BI Tops Microsoft Priority List

When it comes to prioritizing battles, Microsoft has a literal field day. Discounting the company's attempt to nuke Sony, Nintendo et al. in games and its Google obsession, two near-term priorities are clear: Business Intelligence and Unified Communications.

How do I know this? Because Microsoft plans entire events around them. The company will host its "first-ever Business Intelligence" confab in Redmond in May with Jeff Raikes and Steve Ballmer slated to keynote, according to Chris Capossela, the Microsoft corporate vice president in charge of Office marekting.

PerformancePoint server, a superset of the existing Business Scorecard Manager, should be gearing up for shipment around that timeframe.

IBM, likewise, claims leadership in this wonderful (if as-yet-mythical) world of Unified Communications.