Business intelligence vendor preps online version of Crystal Reports 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.Business Objects unveiled a complimentary version of the new service this week at the Gartner Mid-Enterprise Summit in Hollywood, Fla. The SaaS deployment could be the first of many, as Business Objects reaches out to the smaller enterprises that make up 40 percent of the company’s revenue, CEO John Schwarz said.“CrystalReports.com is a way we can learn about [SaaS] before moving in a really big way,” Schwarz said. Business Objects already offers Crystal Reports as an AppExchange plug-in for Salesforce.com users. CrystalReports.com is independent of Salesforce.com, allowing users to share reports online and set security around those reports, Schwarz said.Customers access reports more quickly than those distributed by e-mail or hard copy. Reports are refreshed offline and are posted to the site for viewing, with automated e-mail alerts sent to interested parties.“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. Software Development