• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, June 16, 2005

In a further indication of consolidation in the analytics industry, online research and auditing company I/PRO Corporation purchased Datanautics, also known as "Accrue," a formerly high-flying Web analytics player. The deal, which was in the works for several months, closed Tuesday. The price was not disclosed.

Accrue once was well-known in the Web analytics world, but crashed during the dot-com bust, shortly after going public. The company was delisted from NASDAQ in 2002, ultimately went bankrupt, and then emerged under the name "Datanautics."

The Accrue platform--used by clients such as Citicorp, A.G. Edwards, T-Systems, and Macy's--relies on packet-sniffing technology. I/PRO, which had mainly employed other technologies, said the acquisition will allow the company to more efficiently report on Web site visitors. "We saw some very enticing pieces of their technology that allow us to actually broaden our focus," said Christopher Butler, I/PRO's chief technology officer.

I/PRO CEO Allan Kaplan added: "The value of the technology to us is that it makes us dramatically more efficient."

The move is one of several recent shake-ups in the Web analytics industry. In March, search giant Google bought analytics company Urchin; late last year, DoubleClick exited the analytics business, shedding SiteAdvance, and instead partnering with Omniture's SiteCatalyst; also last year, Digital River--which manages e-commerce operations for other companies--purchased analytics company Fireclick for $7.5 million.

Jupiter Research analyst Eric Peterson sees the consolidation as healthy. He predicted that in the future, there will likely be less than a dozen analytics companies, down from at least 50 two years ago. "The end game looks like a couple of companies serving the high-end of the market, two to three serving the mid-tier players ... and two to three serving the lower end," he said.

"The analytics market is finally becoming mature," Peterson added. "The world doesn't need 50 analytics companies."