In today's dynamic business environment, collaboration is the key to success. There are countless studies revealing that self-service environments have a profound, positive impact on customer satisfaction and retention.

A Software as a Service (SaaS) approach allows companies to leverage business intelligence (BI) on a per-usage basis, tapping into the power of reporting and business analytics on demand. It offers advanced functionality, interactive features and the ability to add new users to the environment instantly, as needed -- all while keeping costs at a minimum, even as the environment grows.

This paper discusses the key requirements for successfully building and deploying SaaS-based BI applications for external users. It also explains which BI platform is ideal for companies seeking to make vital, timely corporate information available outside the firewall.