Trends: Business Rules Platforms 2008

Three key trends are driving the market for business rules platforms. First, vendors are bearing down on "authoring" tools and processes that allow businesspeople to directly create and maintain business rules. Second, the independent vendors are adding prebuilt rules applications to drive growth and distinguish themselves from IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, and other platform vendors that now offer business rules. Third, a new wave of market consolidation is beginning as major platform suppliers make their bets on this crucial technology. For application development professionals, these trends will yield better tools for collaboration with businesspeople and a wider range of choices from a stronger roster of vendors.