Business Objects Announces Support for Microsoft's XML for Analysis Protocol; New Protocol Offers Standard Access to Analytical Data Sources Over the Internet.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 6, 2000

Business Objects (NASDAQ:BOBJ), the world's leading provider of e-business intelligence (e-BI) solutions, today announced its plans to support Microsoft Corp.'s XML for Analysis protocol for providing open data access for multi-dimensional analysis and data mining. The XML for Analysis protocol advances the OLE DB standard by allowing standardized, universal data access to analytical data sources residing over the Web.

The protocol is built upon open standards and is independent of platform, language or technology. XML for Analysis utilizes hypertext transport protocol (HTTP), extensible markup language (XML), and simple object access protocol (SOAP) Internet standards, and is specifically optimized for Web services interaction. The XML for Analysis protocol extends the Microsoft .NET vision of enabling Web services, allowing application developers to provide analytic services to any client, on any device, on any platform, using any programming language, including C++, Visual Basic, C#, Java, and Cobol.

Business Objects plans to integrate fully with XML for Analysis, which expands access to e-BI, increasing the flexibility for developers to incorporate analytics within their applications, including the analytics that reside remotely on the Internet, or hosted by another company. With XML for Analysis, there is no need to install middleware/connectivity components to access, analyze, and share e-BI data.

"We see XML for Analysis as having the potential to offer a wide range of e-business intelligence functionality to customers and application developers," said John Eng, Lead Product Manager, SQL Server at Microsoft. "The protocol will allow Microsoft to work with leaders like Business Objects to extend the reach of e-business intelligence functionality from PCs and Web browsers to PDAs and Internet-enabled phones."

"Business Objects is committed to expanding the number of data sources we support, and we have a long history of supporting Microsoft users with the industry's best tools for accessing, analyzing, and sharing corporate information," said Gene Villeneuve, director of product marketing for advanced analysis at Business Objects. "By supporting XML for Analysis, we plan to extend our leadership in offering users access to multiple data sources by building on open Internet standards."

Business Objects plans to use the XML for Analysis protocol to extend the richness of the online analytical processing (OLAP) reporting and analysis capabilities to multiple devices, in turn, helping Business Objects extend its leadership in delivering business intelligence to wireless devices. Business Objects currently empowers mobile users with InfoView Wireless Edition, which makes it easier to access critical business information, anytime, anywhere, and from a variety of devices.

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading provider of e-business intelligence (e-BI) solutions. The company coined the term e-business intelligence in 1998 to describe the intersection of business intelligence and the Internet. Using e-business intelligence, organizations can access, analyze, and share information in intranet, extranet, and e-business environments. In intranets, the company's products provide employees with information to make better business decisions, and are used in environments ranging from workgroups of 20 users to enterprise deployments exceeding 20,000. In the extranet environment, the company is pioneering the use of e-BI in applications that allow organizations to build stronger relationships by linking customers, partners, and suppliers via the Internet. In addition, the company's products can improve the performance of an e-business by providing reporting and analysis against the ever-expanding amount of transaction and profile data that is collected each day throughout the World Wide Web.

Founded in 1990, Business Objects pioneered the modern business intelligence industry by inventing and patenting a "semantic layer" that insulates users from the technical complexity of database systems. Today, the company has over 11,500 customers in more than 80 countries. The company's stock is publicly traded under the ticker symbols NASDAQ: BOBJ and PARIS Bourse: code SICOVAM 12074, and included in the SBF 120 and IT CAC 50 French stock market indexes. Business Objects can be reached at 408/953-6000 and http://www.businessobjects.com.

Note to Editors: BusinessObjects is a trademark of Business Objects SA. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

A full-text copy of this announcement may be obtained by calling the Company's fax retrieval line at 800/414-2114 and selecting option "two." The announcement may also be downloaded from the Web; access "http://www.businesswire.com/cnn" and search on "Business Objects." Business Objects product inquiries should contact 800/527-0580.