Nearly a third of businesses are set to use cloud computing or SaaS (Software as a Service) to improve their business intelligence (BI) functions going forwards, according to new research.

Gartner found that 27 per cent of respondents to a poll of over 1,000 IT managers are to turn to SaaS-based BI soon; citing cost and convenience as the main driving factors, reports Experian QAS.

Already, 17 per cent of these firms said that they employ some kind of SaaS to replace their traditional on-premises BI. Gartner says that this is because businesses are "often frustrated by the deployment cycles, costs, complicated upgrade processes and IT infrastructures demanded by on-premises BI solutions".

However, it is widely perceived in the minds of respondents that SaaS and cloud-based BI are offering quicker, easier and potentially lower-cost alternatives.

One major factor preventing the mass uptake of alternative BI solutions is that "the market is confused about what cloud/SaaS BI and analytics are and what they can deliver," according to Gartner's research director James Richardson, as quoted by IP-192.com.

Mr Richardson added that SaaS or cloud-based BI would fit perfectly alongside businesses that have already taken the rest of their core operations to the cloud.

Yet, he warned that they should conduct regular risk assessments and ensure that their chosen provider has the "appropriate business skills to provide a viable outcome".