BI-Related Employment To Triple At Large Firms, Gartner SaysBI-Related Employment To Triple At Large Firms, Gartner Says

Large businesses will need three times as many business intelligence personnel in 2008 as they did in 2004, according to projections released this week from research firm Gartner Inc.

Gartner released the employment forecast as part of a new study on BI-related spending. A survey from the firm found that 39 percent of North American respondents expect to increase spending on business intelligence this year, while another 34 percent plan to spend the same amount this year as they did last year. Gartner's survey canvassed 917 business and IT respondents from several industries in North America, Europe and Asia.

Spending increases will be greatest among businesses that have already deployed BI applications, Gartner said. Among industries, high-tech and telecom companies most expect to boost spending, while retailers anticipate a drop in BI spending.

Gartner said corporate performance management (CPM) will be the area of business intelligence that gets the most attention from companies. Gartner defines CPM as financially oriented business intelligence applications for executives. CPM, which is often used interchangeably with the term "business performance management" (BPM), is defined variously by vendors, researchers and other entities.

A lack of user skills and knowledge of best practices form the most important barrier to business deployment, Gartner said. Concern about total cost of ownership (TCO) is another hurdle.

"Lack of skills and TCO are related because projects that require a lot of trial and error are more costly," Gartner fellow and vice president Howard Dresner said in a prepared statement. "High TCO is a barrier particularly in Asia, and for those who deploy business intelligence for the first time. In Japan, nearly half of the respondents said that difficulty in learning to use business intelligence hampers its adoption."

Gartner shared its findings and projections as part of a business intelligence summit the firm held in Chicago this week.