Business intelligence vendor Business Objects is dipping its toe into the SaaS (software as a service) market with CrystalReports.com, a new version of crystal reports that the company says will appeal to SMBs.Dan Vesset, research director at IDC, said the new product marks the first major push by a business intelligence vendor into Web-delivered software amid growing demand for such tools that many customers find are cheaper and easier to use than traditional applications installed on specific computers.

According to IDC, worldwide spending on Internet-based software stood at $4.2 billion in 2004 and is expected to hit $10.7 billion by 2009. Salesforce.com Inc., a maker of sales and marketing software, is perhaps the best-known supplier in this emerging sector."We expect new BI software delivery methods such as this ... offering from Business Objects to be well received by the market," Vesset said in a statement.

"This is targeted at organizations that need to distribute reports but don't have the IT infrastructure to install, manage, and set up security around distribution," said James Thomas, director of product marketing at Business Objects.CrystalReports.com will enable Applied Voice & Speech Technologies to distribute reports to resellers but limit access to certain users, said CJ Land, director of e-marketing at AVST.Reports currently distributed as PDFs don't give the company control over the data they contain, Land said.Business Objects will be measuring the response to the new SaaS service closely, Schwarz said.The complimentary CrystalReports.com service is available to Crystal Reports XI customers now. A Premium Service at $20 per user, per month will be available in the second quarter.

Prashanth Rai