IBM has launched a new service designed to allow companies to better share business intelligence data.

The company said that the Cognos 8 Mashup Service can access data from the Cognos 8 Business Intelligence suite and use it with other applications on the company's Mashup Center service.

The tool will include an API to let administrators determine what data can be shared and how it is integrated with other applications. Users then access the data online and combine it with information from other applications to create a larger overview of company performance.

By including Cognos 8 data in the service, IBM hopes that users over multiple levels of the enterprise will be able to use the data to paint a broader portrait of the overall state of business and point out new relationships between various fields.

"IBM Mashups takes analytics out of the backroom and onto the desktop, putting people in control of the vast data resources their company already has in place," said Anant Jhingran, vice president of information management at IBM.

"With new capabilities and software, we are continuing to innovate to help customers make smarter decisions."

IBM is stepping up business analytic efforts with plans to build six new analytics centres around the world.