Analytics and business intelligence (ABI) platforms are characterized by easy-to-use functionality that supports a full analytic workflow — from data preparation to visual exploration and insight generation — with an emphasis on self-service usage and augmented user assistance.

Vendors in the ABI market range from startups backed by venture capital funds to large technology firms. The vast majority of new spending in this market is on cloud deployments, and major cloud platform players are present in the market. In many cases, ABI platforms are entry points for wider sets of cloud data management capabilities offered by these cloud vendors, examples being Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and IBM Cloud Pak for Data.