BI Costs Erroneously Perceived As Prohibitive, Say Software Companies

Despite the overwhelming belief that business intelligence (BI) could benefit their companies, perceived high costs have prevented BI professionals worldwide from deploying BI systems, according to a recent survey. Forty-three percent of respondents said their firms perceive the cost of implementing corporatewide BI to be "prohibitive" and 30 percent said they want a BI solution but are waiting for costs to drop before deploying one.

The survey -- which was conducted on behalf of Teksouth Corp., a Birmingham-based provider of data management and analysis systems, and LogiXML, a provider of Web-based BI -- examined responses from more than 250 global companies, ranging from Global 100 to midsize firms from across industries, including financial services. "The survey results reflect a substantial difference in perception versus reality in the BI market," said Arman Eshraghi, McLean, Va.-based LogiXML's founder and CEO, in a release.

Most companies traditionally pay between $1 million and $1.5 million to deploy a BI system, according to Brad Marshall, director of commercial products and services at Teksouth. He notes that Teksouth and LogiXML have developed a fixed-price server-based solution that, Marshall contends, reduces BI costs by 75 percent. "Per-seat licensing prohibits widespread usage," he says.

Less than 40 percent of survey respondents said their companies have depoyed BI tools.

Melanie Rodier has worked as a print and broadcast journalist for over 10 years, covering business and finance, general news, and film trade news. Prior to joining Wall Street & Technology in April 2007, Melanie lived in Paris, where she worked for the International Herald ... View Full Bio