The problem for the DW appliance vendors is that this market is becoming crowded. Not only are there new entrants like Datallegro, Dataupia and Paraccel, for example (company names don't get any easier do they!), but also system vendors such as IBM and HP are waking up to the fact that the appliance vendors are starting to erode some of their market share, and are now fighting back with one package and one install solutions.

While interviewing DW appliance customers for the study Richard Hackathorn and I are doing on DW appliances, one user remarked, "We don't use the term appliance, we just see it as a big computer." The bottom line here is that the vendor that produces a "big computer" for data warehousing with the best TCO, most flexibility, and best price is going to be the winner!