Data on the money; on-line computer services can be valuable tools for business.

Do you spend millions keeping up with industry developments? Have you paid a king's ransom to get newspaper clippings from market research firms?

Now there's a cheaper and faster way to stay on the cutting edge--by using on-line information services. A personal computer and a modem are all you need to access the mountains of data stored on a growing number of dial-up networks.

How popular are on-line services? Last year, companies worldwide spent $10.1 billion logging on to database networks, according to Wilton, Ct.-based Simba Information Inc., which tracks the industry. And, the demand for more business-to-business information will catapult sales of such services over $15 billion by 1997, Simba projects.

In addition to the widely popular and well-established America On-Line and CompuServe Information Service, many network providers are developing more tailored business tools. The following is just a sampling of on-line networks on the market:

|FIRST' STARTS THE DAY

Get the latest industry news, even before the coffee is brewed. Customized reports land on the desks of First subscribers each morning from Cambridge, Mass.-based Individual Inc. The company analyzes thousands of news stories and transmits a personalized summary via fax or electronic mail.

To create these reports, First taps a wide range of sources from AP New, Wire to Kyodo, the Japanese business wire. But the price of such timely data is high. Expect to pay from $4,750 to $8,950 annually for the fax service; between $6,250 and $10,500 for E-mail.

THE PIONEERS: NEXIS/LEXIS

Save a few bucks with the renowned Nexis database from Mead Data Central Inc., based in Dayton, Ohio. An introductory rate starts at $50.

Create your own daily, weekly or monthly reports with another Mead service, Eclipse (Electronic Clipping Service). Specify your search request, and the system automatically clips news materials from the 4,700 databases between Nexis and Lexis (its legal twin) services.

But buyer beware: Once you log on to Eclipse, you're zapped with a $500 per month charge plus several other hidden costs. If you're not detail-oriented or time-conscious, stick with the daily newspaper.

PRODIGY PAGES

Prodigy's current lure is its on-line Yellow Pages. This database of more than 1.7 million New York and New England business listings (updated daily) is culled from 300 NYNEX Yellow Pages and Business-to-Business directories.

For just $14.95 per month (after the $29.95 membership kit cost) Prodigy also kicks in reference databases and financial information, so you can still wake up with Wall Street.