Business Objects Launches Executive Seminar Series With IBM and Author Larry Downes.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 20, 2001

Half-Day Sessions Will Demonstrate How to Spot the Emerging

Technologies that Help Companies Immediately See Results

Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ) today announced a seminar series with IBM and co-author of Unleashing the Killer App; Digital Strategies for Market Dominance, Larry Downes. The multi-city tour, entitled "Foresight on the Future," is scheduled to begin on October 2nd in San Francisco. The seminar will show attendees how to stay current on emerging trends and identify the technologies that will help them better understand their business and achieve operational excellence.

Downes, co-author of Unleashing the Killer App; Digital Strategies for Market Dominance, and author of the forthcoming book, The Perpetual Strategy Machine: Transforming Your Business for a New Industrial Revolution (HarperBusiness, Spring 2002) will keynote the series on the coming revolution in BI. In what he calls "The New Industrial Revolution," companies will gain competitive advantage from their ability to harness that data to create new information-based products and services.

Downes will describe how the process of industry transformation has already shaken entertainment, financial services, and manufacturing industries, and some of the surprising lessons that will help attendees prepare for the future. According to Downes, "The predictable decline in computing costs will lead to new sources of data -- from customers, from intelligent devices, even from packages -- working their way up the supply chain."

Discussions with Business Objects and IBM executives will focus on how to center on the investments that will immediately yield the most benefits for the company and streamline the company's operations that will lead to greater profitability in the short-term. Attendees will also learn how to gain instant access to the information necessary to make better business decisions and operate more effectively and more efficiently while providing an instant return on investment (ROI).

"With so many technologies and ambiguous terms floating around these days, it is difficult to know what they all mean, let alone which ones are temporary, and which ones are here to stay," said Alex Moissis, vice president of marketing for North America at Business Objects. "This concise and interactive seminar will not only show attendees how to spot the technologies to invest in for the long-term, but also give specific guidelines on how to turn those investments into short-term profitability and competitive advantage."

Registration, Dates, and Locations

-- Tuesday, October 2, San Francisco, CA., The Palace Hotel

-- Wednesday, October 3, New York City, NY., The Plaza

-- Thursday, October 4, Chicago, IL., The Omni Chicago Hotel

To register for the Business Objects/IBM Seminar Series, visit www.businessobjects.com/foresightrsvp/ or call 1-800-214-8246. All seminar attendees will receive a free copy of Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance, co-authored by Larry Downes.

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 13,500 customers in over 170 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.

A full-text copy 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.