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The BI market has seen a lot of press this year, as part of a broader movement toward closer collaboration between business and IT departments. Back in February, IDC predicted the SaaS BI market would grow over 20% each year through 2013. It’s no surprise, then, that BI vendors are expanding their SaaS presence.

A recent report from the Aberdeen group concluded that the integration of SaaS BI increases use among employees, specifically self-service users, when compared to on premise business intelligence tools. The report looked closely at San Francisco accessory retailer Timbuk2, who used SaaS BI from PivotLink. According to the report, SaaS BI attracted more users across the enterprise, saved money, and encouraged business agility.

Business Intelligence service provider GoodData this August announced the availability of its GoodData Snap in the SnapLogic SnapStore, allowing users to integrate GoodData services within SnapLogic’s data integration platform. The GoodData tool helps users create dashboards, perform operational reporting, and conduct analysis. GoodData promises “data to dashboard in a week.”

Also in August, BI services provider Information Control Corporation (ICC) announced a partnership with Business Intelligence SaaS provider Bi3. A reseller, ICC will recommend Bi3 to its clients. The Bi3 SaaS offering features integration of BI and Business Process Management (BPM) tools.

In the same month, Bilander released version 2.0 of Binocle, its business intelligence Software-as-a-Service. The aim of the product is “to put business users in the driver’s seat,” according to the release. Binocle offers integration with Microsoft Office products, as well as Salesforce.com CRM, MS-CRM, and vTiger.

In any company, the IT department increasingly holds the tools for smart business decisions while the business department holds the expertise. Business and IT departments are thus working closer together than ever before, and a SaaS BI service can help bridge the gap between the two. As recent surveys show, and as tools like the GoodData Snap and Bilander’s Binocle suggest, Business Intelligence is on the rise. That’s because BI can make data and data analysis more accessible to business users through easier collaboration over the Web and by facilitating the creation of easy-to-use dashboards and visualizations.

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SaaS BI integration resources

SaaS BI Continues to Draw Interest, Traction (Enterprise Systems)
SaaS BI provider Birst conducted a survey to gauge interest level and concerns about prospective users of SaaS BI. The results are not surprising: Many respondents said that complexity of integration was one of their top concerns.

BI SaaS Vendors Are Not Created Equal (Information Management)
Blogger Boris Evelson takes a look at the different capabilities BI vendors offer. The leading BI tool remains, perhaps surprisingly, Microsoft Excel. But today’s pure BI offerings are capable of much more, and Evelson creates a helpful checklist for determining which vendor is right for you. BI integration services are an important consideration, Evelson writes.

SaaS BI Vendor LucidEra Set to Fold (CIO)
Find out why LucidEra was unable to hang on in the competitive SaaS BI market. The article suggests that LucidEra was too expensive for small companies and lacked capability for large ones. The article also suggests that integration issues can be a hindrance to BI implementation. It may be that integration challenges were part of the problem.

SaaS BI growing (ebizQ)
Blogger David Linthicum takes a look at expectations for the growing SaaS BI market. While he’s not as enthusiastic as others, he acknowledges that SaaS BI is particularly useful in enterprise mashups and in the front office.

SaaS business intelligence (BI) software, technology and market guide (SearchBusinessAnalytics)
This special report on SaaS BI takes a look at recent news, market trends, and tips related to SaaS BI, including a special section on SaaS BI integration. That this section is titled “IT Darwinism” suggests how important good integration to the survival of a SaaS BI implementation.

Report shows benefits of SaaS Business Intelligence (Press release)
A recent report from the Aberdeen group concluded that the integration of SaaS BI increases use among employees, specifically self-service users, when compared to on premise business intelligence tools. The report looked closely at San Francisco accessory retailer Timbuk2, who used SaaS BI from PivotLink. According to the report, SaaS BI attracted more users across the enterprise, saved money, and encouraged business agility.

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