Business Objects Brings Wireless BI To Japan; Launches BusinessObjects InfoView Wireless BI Portal for Japanese Market.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2001

With Support for Japan's iMode Mobile Internet Service Business

Objects Now Offers Worldwide Wireless Business Intelligence

In a move that completes its worldwide wireless business intelligence (BI) coverage, Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ) today announced BusinessObjects InfoView Wireless Edition 3.0, designed specifically for the Japanese market.

Version 3.0 of InfoView Wireless Edition has been updated to include support for the mobile internet standard used in Japan by NTT DoCoMo, the cell phone division of NTT, and its i-Mode mobile internet service. With the support for the Japanese wireless standards, Business Objects, the world's leading provider of e-business intelligence (e-BI) solutions, now offers a global wireless BI solution.

In March 2000 Business Objects pioneered the interactive, wireless BI market with the launch of BusinessObjects InfoView Wireless Edition. InfoView Wireless Edition 1.0 was the first interactive, wireless business intelligence portal and was built on the standards used by cell phones in Europe. In December 2000 the company released version 2.0, adding support for the standards used by most major US-based cell phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs), including Palm and Blackberry RIM devices.

With version 3.0, Business Objects has built in support for the standards used in Japan, thus providing a product that offers complete wireless BI coverage for the European, US, and Japanese markets and is capable of being deployed on third generation (3G) mobile networks.

"We've enhanced InfoView to support the Japanese mobile internet market to ensure that our multinational customers who are deploying global enterprise BI solutions have support for worldwide standards," said Gene Villeneuve, director of advanced analysis and wireless product marketing at Business Objects. "In addition to serving the Japanese wireless market today, NTT DoCoMo is partnering with European and American wireless companies and plans to roll out iMode outside of Japan. We see Japan as a leader in developing wireless technology and feel it is critical to invest in this technology today in anticipation of the standards becoming more widespread in the future."

"Japan is a strategic market for Business Objects, one that grew at more than 80 percent last quarter, and we have invested in distribution and support resources to meet market demand and grow our presence," said John Powell, senior group vice president of worldwide operations at Business Objects. "Our customers in Japan are very enthusiastic about emerging technology, particularly in the area of mobile wireless access to information. The availability of a product that works with local standards and language means that we are anticipating our customer needs and providing them with the tools that will help them extend the reach of their e-BI deployments."

With wireless capabilities, InfoView provides a true mobile BI environment offering easy and secure access to corporate information from anywhere, anytime, whether users are at their desk, at the airport, or on the road. This information is personalized to ensure that only the relevant data is displayed and users don't waste time scrolling through irrelevant information.

Platforms and Availability

BusinessObjects InfoView Wireless Edition 3.0 is currently in beta and is expected to be generally available this quarter. InfoView Wireless Edition is available simultaneously in English and Japanese and runs on Windows NT.

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 12,400 customers in more than 80 countries. The company's stock is publicly traded under the ticker symbols Nasdaq:BOBJ and Euronext Paris: 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 www.businessobjects.com.

BusinessObjects is a trademark of Business Objects SA. WebIntelligence is a registered trademark of Business Objects S.A. 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 downloaded from the web; access http://www.businesswire.com/cnn and search on "Business Objects." Business Objects product inquiries should contact 800/527-0580.