In today's hyper-competitive and global business environment, executives are under more pressure than ever to generate results for their stakeholders, and in order to do so, require the ability to collect and react to information about their businesses in the best ways possible. However, the explosion in available data has created both challenges and opportunities, and as a result, this $18-billion market is very dynamic. BI and analytics technologies are seeing several significant and disruptive trends that are creating new leaders in the space, as well as re-thought strategies and products from many of the large incumbents. This piece discusses trends and drivers in the market, takes a look at IPO, M&A and private placement activity, and includes a representative listing of vendors in the ecosystem.