Business Objects Continues Mobile Business Intelligence Evolution, Delivers BusinessObjects InfoView Mobile 4.1.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2002

Continuing its commitment to provide business intelligence (BI) solutions that reach users anytime and anywhere, Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ), the leading provider of BI solutions, today announced BusinessObjects(TM) InfoView Mobile 4.1, an enhanced version of the company's mobile BI portal. Since early 2000, Business Objects has led the business intelligence industry in enabling mobile workers to access key corporate information from their cellular phones, wireless handhelds, and personal digital assistant (PDA) devices and to view and analyze this information in both online and synchronized modes.

The new version announced today encompasses all previous versions of Business Objects wireless and mobile products, and introduces several key new features and capabilities. BusinessObjects InfoView Mobile 4.1 includes support for BlackBerry(TM) from Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq:RIMM), and runs on additional application servers. RIM also announced a partnership with Business Objects today. (Editor's Note: Please see related press release "RIM and Business Objects Partner to Bring Business Intelligence Solutions to Mobile Professionals," dated January 22, 2002). BusinessObjects InfoView Mobile 4.1 provides a true mobile BI environment, offering easy and secure access to corporate information from anywhere, at anytime, whether users are at their desk or on the road. This information is personalized to ensure that only the relevant data is displayed and users do not waste time scrolling through unwanted information.

Today's companies rely on access to important customer information to conduct their business. Unfortunately, the people who have the most face time with customers, such as sales managers, often lack accurate, up to the minute information. This means that sales people have incorrect or incomplete customer information that is based on outdated paper reports or a phone call to a colleague back at the office. Once the sales manager leaves her desk, she gets cut-off from her business. Many companies have solved this communication issue with their on-the-go users through a mobile BI portal that allows users to stay in contact with their business at anytime, wherever they are.

"It is imperative that the mobile workforce have the same access to information as their deskbound colleagues without being overloaded with information that doesn't affect them at that moment," said Tom Collard, director of information systems at TaylorMade-Adidas. "With InfoView Mobile, TaylorMade's traveling sales force can have easy access to the time-sensitive and critical information that is relevant to them and our business, such as a last minute order for left-handed golf clubs from a major retailer, and is able to act on that information while it is still valid."

"The enhancement of our mobile BI portal empowers users with an end-to-end view of all their BI information from wherever they are at any time," said Crispin Read, vice president of product marketing at Business Objects. "With the delivery of email alerts to the 'always on' BlackBerry Wireless Handheld(TM), combined with comprehensive analytic capabilities, users company-wide can be notified of critical events and can drill into the underlying causes to make a fully informed decision."

BusinessObjects InfoView Mobile 4.1 provides users with access to BI data via wireless handhelds including BlackBerry, access to all of their BI reports, and support for additional application servers.

Support for BlackBerry Enables "Always-On", "Always-Connected"

Users

Business Objects has worked with RIM and AvantGo to add support for BlackBerry Wireless Handhelds as part of InfoView Mobile 4.1. These popular "always-on" and "always-connected" handhelds are primarily used for wireless email delivery and are permanently connected to a wireless network.

InfoView Mobile 4.1 supports BlackBerry handhelds for both connected and synchronized access. Since BlackBerry handhelds are always connected, it is no longer necessary for a user to dial up to gain access to reports. For example, a sales executive might use InfoView Mobile on his BlackBerry handheld to access the latest key performance indicator (KPI) reports directly from the server, and then synchronize and download some of the more detailed sales reports for offline analysis while out of network coverage (i.e., while on a plane).

"BlackBerry has been extremely successful in the enterprise market where customers demand integrated solutions with a strong return on investment," said Mark Guibert, vice president, brand management at Research In Motion. "The combination of InfoView Mobile 4.1 and BlackBerry enhances ROI potential by providing the mobile workforce with streamlined, mobile access to time-sensitive information such as email and business intelligence. "

Mobile Users Now Have Access to All BI Information When and Where

They Need It

With InfoView Mobile 4.1, mobile users have access to all the Business Objects reports that are normally available only in the office. With both web-based and full-client reports, the user is certain to have all of the information necessary for timely and accurate decision-making. On a mobile phone, these reports can be viewed through an "online" wireless connection, and on a handheld the reports can be viewed either online or through synchronization for offline viewing.

Support for Additional Application Servers Enables Wider BI

Deployments

InfoView Mobile 4.1 now works on BEA WebLogic and IBM WebSphere application servers. These additional deployment options mean that customers can use their existing information technology (IT) infrastructure to distribute mobile BI to their users, without having to integrate additional platforms into their architecture mix. These more flexible deployment options mean customers can extend mobile BI to a broader user base.

Platforms and Availability

BusinessObjects InfoView Mobile 4.1 is generally available in English. The wireless handheld option is available on both NT and UNIX platforms and the WAP/HDML and I-Mode modules are available on NT only.

InfoView Mobile 4.1 runs on BlackBerry and any Palm OS PDA including Palm Pilot, IBM Workpad, HandSpring Visor, and Sony CLIE, as well as Windows CE-driven PDAs including Compaq iPAQ and HP Jordana. InfoView Mobile 4.1 also adds native support for PocketIE HTML in addition to the support for WML, HDML, and i-mode provided in the earlier versions.

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions. Business intelligence lets organizations access, analyze, and share information internally with employees and externally with customers, suppliers, and partners. It helps organizations improve operational efficiency, build profitable customer relationships, and develop differentiated product offerings.

The company's products include BusinessObjects 2000, the industry's leading integrated business intelligence toolset and platform; and BusinessObjects Analytics, an integrated suite of enterprise analytic applications.

Business Objects pioneered the modern BI industry in 1990 by inventing a patented "semantic layer" that insulates users from the complexity of databases. In 1995, the company was first to focus on enterprise-scale BI deployments and today supports customers with more than 20,000 users. The company moved aggressively to the internet in 1997 by pioneering the market for BI extranets, a market that it continues to lead today. In 2000, the company delivered the industry's first interactive mobile BI solution. Today, Business Objects continues to innovate, creating and delivering a unique vision for enterprise analytic applications.

Business Objects has more than 14,000 customers in over 80 countries. The company's stock is publicly traded under the ticker symbols Nasdaq:BOBJ and Euronext Paris (Sicovam code 12074). It is 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.

Note to Editors: BusinessObjects and WebIntelligence are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. in the United States and/or other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

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Research In Motion, RIM and BlackBerry are trademarks or registered trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.