Business Objects Survey Shows Executives Suffer From Presentation Burn Out; Poll of Over 380 Executives Indicates a Need for More Interactive Presentation Solutions.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Most business executives suffer from "presentation fatigue," a direct result of the vast amounts of time they spend preparing for and giving presentations each month, according to a survey from Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ)(Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions. The survey indicated that while executives have improved access to data, they need solutions that can help them quickly and easily present that information in a visually appealing format.

A recent online poll of 382 executives found that over half of the respondents give one or more presentations per month. Of those respondents, 36 percent found presenting data to the board or senior management "tedious," with a further 24 percent stating they "dread it each time it comes around."

The poll results reveal that preparing for presentations is time-consuming and stressful for most executives. Survey participants admitted (45 percent) that it often takes them one or more hours to convert data in Excel spreadsheets into a format for a meeting or presentation. An additional 34 percent of the executives surveyed have pulled an all-nighter to prepare for a big presentation.

As more and more is demanded of executives at board meetings, customer events, and financial reviews, they need to find ways to make the data presentation process simpler and more compelling. Crystal Xcelsius(TM) from Business Objects offers executives a simple way to create sophisticated, dynamic presentations. With Crystal Xcelsius, the leading data visualization solution, presenters can easily transform Excel spreadsheets into unique presentations that include interactive dashboards and maps.

"As we all know, presentations can either lull an audience to sleep, or they can energize them to act," said Donald MacCormick, vice president of product marketing for Business Objects. "Crystal Xcelsius serves as a life raft for people creating countless presentations, enabling them to create attention-grabbing demonstrations that bring data to life and inspire their customers, managers, and sales team."

This survey was conducted by Zoomerang. Zoomerang samples are drawn from a professionally-managed panel of 2 million opt-in survey respondents, profiled with comprehensive respondent data including demographic, technographic, and behavioral. For more information please refer to: http://info.zoomerang.com/zsample.htm

To learn more about Crystal Xcelsius and use sample dashboards, please visit: http://www.xcelsius.com

About Zoomerang and MarketTools

Zoomerang, the world's premier online survey software, was launched by MarketTools, Inc. in 1999 to provide a powerful, streamlined alternative for organizations needing to conduct accurate, comprehensive surveys with a minimum of cost and effort. The company offers the leading self-service survey tool for online research to more than 800,000 satisfied customers. For more information go to www.zoomerang.com or call 1-800-316-0662.

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading business intelligence (BI) software company. With more than 35,000 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 complete and trusted platform for performance management, planning, reporting, query and analysis, and enterprise information management. BusinessObjects XI includes Crystal Reports(R), the industry standard for enterprise reporting. Business Objects has also built the industry's strongest and most diverse partner community, and the company 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.

The Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, Intelligent Question, and Xcelsius are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects in the United States and/or other countries. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.