For some inexplicable reason the whole category of analytics has been allowed to evolve over the years as a discipline that is only a tangent to data management.

You could argue that this separation might lead to the development of best-of-breed analytical tools, but that independent development comes at some cost. As companies put more emphasis on data management, many of them are finding that they want their data management strategies and analytical tools to be very tightly coupled.

A lot of that thinking is what is driving SAS Institute to embark on a new project with Dataflux, an independent subsidiary of SAS that focus on providing a data management platform. The two entities now plan to deliver next year an offering that combines SAS analytical tools with the Dataflux data management platform in 2009 under an effort that the organizations now describe as Project Unity.

It's pretty clear that IBM is heading down a similar path with its recent Information on Demand strategy. And it would not be surprising to see Oracle, Microsoft, SAP and SPSS and a few other vendors follow suit.

There are all kinds of good reasons for this to happen. They include better ability to comply with compliance requirements, better access to data to drive the analytics and, given the current state of the economy, lower costs because customers theoretically will have to deal with fewer vendors.

What it also suggests is that given the complexity of today's business environments, analytical tools are becoming a more strategic part of the business intelligence equation. Delivering reports is no longer enough. Customers expect a return on investment in their business intelligence applications that can be measured in terms of things they learn about their business that they didn't know before. That's a tall order given the disarray that exists today when it comes to data management. But as times get tougher and processes more complex, no one set of human being can keep pace with it. The financial mess on Wall Street today is a prime example.

What that ultimately means is that IT organizations, and by extensions the vendors that support them, are going to pressed very hard to get their collective data management acts together. When chaos ensues, business executives go looking for a scapegoat. And right now it's a little too easy to point the finger at IT for failing to provide that data and the tools that, if properly implemented, might have helped change the current equation.

To be sure, it's not all the fault of the people in charge of data management. There is plenty of blame to go around. What IT people need to start doing today is focusing on how they can help solve the problem, especially before someone feels the need to come looking for a fall guy.