Crystal Reports Server XI Receives Widespread Praise from Business Obj

Crystal Reports Server XI Receives Widespread Praise from Business Objects Channel Partners Worldwide

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

    SAN JOSE, Calif. & PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2005--

New Reporting Product Offering Focused on Small to Medium-Sized Organizations Fills Key Need in the Market
    Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ)(Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced worldwide channel partner support for Crystal Reports(R) Server XI, a packaged reporting solution that includes everything small to medium-sized organizations need to create, deliver, and manage reports over the web.
    Crystal Reports Server XI provides small to medium-sized organizations with a complete reporting solution that helps them to better track, understand, and manage their business performance. Crystal Reports Server XI is affordable, fast and easy to deploy, and delivers immediate benefits. With this new offering, organizations can take advantage of improvements in Crystal Reports XI, the industry's leading report authoring product, as well as leverage their existing Crystal Reports implementations.
    Business Objects has the largest and most comprehensive partner network in the business intelligence industry, with more than 3,000 partners around the world. The company's channel partners cover a variety of categories, including technology, OEM, VAR, and volume resellers or distributors that extend across all major vertical industries. Crystal Reports Server XI provides these partners with a powerful reporting solution for small to medium-sized organizations -- delivering the full reporting functionality that large enterprises have, without the cost and complexity of those implementations.
    Crystal Reports Server XI has garnered key endorsements from Business Objects channel partners all over the globe, including:

    Andrews Consulting Group

    "As a Platinum VAR partner of Business Objects, we are very excited about the launch of Crystal Reports Server XI," said Joseph Guerra, director of business intelligence for Andrews Consulting Group. "Crystal Reports Server XI provides everything a small to medium-sized business would need for a powerful reporting solution, while offering a price that fits well for organizations on a limited budget. This new solution will fit very well with our RapidDecision solution, enabling companies to connect their Business Objects solution quickly to their ERP software."

    ASAP Software

    "Business Objects is taking a great step forward with the launch of Crystal Reports Server XI," said Harry Zoberman, senior vice president of marketing and operations at ASAP Software. "The reporting market for small to medium-sized businesses is ready to explode, and ASAP is well-positioned to apply our licensing expertise to help Crystal Reports Server XI gain a solid foothold among these businesses."

    BluDev

    "With Crystal Reports Server XI, Business Objects is delivering the right reporting solution for the small to medium-sized business market," said Dario Buzzi, managing director of BluDev Italy. "Crystal Reports Server XI will be far simpler to learn and to deploy and will be the right choice for approaching our mid-sized reporting customers. All the new features are included, like sequential and dynamic parameters, to give customer faster and easier visibility into their business. In addition, the new simplified licensing will also be the key to growing our business while delivering the right value to customers."

    CDW Corporation

    "Price and performance improvements are enabling small to medium-sized businesses to take advantage of technologies that used to be limited to large enterprises," said Mark Thabit, director of product management at CDW Corporation, a FORTUNE 500 technology solutions provider to businesses and government. "Crystal Reports Server XI will be particularly useful for businesses that have remote offices and want centralized reporting capabilities."

    Connect Distribution

    "With the launch of Crystal Reports Server XI, Business Objects has delivered a perfect mid-market reporting solution," said Slawomir Karpinski, sales manager at Connect Distribution. "Crystal Reports Server XI provides a complete reporting solution, with a licensing plan that makes our life easier."

    Decision First Technologies, Inc.

    "The launch of Crystal Reports Server XI is an exciting step forward for Business Objects, and fills a definite need in the market," said Taylor Courtnay, president and CEO for Decision First Technologies, Inc., a Business Objects Platinum VAR partner. "Crystal Reports Server XI provides a complete reporting package, while offering licensing options that are designed to fit the budget constraints of small to medium-sized organizations. This new solution will fit very well with our customers' business intelligence strategies, enabling them to turn their data into a wealth of information for optimum decision-making."

    Developer Solutions Ltd.

    "The Crystal line of reporting products has revolutionized the way in which organizations share information, and has become the world standard for enterprise reporting," said Lee Grogan, sales manager for Developer Solutions Ltd. "With the launch of Crystal Reports Server XI, Business Objects is set to once again lead the way in providing powerful reporting, but for a fraction of the cost. Crystal Reports Server XI delivers a complete reporting solution to meet the needs of small to medium-sized businesses."

    PeopleServices

    "As a key partner of Business Objects, we are very excited about the launch of Crystal Reports Server XI, as we know our customers will love it," said Mark Floersch, president of PeopleServices. "We have been providing business intelligence solutions to large customers for many years, and the ROI we have been able to deliver in a short period of time has been unbelievable. We have been looking for a solution to meet the needs of many of our smaller customers, and Crystal Reports Server XI is the solution we have been looking for. Crystal Reports Server XI fills a key need in the marketplace as it allows a small to medium-sized business to cost effectively use a reporting solution to improve their business performance."

    Result Data

    "As a Gold VAR partner of Business Objects, we believe the addition of the Crystal Reports Server XI offering will benefit a large segment of our customer base," said Tom Meers, president of Result Data. "The need for mid-sized customers to have robust, well engineered, and web-based deployment capabilities for Crystal Reports is significant. Many of these organizations have limited budgets that don't match their need to distribute report content. This new solution from Business Objects will allow such customers to benefit from the industry's leading reporting solution, at a price point that fits their budget."

    Softcat PLC

    "Crystal Reports Server XI is the missing link, as far as reporting goes, for our small to medium-sized customers," said Dave Simpson, director of sales and marketing for Softcat PLC. "Crystal Reports Server XI is simple to understand, it comes with everything in one package, and the licensing is simple but flexible. From Softcat's point of view Crystal Reports Server XI is a winner both for us and our customers."

    Tech Data

    "Crystal Reports Server XI provides a complete reporting solution that is unique on the market," said Laura Andraghetti, product manager for Tech Data Italy. "This new reporting solution from Business Objects delivers all the reporting functionality a small to medium-sized organization would need, at a price to fit their budget."

    About Business Objects

    Business Objects is the world's leading business intelligence (BI) software company. With more than 29,000 customers worldwide, including over 80 percent of the Fortune 500, Business Objects helps organizations gain better insight into their business, improve decision making, and optimize enterprise performance. The company's business intelligence platform, BusinessObjects(TM) XI, offers the BI industry's most advanced and complete platform for reporting, query and analysis, performance management, and data integration. BusinessObjects XI includes Crystal Reports(R), the industry standard for enterprise reporting. Business Objects has also built the industry's strongest and most diverse partner community, with more than 3,000 partners worldwide. In addition, the company offers consulting and education services to help customers effectively deploy their business intelligence projects.
    Business Objects has dual headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and Paris, France. The company's stock is traded on both the Nasdaq (BOBJ) and Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0004026250 - BOB) stock exchanges. More information about Business Objects can be found at www.businessobjects.com.

    Business Objects, the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, WebIntelligence, Crystal Reports, Crystal Enterprise, Crystal Analysis, RapidMarts, and BusinessQuery are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. or its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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CONTACT: Business Objects Peter Olson, 408-953-6320 peter.olson@businessobjects.com or Eastwick Communications Erin McCabe, 650-480-4016 erin@eastwick.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA FRANCE INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE SOFTWARE PRODUCT SOURCE: Business Objects

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