a testimony of the importance that organizations place on systems designed for accessing and analyzing data rather than for capturing transactions. Combined with an increasing variety of solution requirements, this has amplified the community of data warehouse solution providers. A number of new and broader data warehouse appliance providers have entered the stage, changing the price/performance dynamics for DW solutions. This study profiles a selection of niche DW vendors, which IDC categories as a group of contenders that are prospective challengers to the incumbent leaders in the Asia/Pacific market.

"A broader range of technology suppliers and the increased competition will shift the bargaining power to end users. Fierce competition is likely to lead to an industry shakeout with increased mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activities. On the other hand, it will further drive technology enhancements and the backward and forward integration with complementary technologies such as business analytics and data integration tools," says Ullrich Loeffler, program manager, Software, IDC Australia and New Zealand.