Business intelligence software maker Panorama Software insists it wants to remain an independent company, letting traditional BI software makers scrape for new customers while it offers a more modern software-as-a-service suite. However, certain moves the company is making increasingly endear it to Google.

In March, Panorama adapted its analysis and reporting applications to support the hosted spreadsheet application in Google Docs. Panorama Analytics for Google Docs lets users run collaborative analysis in Google spreadsheets in a live browser session. This software lets programmers build custom reports from within Google Apps.

To make that possible, Panorama had to build a Web-based OLAP engine and is now planning to offer that engine to the general public. Called PowerApps, the solution is sure to become more interesting to Google.

Here's why: Panorama is moving into the cloud, where Google, Microsoft and other vendors are either buying or building out online real estate. Google offers several productivity apps as SAAS, but doesn't yet have a BI play, making Panorama an interesting partner that could lead to a marriage.

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