Business Objects Launches the Combined Company Resulting from the Acquisition of Crystal Decisions; The Clear Standard for Enterprise Business Intelligence.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 2004

Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ)(Euronext Paris ISIN code FR0004026250 - BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced the new combined company, resulting from the acquisition of Crystal Decisions, which closed on December 11, 2003.

The new Business Objects:

-- Is the clear leader in the enterprise business intelligence

market, with business intelligence revenues more than 50%

larger than its nearest competitors in BI license revenues

(based on the most recently reported quarters).

-- Has the industry's strongest product line with leading

offerings in enterprise reporting, ad hoc query and analysis,

enterprise performance management, data integration, and

analytic applications.

-- Has nearly 4000 employees serving the needs of customers in 80

countries around the world. Over 2300 of these employees are

in customer-facing positions in account management,

professional services, and customer support. Over 1000

employees are in product development, making this the business

intelligence industry's largest research and development

organization.

-- Has partnerships with over 1500 industry leaders including

system integrators, OEMs, VARs, and distributors.

-- Has more than 24,000 customers worldwide.

As part of the global launch of the new Business Objects, the company has announced:

-- The availability of the product integration roadmap, which

shows in detail how the Crystal and Business Objects product

lines will come together over the next few years.

-- The start of a global multimillion-dollar launch, including an

advertising campaign themed around "The Business Intelligence

Standard," and a global road show that will feature live

events in 80 cities in 29 countries. As part of this series,

the company is hosting a web seminar on January 14th, 2004.

Registration for this seminar is available at

www.businessobjects.com/clarity.

-- A San Jose, Calif-based press conference, happening today,

including journalists from around the world. Business Objects

will officially launch the company to the media and provide

details on the product integration roadmap.

-- The integration of the two companies' customer-facing

operations. The two companies' sales, marketing, professional

services, alliances, and technical support organizations are

now one. In addition, the company's external websites have

been integrated.

-- A global kickoff in Orlando, Florida the week of January 15th,

where over 1300 attendees will receive comprehensive training

and education to assure that the sales and presales

organizations will be prepared to deliver top-level service

and guidance to their customers.

"Today marks the beginning of a new era in business intelligence," said Bernard Liautaud, chairman and CEO of Business Objects. "We would like to welcome the new employees and customers to the Business Objects family and we look forward to partnering with them as we continue to build a great company that will help our customers achieve stellar results in enterprise performance."

To obtain more information on each of the launch activities, visit the Business Objects website at www.businessobjects.com

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading business intelligence (BI) software company. Business Objects enables organizations to track, understand, and manage enterprise performance. The company's solutions leverage the information that is stored in an array of corporate databases, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Popular uses of BI include enterprise reporting, management dashboards and scorecards, customer intelligence applications, financial reporting, and both customer and partner extranets. These solutions enable companies to gain visibility into their business, acquire and retain profitable customers, reduce costs, optimize the supply chain, increase productivity, and improve financial performance.

In December 2003, Business Objects completed the acquisition of Crystal Decisions, the leader in enterprise reporting. The combined product line includes software for reporting, query and analysis, performance management, analytic applications, and data integration. In addition, Business Objects offers consulting and education services to help customers effectively deploy their business intelligence projects.

Business Objects has more than 24,000 customers in over 80 countries. The company's stock is traded under the ticker symbols NASDAQ: BOBJ and Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0004026250 - BOB). 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

BusinessObjects is a trademark 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.