Five Tools for a Smarter Business Smaller companies can enjoy the benefits of business intelligence software without the overhead. Here are a handful of resources that make it happen.

GoodData
Functionality: The GoodData platform provides ready-made connections with Google Analytics, Salesforce.com and Zendesk, not to mention the ability to tap into other applications for custom-built business intelligence solutions.

Pricing: $1,000 to $3,000 per month for small businesses; base plan offers data for one project workspace and dashboard for up to 25 users with 500,000 rows of data space; premium offers three project workspaces and dashboards for up to 100 users with 5 million rows of data space.

Host Analytics
Functionality: Specializing in business performance management intelligence, Host Analytics offers a range of modules for budgeting and financial planning.

Pricing: $125 per module per user per month

Bime
Functionality: A streamlined user interface belies the power behind Bime's platform, which can crunch everything from web analytics to Salesforce stats.

Pricing: $60 per user per month to $240 per user per month; all plans include 10 connections and 20 dashboards; premium offers 30 GB of storage vs. 1 GB for the workgroup plan.

Oco
Functionality: With nine different modules, Oco offers a particularly strong stable of tools for businesses looking to get a better grasp on supply-chain numbers.

Pricing: $3,000 per month for the platform and $3,000 per month for each analytic application, with up to 25 users

BIRT
Functionality: onDemand Thanks to slick visualizations for web application analytical information, BIRT onDemand is particularly good with mashups and mapping functionalities to drill down deep into data.

Pricing: Plans include $30 for 12 months for a minimum of 10 users and $35 for six months and a minimum of 15 users, with 20 GB of storage and 80 GB of data transfer per month.