New Survey Results Show Cloud-based BI Satisfaction Outpaces On-Premise BI According to Business Intelligence Pros

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Business Intelligence (BI) and analytics software professionals overwhelmingly prefer a cloud-based BI solution over conventional, on-premise installed software for gaining access to the real-time business data they need to make better decisions.

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These findings are from a new survey of BI professionals unveiled today by Birst, the leader in cloud BI, and Dimensional Research, which conducted the survey of more than 400 BI professionals. An accompanying infographic illustrates the results, underscoring strong advantages of cloud-based BI solutions compared to on-premise systems.

"These results confirm that cloud BI solutions are strongly preferred, offering faster, easier and more economical deployment and lower total cost of ownership, along with superior ease of use, which drives broader user adoption within the organization," said Diane Hagglund, senior research analyst for Dimensional Research and the study's author.

Cloud BI users reported the highest level of satisfaction, with 80 percent reporting "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with their solution, compared to just 51 percent satisfaction among on-premise BI users. More than half of BI users said they would choose a cloud BI solution over on-premise, while only 14 percent said they would prefer on-premise software.

Other key findings reveal that cloud BI solutions offer:

• Faster implementation: 83% said cloud BI solutions offer faster implementation compared to on-premise software, with 69% of cloud BI implementations completed in less than three months. By comparison, the majority of on-premise users said their deployments took more than six months, and 44% were completed behind schedule.
• Lower Cost: Fewer than one-third of cloud BI users reported implementation cost overruns, while nearly half of on-premise users said they exceeded budget or incurred unexpected costs during implementation.
• Ease of Use: Nearly 60% said cloud BI solutions are easier to use, and require much less training, with 44% stating on-premise required the most training for business users, compared to only 5% for cloud BI users. When asked about administrative overhead, 80% stated that on-premise solutions require more administrators.
• Better Adoption: Over half of respondents said more employees access and use cloud BI solution, compared to just 17% for on-premise BI.

"The truth is that regardless of how beautiful your application is, how many features it offers, or how much it costs—if employees don't use it, all of that is irrelevant. This survey proves that more people prefer –and actually use—Cloud BI to gain the critical business intelligence they need to drive success," said Brad Peters, CEO and Co-founder of Birst.

The survey, conducted by Dimensional Research and commissioned by Birst, polled 403 individuals with involvement or experience in selecting, implementing or using BI software in North America, Asia-Pacific and EMEA. To view the complete report on the survey results, visit www.birst.com/cloudbisurvey.

To learn more about the advantages of cloud BI and survey details, register now for a live Birst webinar entitled Cloud BI – Over-Hyped or Underappreciated?, on October 3, 2013 at 10:00 am PT/1:00 pm ET.

Survey Methodology
In July 2013, a database of professionals working with business intelligence solutions was emailed an invitation to participate in a Web survey on the topic of their experience with solutions. The 403 participants had experience with at least one type of BI solution, and many had experience with multiple solutions, thus were able to compare their experiences. Participants represented a variety of departments and job functions including sales and marketing, corporate IT, finance, products or manufacturing, and service providers. Their companies, located around the world, represented a wide range of industry verticals and sizes. Respondents were not compensated for participation except to be offered a copy of the final report.

About Birst
Birst is the only enterprise-caliber Business Intelligence platform born in the cloud. Less costly and more agile than Legacy BI and more powerful than Data Discovery, Birst is engineered with an automated data warehouse and rich, visual analytics, to give meaning to data—all types and sizes. Coupled with the agility of the Cloud, Birst gives business teams the ability to solve real problems. Fast. Find out why Gartner named Birst a Challenger in its most recent BI Magic Quadrant and why more than a thousand businesses rely on Birst for their analytic needs. Learn to think fast at www.birst.com and join the conversation @birstbi.

SOURCE Birst