This spring, following in the footsteps of Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000, both IBM Corp. and Oracle Corp. announced the integration of online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining functionality into their upcoming enterprise database products. Nearly four years ago, Microsoft Corp. integrated OLAP and data warehousing functionality into the SQL Server product. In August 2000, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 introduced Analysis Services, adding data mining and closed loop analysis to the OLAP functionality that had been introduced with SQL Server 7.0. The result was an out-of-box, easy-to-use tool that enables companies to synthesize huge volumes of information, recognize and predict trends, and make accurate decisions about key business issues. Now the competition has fallen into line with Microsoft´s vision, and imitation is proving to be the sincerest form of flattery.

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