But as a startup, the company faced a tough competitive environment, competing both with large players like Teradata as well as a range of smaller companies, such as Netezza, as well as a severe downturn in the venture capital market. It secured US$16 million in Series B financing in November 2007.

Dataupia's technology may prove enticing to certain buyers, both for its agnostic approach to database support, as well as its MPP (massively parallel processing) capabilities, which allow for large-scale deployments, Forrester Research analyst James Kobielus said via e-mail.

Data warehousing vendors who lack MPP capabilities and would therefore benefit from Dataupia's IP include SAP, which has taken a similarly open approach to database support with its Business Information Warehouse product, he said.

A potential smaller suitor for Dataupia may be its partner, Kalido, since it lacks a "turnkey" appliance offering and has been focusing on areas like modeling tools for existing data warehouse environments, Kobielus said.

SAP declined comment.