Business intelligence is on a lot of companies' to-do lists this year, with nearly half of the 500 IT professionals recently surveyed by InformationWeek Research planning to increase spending on software for viewing and analyzing business information above 2006 levels. Another 40% say they'll maintain BI spending at last year's level.

But, so far, many companies are slow to expand the use of BI tools beyond their finance and IT departments because the software can be costly and difficult to use. Most, however, will consider a software-as-a-service model for BI, presumably to eliminate many of the up-front implementation costs.

Because of several BI acquisitions in recent months, a top tier of vendors is emerging from what has long been a splintered market. Forty percent of respondents, all of which are using BI tools or are evaluating them for purchase within the next 12 months, call Oracle their preferred vendor. The survey was conducted before Oracle announced it would acquire Hyperion, a move that promises to increase Oracle's profile in this market even further. But Microsoft is close on Oracle's heels, and the next three--Business Objects, Cognos, and IBM--each could increase their share of the market through acquisitions.

Companies Expect Broader Deployment Ahead
BI is becoming a company-wide initiative at more companies, rather than being left to individual business units. In 2006, 35% of companies said their BI tools were scattered throughout departments and the company; that's down to 25% this year. Instead, more companies are deploying BI tools on a project-by-project basis or as part of other tech initiatives.

BI vendors insist that, because their tools are getting easier to use, we'll see expanded use across companies. So far that hasn't happened. Only 25% of businesses provide BI tools to more than a quarter of their employees, the same level as last year. But we may be approaching a tipping point--nearly 60% say they'll provide BI tools to more than a quarter of employees within two years.

Usage patterns may change as more companies make BI tools accessible on mobile devices. Only 13% of respondents say they're doing this now, but another third plan to provide mobile access in the next two years.