Here are IDC's top ten predictions for information access software and solutions (which include business intelligence, search and retrieval, text mining, content management, compliance, and data warehousing software):

1. Demand for access to information anywhere, anytime, from any device will spur development of products that can automatically recognize devices and format information and deliver it securely to users, no matter their location or device.

2. Business intelligence applications and business process automation will merge to become intelligent process automation.

3. Applications for search/discovery and business intelligence will begin to offer overlapping capabilities.

4. Information access products will begin to converge into information management and access platforms that provide the information infrastructure for the emerging enterprise workplace.

5. A new wave of investment in business intelligence applications will appear as demand grows for "BI for the masses," requiring more scalable applications with easier-to-use interfaces.

6. Fourth-generation search will arrive in 2006, with advanced language analysis tools and capabilities that threaten both the current generation of enterprise search platforms and the data warehouse/OLAP market. 

7. "Content management lite" applications will proliferate to manage scattered information on file servers and desktops.

8. Sarbanes-Oxley initiatives will morph into broader enterprise risk management, driving the need for a platform that includes content management, process automation, records management and retention, and search technologies.

9. Large software vendors will enter the information access markets to take advantage of services opportunities and maintain their customer relationships.

10. Consumer information access tools and techniques will filter into the business markets as consumers who are also information workers demand easier-to-use tools that enable them to find, analyze, collaborate on, and distribute information.

(Business Wire, 3/20/06)