The ecosystem around Microsoft Azure Analytics is growing fast – service partners and software vendors are adopting the platform to offer added value in add-on software solutions and services.

bi-survey.com has launched an innovative market overview with the clear goal of offering our visitors the fastest and most intelligent way to browse through the Azure Analytics ecosystem and find added value as well as the right partner for their initiatives.

AzureAnalyticsMap is based on a concept which has been rolled out in parallel for the Power BI ecosystem in the last weeks on www.powerbimap.com. Looking at that website will give you a good impression how AzureAnalyticsMap will look like.

For vendors and consultancies: If you are active around Azure Analytics and offer consulting, training, other services or a software solution directly integrated in Azure Analytics products or a software solution that leverages the platform, you should be included in our market overview (official partner status at Microsoft is not required).

Your entry is free of charge!

Please fill out our questionnaire and register at:
http://bi-survey.com/map-questionnaire

Q&A for vendors

What is the difference between the Azue Analytics browser and the Azure Analytics Map?

The Azure Analytics browser is an interactive tool offered on the website and includes ALL participants of the Azure Analytics ecosystem. It allows visitors to select, browse, sort and search intuitively by vendor, product and success story. The data in the browser is collected top-down from different sources and combined with data from the questionnaire completed by the vendors themselves. BARC only corrects obviously false or misleading information.

The AzureAnalyticsMap is a static PDF, showing the analysts’ view of the ecosystem – at a certain point of time for a certain region. It integrates the most important and most visible vendors based on analyst research. The team defining the maps comprises experts from different markets across the world including the United States, Europe, Middle East and Asia. The maps are updated on a regular basis throughout the year for different regions. To see what a map will look like please look at the powerbimap for the German speaking countries as a comparable sample at https://bi-survey.com/powerbimap-2020dachmap

How often is the website updated?

We update the Azure Analytics browser (software, service partners, success story) as well as the webinar database every 2 weeks. That means it can take a few days until your entries will be visible. If you already have an entry and you want to change or extend that, e.g. with a new product or additional content, feel free to do that any time.

Which content is regional in a regional edition of the map?

Generally, the left part of the map with the solutions is global, while the right part with the service partners is local and changes almost completely for each regional edition of the map. That means if you are part of the solutions, you will be included in other regional editions without any need for additional registration. Some exceptions might apply (e.g., for software solutions only available in a particular language or supporting a local need, such as local financial standards).

Why should I fill out the questionnaire?

Depending on your market visibility, you might be included in the Azure Analytics browser and maps even without actively completing the questionnaire. Nevertheless, the questionnaire allows you to add important information. For example, you can provide a more precise definition of what you offer as well as additional metadata such as the countries/regions where you offer your services, screenshots of your products and success stories for consultancies. The questionnaire ensures that we know which market segments you want to position yourself in. This additional information increases the probability that visitors to the site will find you when searching for a solution provider or add-on for Power BI. Additionally, you can promote your webinars for free.

What does the website offer?

The website consists of three innovative browser objects: Solutions, Service Partners and Success Stories. Depending on the data you provide, you will be visible in one, two or all three browser objects. Additionally, the website includes a (non-technical) blog about market developments in the Azure Analytics ecosystem and an overview of webinars around the platform as well as some helpful links. Within the questionnaire, you will find a form to add and promote your webinars and success stories.

How is the product (solution) browser structured?
The main categories are data management, development tools, functional or vertical solutions and others. In addition to selecting a main category, please select the Azure Analytics products your add-on solution works with.

Power BI add-ons have a different structure consisting of Visuals, Dashboards, Apps, Data Management and Connectors.

How is the Service Partner object structured?
The Service Partner browser allows you to sort, select and search consulting vendors by multiple criteria such as country (home country as well as countries in which services are delivered), service offering, further Microsoft competencies, other BI products supported and many more.

How is the Success Story browser structured?
The Success Story library allows visitors to search customer stories by name, country, industry and region as well as value driver and functional department.

What are the criteria for being included in the Azure Analytics browser?

Any software vendor or consultancy that offers products and services around Azure Analytics products like e.g. Synapse is welcome to add their profile. An official partnership status with Microsoft is not required. BARC reserves the right to exclude vendors that provide misleading or false information.

What are the criteria for being included in the Maps (condensed analysts’ view)?

The main criteria for software add-ons are status at Microsoft (Certification, Co-selling), innovation and quality of the product, depth of Microsoft integration and market visibility (presence in marketing, partnerships, #of customers, #of success stories). For service partners, the criteria are status at Microsoft (especially Data Platform and Data Analytics certification), #of success stories, market visibility (presence in marketing, speaker engagements, community engagements) and special expertise.

What if I want to add my profile for “powerbimap” also?

The questionnaire for AzureAnalyticsMap and powerbimap is identical. If you add Power BI to your competencies or supported products or add success stories including Power BI as a part of the solution, you will be automatically added in www.powerbimap.com also. If you already have added a profile for the powerbimap in the past, you can extend your existing profile in the questionnaire in order to be added to the AzureAnalyticsMap.

What happens with my data?

The data you provide will only be used for the browser and will not be sold to or shared with any third party. The servers on which the data is stored are based in Europe. BARC GmbH – established in 1999 and headquartered in Germany – is the leading European BI analyst company and follows the strong European data privacy regulations.

How is the AzureAnalyticsMap funded?

The initial phase of the project was funded by 9 sponsors as well as by our enthusiasm for the fast-moving BI and reporting market. Later Microsoft decided to support us with a major sponsorship. Different sponsorships for vendors and service partners are available.

Nevertheless, your entry in is completely independent from sponsorship activities. The project is based on the strong principle of showing a complete and unbiased picture of the Azure Analytics ecosystem.

Who is behind the project?

This is an initiative of BARC, the best-known BI software market analyst in Europe. Each year, BARC publishes “The BI & Analytics Survey”, the largest independent survey on the use of BI systems worldwide (formerly known as “The BI Survey”). The 2020 edition will mark its 20th anniversary. Stefan Sexl, chief editor, is a fellow of the BARC Institute and former co-founder of one of the major European Microsoft BI consultancies. Additionally, a network of experts around the world with long-time experience in the Microsoft BI market space will be providing their expertise.

For North America – the largest software market in the world (and the market with the highest number of Power BI partners) – we are honored to welcome Donald Farmer, former “face of Microsoft BI” in Redmond, as our partner and main contributor for the future development of the project.

Does the project have an official status at Microsoft?

No, this is an independent activity, although Microsoft is one main sponsor. That is why vendors without official partner status can also be included. We see ourselves as a platform that adds significant value to the ecosystem and consider it as complementary to the market overviews provided directly by Microsoft.

Can I become a sponsor of the AzureAnalyticsMap?

Yes, we offer various sponsorship options. These currently include main sponsorship for the website as well as sponsorships for the regional editions and banner ads with further options to come. Please contact Isabella Schlereth at ischlereth@barc.de or call +49-931-8806510 for more details.

Feel free to contact azureanalyticsmap@bi-survey.com if you have any further questions.

Donald Farmer powerBImap North America Linkedin	Stefan Sexl powerBImap Europe Linkedin	Norman Manley powerBImap Benelux Linkedin