Why Choose SaaS Business Intelligence Over Traditional Business Intelligence

Software as a Service, commonly called SaaS, is becoming more and more popular as a viable Business Intelligence option.  There are many reasons to choose this type of shared infrastructure solution.  Let’s take a look at why a company might choose SaaS Business Intelligence over traditional Business Intelligence software.

SaaS Business Intelligence does not require a huge, front-end monetary investment.  SaaS business intelligence is set up to work on a shared infrastructure and the cost of using this type of Business Intelligence and data warehousing is billed on a per-use basis, rather than on a user-based, licensing fee system.  This fact alone can save companies literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees alone.  Because of this, SaaS is a wonderful solution for smaller to mid-sized companies who do not have complicated IT departments that can handle the implementation of a complicated Business Intelligence system, nor the large, up-front investment. Vendors like 1010data, Kognitio and SAP, specialize in SaaS Business Intelligence.  Because these companies host their own data warehouses, organizations also do not have to shoulder the cost of a hardware investment.

The overall value proposition of SaaS over traditional Business Intelligence is analytics and data warehousing can be combined into a seamless integration with little hassle for companies.  Not only do companies such as 1010data host the analytics on their infrastructure, but they also maintain, manage, and collect the data from their clients.  Clients have the assurance that someone else is doing the hard work of taking care of their Business Intelligence system.  If a problem should arise with a malfunction in hardware or software, the hosting company is responsible for that.  In traditional Business Intelligence, the burden for the cost of software or hardware repair would be on the organization itself.

Another area why you should consider SaaS over traditional Business Intelligence is because of the ease of use.  With SaaS Business Intelligence, the client simply sends all the data to be analyzed to the vendor.  The vendor will then merge any disparate data sources, maintain the new database, and completely integrate the data.  When the client needs a report, it can be accessed through the Web. Customers get web-based ad hoc query abilities and formalized reporting capability as they wish.  In fact, with many SaaS programs, end-users can manipulate their own data, getting the reports with the parameters they need quickly.

SaaS has an additional benefit over traditional Business Intelligence technology in that it takes less time to set up a SaaS system than a traditional Business Intelligence system.  There is no on-site involvement, and no complicated hardware or software that has to be managed by a team of on-site consultants, and no physical space required.  In this respect, SaaS systems are ideal for virtual companies who need access to data on-the-go.

Because there is no hardware investment, SaaS platforms provide flexibility for an organization.  If the relationship between company and vendor doesn’t work out, the company can walk away and use another vendor if needed, or begin the traditional Business Intelligence process.  In this respect, SaaS reduces risk to companies because they have the ability to walk away with little loss.

There are many reasons that SaaS technology is a ideal choice for companies instead of traditional Business Intelligence.  Decreased cost, less risk and web-based access to reporting are all reasons that SaaS has an important part to play in the Business Intelligence industry.