Business intelligence (BI) software and processes lend organizations critical insight. With corporate data consolidated into a single, consistent foundation, staff can track critical metrics, analyze data from many angles, and share reports throughout the organization and beyond. The insight gained from accurate, real-time corporate information can lead to higher productivity, profitability and competitiveness.

But in the past many organizations have shied away from using BI because installing it on-premise requires considerable investment in software, hardware and IT resources. Instead they have resorted to manually consolidating and analyzing data in spreadsheets; a time intensive process that is often plagued with errors. However, BI solutions are now available as software as a service (SaaS), enabling organizations to benefit from BI without committing to a major IT investment. This paper is intended as a guide to help you determine whether SaaS BI or on-premise BI is the best route for your business.