Southwest Airlines Plans to Broaden Business Intelligence Implementati

Southwest Airlines Plans to Broaden Business Intelligence Implementation with BusinessObjects XI

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

    SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2005--

Leading Airline Will Use BusinessObjects XI to Gain Insight Into Operations and Enterprise Management
    Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ) (Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250-BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced that Southwest Airlines will use several products in the Business Objects suite including Web Intelligence, Dashboard & Performance Manager, BusinessObjects(TM) Analytics, and BusinessObjects Enterprise. The nation's largest carrier in terms of scheduled domestic departures will use Business Objects to gain insight into operations and enterprise management.
    Business Objects will provide Southwest with a comprehensive integrated platform that delivers very strong capabilities in reporting, analysis, web-based BI, and performance management. Business Objects will enable Southwest to disseminate information corporate-wide, thereby increasing effective decision-making. In today's competitive airline industry, Southwest must continue to make insightful decisions to maintain its leadership as the low fare airline while continuing its dedication to providing the highest level of Customer Service.
    "Southwest Airlines has an impressive vision for how business intelligence can be applied to improve corporate performance," said Bernard Liautaud, chairman and CEO at Business Objects. "We look forward to partnering with Southwest as they implement BusinessObjects XI to turn their vision into a reality."

    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 complete and trusted 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.

    About Southwest Airlines

    Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) is the nation's largest carrier in terms of scheduled domestic departures. The airline currently serves 60 airports in 59 cities in 31 states. Based in Dallas, Southwest currently operates 2,900 flights a day and has 32,000 employees system-wide.

    Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Web Intelligence, 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 Randy Cairns, 408-953-6036 randy.cairns@businessobjects.com or Eastwick Communications Erin McCabe, 650-480-4016 erin@eastwick.com

KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA TEXAS FRANCE INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE TRAVEL AIRLINES TRANSPORTATION SOFTWARE PRODUCT SOURCE: Business Objects

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