I had a ball at the TDWI World Conference in San Diego this past week. The sessions were good, the presenters were smart, and the crowd was fun. How fun? I didn't have to buy my own drink once. However I fronted a couple rounds for some rowdy vendors and made some friends in the process.

What was new? Well, I did my usual round of podcasts for my friends at BI Network. I got to know some companies that had been on my radar if not in my rolodex, including Talend, eThority, InforSense, and Zettapoint. None of these is necessarily a household name in the BI space but keep watching. Each has a value prop that's hard to argue with, not to mention their interesting price points and hefty customer lists.

Since Baseline Consulting doesn't re-sell any software products, it's always good to meet new vendors. I have a bit of a backlog of vendors wanting briefings, and it seems to be getting longer as innovation in the BI space accelerates. With apologies to the vendors that didn't make it on the dance card this time round, next time drinks are on me! And since the next conference is in New Orleans, that'll be a no-brainer!

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