The explosion of big data has created a big market for clinical and business intelligence – and means some big decisions for providers looking to make smart analytics purchases. A new report from KLAS weighs the merits of BI vendors large and small.

KLAS researchers spoke with more than 400 providers about their experiences with analytics software. The report reveals which vendors -- those reviewed include Dimensional Insight, Health Catalyst, IBM, Information Builders, McKesson, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, Oracle, Qlik, SAP, SAS and Tableau – provide the best client experience and which create the most value for providers.

[See also: KLAS gives Phytel top score for population health]

"Biggest is not always best," according to KLAS, which found the providers it surveyed reporting that vendors' size had little bearing on their performance.

"Even though BI has been around for quite some time, providers are feeling an urgency to demonstrate value with the products they have, and they often look for that value in quick wins," said KLAS analyst Joe Van De Graaff, author of the report, Healthcare Analytics Performance: The Data Deluge: Who Delivers Value? "Vendors who are actively involved in helping providers demonstrate tangible outcomes tend to be seen as creating the most value," he said.

In a news release, Health Catalyst touted its top overall score for "vendor contributed value" among the early "preliminary data," "broad BI" healthcare analytics companies profiled in the KLAS report.

[See also: Allina goes all in for outcomes with Health Catalyst]

The company pointed to the report's assessment of its "innovative approach to analytics." Health Catalyst notched an early performance score of 89.3 out of 100 in the report. Its score of 8.0 out of 9 in "vendor contributed value" is based on client-reported reviews in areas such as speed to value, implementation timeliness, product ease of use, delivery of new technology and proactive vendor service, according to Health Catalyst officials.

To see how other BI/analytics vendors fared, access the KLAS report here.