Business Objects Channel Partners Praise Launch of BusinessObjects XI on Linux; Extending Industry-Leading Business Intelligence Platform to Linux Offers Partners Additional Deployment Options for Joint Customers.

SAN FRANCISCO -- Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ) (Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250-BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced widespread channel partner support for the new Linux versions of BusinessObjects(TM) XI. Business Objects continues to extend its leadership in the business intelligence market with the launch of BusinessObjects XI on both the Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE LINUX Enterprise Server platforms, offering partners additional deployment options to help joint customers gain extreme insight from their corporate data.

Business Objects has built the BI industry's strongest and most diverse partner network, and views partnerships as essential to the company's success. The launch of BusinessObjects XI on Linux, including Crystal Reports(R) Server XI on Linux, has been well received by the company's partners, a large number of whom have significant Linux expertise. Business Objects partners are now able to work with customers to determine which operating system makes the most sense for their BI deployment, and then deliver a complete Business Objects solution on that platform to meet their needs. In addition, many Business Objects partners focus on the mid-market, and the Linux operating system often provides a significant cost savings that is attractive to small and medium-sized organizations.

Several leading Business Objects VAR partners have endorsed the launch of BusinessObjects XI on Linux, including:

Conversion Services International

"Business intelligence is seeing increased adoption of the Linux operating systems," said William McKnight, vice president of data warehousing at Conversion Services International. "Business Objects is taking a necessary step as a leading business intelligence platform by offering BusinessObjects XI on Linux. This new combination will be interesting for those organizations looking to increase ROI and decrease risk through a low-cost, high-performing and scalable platform with capabilities to address the most demanding aspects of business intelligence."

Data Management Group

"We are seeing an ever increasing number of customers with mixed computing environments, who want the ability to deliver their business intelligence solutions on Linux," said Keith Johnson, CTO at Data Management Group. "The launch of BusinessObjects XI on Linux is a great opportunity for them to leverage the reporting, query and analysis, performance management, and analytic applications provided by Business Objects. We are sure customers will be pleased with the end product."

DataSense Solutions

"A number of our clients have been expressing interest in using Business Objects products on Linux for some time," said Gary Bernstein, president of DataSense Solutions. "Linux provides an excellent cost-to-value ratio, which many organizations are trying to take advantage of. There is no question that the launch of the BusinessObjects XI platform on Linux is going to make a big splash in many circles of the BI marketplace. In fact, based on interest we've already seen, we anticipate that Linux will become a common deployment option for many institutions in the near future. DataSense Solutions can now extend powerful BI solutions that include a complete open source platform on x86 hardware using a Linux operating system. We think this is going to be a big hit."

Decision First Technologies

"With the maturity of Linux, many IT departments have adopted it from being only an edge device, such as a robust Web server, to now being the data center," said Brian Culver, consulting manager with Decision First Technologies, Inc. "With the launch of BusinessObjects XI on Linux, our customers that want to 'do more with less' can! They now have access to the industry's leading BI platform with the performance and reliability of a UNIX operating system, with the much reduced price of Linux."

Dunn Solutions Group

"Linux has increasingly become the platform of choice for many of our government and Global 2000 clients," said William Dunn, president of Dunn Solutions Group. "The ability to deploy BusinessObjects XI on multiple platforms, including Linux, gives our customers the flexibility they need to meet their budget and performance initiatives. Business Objects has always been the leader in reporting and analysis solutions, and this new capability allows us to bring their BI suite to an even broader audience."

WIT

"With more and more small and medium sized companies seriously looking into business intelligence tools for analyzing information to measure and improve performance, we see many of them wanting to leverage Linux as the operating system," said Quaid Saifee, a director at WIT, Inc. "The launch of BusinessObjects XI on Linux offers an excellent option for current and potential Business Objects clients. Customers get the benefit of the industry's leading BI platform, with the reliability and cost-effectiveness of the Linux operating system."

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 built the industry's strongest and most diverse partner community, and also 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 and 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.