Just how much can we really sustain?

In my role as an independent (in truth the only independent) advisor in the Performance Management / Business Intelligence market, I keep tabs on numerous Vendors, both long established and also newly created. In fact there are now so many that I can hardly keep up with new versions constantly released, new platforms and databases supported, new functionality added, new modules created, new add-ins.

As an exmaple, just which Vendors offer support for plug-ins to MS Office products, and more specifically which MS Office components and which versions are supported? The matrix of who supports what can really be mind-blowing!

BPM Partners is currently in the midst of compiling our annual BPM Buyers guide - the number of Vendors listed is now at a staggering 100+. For last years listing go to: http://www.bpmpartners.com/bpmcentral_articles.shtml

So where does it end? Just how many can this world sustain, and more importantly just how many can we sustain here in Australia? After all, our economy is really not all that big, is it? How many corporations are there out there that can buy BPM/BI products? Is it several thousand? Is it several hundred? And please, please tell me how they can possibly stack so many options up against each other without spiralling into a bottomless pit of confusion?

I'd like to hear your comments on this.