PerformancePoint Merged with Sharepoint

http://www.microsoft.com/business/performancepoint/

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/jan09/01-27KurtDelbeneQA.mspx

Based on customer feedback, Microsoft is moving the scorecard, dashboard, and analytic functionality from Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server into Office SharePoint Server Enterprise, making these highly valuable capabilities available throughout the organization at a lower total cost of ownership. As of April 1, 2009, PerformancePoint Server 2007 will no longer be available for purchase. During mid 2009, Microsoft will release PerformancePoint Server 2007 "Service Pack 3" which will include updates to the current product's Planning module.

Analyst Reports:

IDC: Another Step Toward Pervasive Business Intelligence: Microsoft Realigns BI Product Portfolio and Its Internal Organization
"The closer alignment of these technologies positions Microsoft well to take advantage of the current broad trend for more pervasive availability of BI and related solutions." - Dan Vesset, IDC

AMR: Microsoft Repackages BI and PM Products to Further Promote Mass Adoption
"This decision, which was not wholly unanticipated, streamlines Microsoft’s BI story and uses its trinity of beachhead products—MOSS, Excel, and SQL Server—as the vehicles to cost effectively bring business intelligence to the masses…The closer alignment of these technologies positions Microsoft well to take advantage of the current broad trend for more pervasive availability of BI and related solutions." - John Hagerty, AMR Research

Press:

Gartner: Microsoft Shifts Strategy on PerformancePoint Server
Gartner evaluates Microsoft’s recent BI strategy shift.

Intelligent Enterprise - Microsoft’s Big Change on Performance Management (and BI)
"Cost of ownership goes well beyond licensing costs. But indeed licensing is the most notable out-of-pocket expense,
and Microsoft's approach to seeding the market has clearly been a successful strategy. In today's economy, it's a great move by Microsoft." – Cindi Howson

CRN: Microsoft Adds Muscle to SharePoint Server
"Microsoft made the right move by eliminating a separate SKU and adding more functionality to SharePoint. Many customers are looking to leverage critical business information in a more consolidated and cohesive way, and PerformancePoint dashboards are finding their way into basic SharePoint applications for management." - Ken Winell, CEO of ExpertCollab

SQL Magazine: Game Changing Announcement for Microsoft BI
"The impact of this announcement for the BI market in 2009 is vast. Consider each and every SharePoint Enterprise Edition customer as a first-order PerformancePoint monitoring and analytics customer. This ties right back to the strategy of encouraging customers to use the software they own, with their data to create value." - Barry Ralston

Computerworld: Microsoft folds PerformancePoint Server into SharePoint
"We thought there was a much better way to achieve our goal of 'BI for the masses,' which is to make these features a seamless part of how they already work with SharePoint, SQL Server or Excel." – Kristina Kerr