Business Objects celebrates 15 years of success

Bernard Liautaud, chairman of the board and chief strategy officer of Business Objects, founded the company on a simple premise - that software can help users autonomously tap into the vast amounts of information in their corporate databases to improve performance.

Today, as Business Objects celebrates its 15-year anniversary, that idea has turned Business Objects into a billion dollar company and the leader of the multibillion-dollar business intelligence industry. Business intelligence now plays an active and important role in every aspect of business, for example - improving sales performance, customer relationships and marketing campaigns; managing product development, inventory and supply chains; and communicating with partners, customers and suppliers.

However, building a billion-dollar software company takes more than a vision - it takes constant innovation, quality products, excellent customer service, outstanding employees, and the ability to execute in all economic conditions. Throughout its growth, Business Objects has focused on these elements, and as a result has become one of the world`s most successful software companies. In fact, of all publicly traded software companies on US stock exchanges, Business Objects is one of only four software companies to have recorded over 12 consecutive years of growth and profits.

"Today is an important day, not just for Business Objects, but for the software industry," said Bernard Liautaud, chairman of the board and chief strategy officer of Business Objects. "With the help of our customers and partners we have created a multibillion-dollar software market that plays a very important role in the global economy. Fifteen years ago, many people said this could not be done, that there was no room for a separate software category called business intelligence. Today, business intelligence is an indispensable component of every business operation, and business intelligence is a thriving independent software market. And while we celebrate this anniversary today, we also recognise that this is simply a milestone, and we look forward to more years of innovation that will change the software industry and help organisations improve performance."

Business Objects, which played a key role in the creation of the modern day business intelligence industry with the invention of the semantic layer, has always been at the forefront of change and innovation. The semantic layer is the fundamental building block of business intelligence. It translates complex database code into the language of business, allowing non-technical individuals to easily access and analyse information that is stored in corporate databases. Business Objects also developed the industry`s first enterprise query, reporting and analysis solution for the Web with the release of BusinessObjects Web Intelligence in 1997, which also allowed the company to pioneer the business intelligence extranet market.

In December 2003, Business Objects completed the acquisition of Crystal Decisions, the leader in enterprise reporting. In January 2005, Business Objects delivered BusinessObjects XI, the industry`s most advanced and complete platform in BI, and a revolutionary step forward for BI technology.

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In August 2005, Business Objects completed the acquisition of SRC Software, a leading vendor of financial planning and performance management software.

Today, millions of individuals use Business Objects solutions to identify ways to help their organisation improve productivity, save money and increase revenues.

As part of today`s Business Objects 15-year anniversary, Bernard Liautaud will preside over the opening of the Nasdaq stock market.

For more information on the company`s 15-year anniversary, visit www.businessobjects.com.