SaaS BI solutions offer quick deployment and easy changes. Unlike traditional enterprise BI software implementation, which can take 12 to 18 months or longer, SaaS BI solutions can typically be up and running in just a few weeks. This is because there is no additional hardware to install and no database to set up. Also, on-demand solutions can start with just the available data, with other data added in as available. With the solution up and running sooner, companies can start reaping a return on their investment more quickly.
Ongoing maintenance and customization is also faster and easier. Since all of the hardware and infrastructure is maintained by the vendor, all software upgrades and architecture changes are handled by the vendor and delivered to the customer automatically. Customization and changes to the reporting and analysis tools can be handled by end users with limited, if any, use of IT resources.
Lower Upfront Costs
On-demand pricing models and lower implementation costs mean dramatically lower upfront costs.
Pricing is easier on most companies’ budgets because on-demand solutions are usually sold as a monthly subscription. This reduces upfront costs and often allows companies to pay for the solution from the operating budget, which is easier to get approval on, than from the capital expenditures budget.
SaaS Business Intelligence (also known as on-demand BI) providers manage all of the back-end systems for their service as well as host their applications, so customers are spared the upfront hardware and setup costs associated with having a BI solution deployed - there is no hardware to buy, no software servers to purchase and set up. Low cost also makes these solutions less risky to implement, generating a higher ROI for SaaS BI.
Lower On-going Costs
No fixed investment, lower maintenance, and fewer hardware requirements.
The cost of SaaS BI is much lower than alternative options. The BI subscription fee provides an all-in cost for the right to use the solution, ongoing maintenance, and support. This subscription is usually based on the number of users who will interact with the system, the volume of data analyzed, and the level of support required. This pricing approach ensures that customers pay only for what they need, as they need it – so the customer retains financial control of the project and maintains the flexibility to scale up as their needs expand.
Because the customer’s solution is running on a shared infrastructure, this increased financial control and flexibility comes with lower ongoing costs. For most organizations, the cost to deploy an on-demand BI solution with subscription licensing will be far lower than the cost of buying a conventional on-premise solution; with SaaS there are no servers to maintain, no patches to install, no ongoing software maintenance to pay and minimal IT resources required, according to IDC. Additionally, ongoing maintenance and upgrades are handled by the vendor, minimizing cost and risk for the customer.
