What are the top features to examine when buying a business intelligence-type system for SMBs?

Hi Steve,

SMBs have particular needs, since they are more cost conscious and also are less likely to have strong IT support over time. Their data needs, however, are usually anything but simple, and can often rival much larger organizations.

That said, here are the things that I typically see SMBs consider when selecting a BI vendor:

1. Affordability. SMBs want to see faster results, for lower cost. This makes SaaS, open source, and Microsoft solutions attractive, since they cost significantly less than the traditional on-premise BI solutions.

2. Low IT resource requirements. SMBs often don't have a deep IT bench, and they often want their IT people dedicated to the operational solutions that are doing the day to day running of the business, like a CRM or ERP system. So they're looking for solutions that don't require a ton of IT or consultant time to set up and maintain.

3. Feature richness. Just because you're a smaller business doesn't mean that you don't need a strong BI solution. SMBs are often looking for the same breadth of features - drill down, drill across, pixel perfect reporting, alerts, etc.

4. Data source capability. Similar to feature richness, SMBs also want to analyze all of their critical data, no matter where it comes from - CRM, ERP, supply chain systems, etc. So you need a solution that can handle easily integrating data from multiple sources.

4. Ease of use. It's not likely that an SMB will have a bunch of PhDs or business analysts on staff. The solution has to be usable by savvy business professionals.

Because of these requirements, you will likely see three types of BI coming up most frequently: SaaS, Open Source, and Microsoft.

Open Source and Microsoft solutions have low software costs, but they will require significant IT resources to build the initial solution and then to maintain it. So it's attractive only if the company has the IT bench to pull it off. This approach can also get expensive, due to the upfront resource and hardware investments.

SaaS is a faster, more affordable method both in the short term and long term. You have to be comfortable with the SaaS model, though - that you are renting software instead of buying it outright.

In the interest of full disclosure, I work for Birst, a SaaS BI company (www.birst.com).

You also might want to check out the analyst Lyndsay Wise, who focuses on BI for the SMB. http://www.wiseanalytics.com/

- Barbara