MicroStrategy goes big on BI and Bitcoin as rebranding drops ‘Micro’

The rebranding of business intelligence (BI) platform vendor MicroStrategy that will see the firm aggressively plug Bitcoin comes with significant risks as a result of the digital currency’s “volatility and the regulatory uncertainties surround the cryptocurrency market,”  an industry analyst said Thursday.

The organization will now be known as Strategy, and, according to a release, as well as focusing on BI, it will also be “the world’s first and largest Bitcoin Treasury Company.” In addition, it introduced a new logo that “includes a stylized ‘B,’ signifying the company’s Bitcoin strategy,” as well as a new merchandise store.

Melody Brue, vice president and principal analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy, said, “the rebranding reflects the company’s commitment to integrating Bitcoin as a core aspect of its identity and future direction, shifting the company from a purely software-focused entity into a hybrid investment vehicle combining software and Bitcoin.”

This transition, she said, “signals a dedication to staying at the forefront of online finance, which has the potential for high rewards. At the same time, cryptocurrency can be seen as risky and/or a distraction to the company’s current customers.”

Brue noted, however, “that the company appears to be reinvesting in its BI software and AI technology in that respect. If this strategy proves successful for the company, it could potentially lead to the establishment of multiple entities or divisions. There is a possibility that it could evolve into a banking institution, in which case the software operations might be managed separately. That’s a much longer-term play, of course, and this could be a step in that direction.”

Strategy said in the release that “this brand simplification is a natural evolution of the company.”

Boris Evelson, VP principal analyst at Forrester Research, said that while he was unable to comment on the Bitcoin component of the rebrand, “what I can share with you is that MicroStrategy remains a key player in the enterprise business intelligence (BI) and analytics market.”

Like other leading vendors in the space, he said, “[it] recently upgraded its product suite with generative AI capabilities. As a matter of fact, one of MicroStrategy’s key strengths since its founding 30+ years ago  — a comprehensive semantic layer (a layer that sits between data and applications) — has become significantly more important in the age of generative AI. Why? ‘Talking to data’ — one of generative AI key capabilities — requires a comprehensive enterprise grade semantic layer to ensure accuracy. This is what we in the industry call a single version of the truth or a trusted source of data.”

According to Evelson, “even prior to its strategic investment in Bitcoin, MicroStrategy was noodling on rebranding. Even though the company has been investing heavily in modernization, some clients and prospects still associate the name MicroStrategy with ‘legacy’ technology, since it’s been around since 1989, as compared to ‘newer’ tools like Tableau (even though Tableau is now also more than 20 years old).”

Last month, the company announced the latest release of MicroStrategy One, which, it said, “helps enterprises gain rapid value from genAI by personalizing the AI experience for each user,” through its AutoAI bot. Individual users, a release stated at the time, “can now provide direct feedback that Auto will use to tailor future responses for that user.”  

A recent Magic Quadrant analysis from Gartner stated that Auto “harnesses the power of AI to deliver significant value across user roles. With features like Auto SQL for experts, Auto Dashboard for analysts, and Auto Answers for all, MicroStrategy empowers users with intelligent automation capabilities. Auto can be deployed as a stand-alone databot enabling integration into portals and applications, as well as access through HyperIntelligence and Mobile, ensuring widespread availability of bot-powered data insights, even without a traditional dashboard.”