I see your point, but what you are saying is very extreme.
Look no further than Tableau's valuation. The "traditional" BI market is still huge, and if anything, direct SQL-level access benefits a small portion of the entire BI user universe.
I might have taken it to the extreme (always a good discussion kick-starter), but aamof we did try Tableau an a range of other tools, and being a startup that uses data and most if not all of its people are OK with SQL we managed to be a lot more productive and transparent with re:dash.
Look no further than Tableau's valuation. The "traditional" BI market is still huge, and if anything, direct SQL-level access benefits a small portion of the entire BI user universe.