BUSINESS OBJECTS AND NETEZZA INTRODUCE TURNKEY BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE APPLIANCE FOR THE MID-MARKET
Integrated Solution Speeds Deployment of BI and Data Warehousing Technology, Offers Significant Ease-of-Use Benefits, and Enterprise-Class Capabilities at an Affordable Price
Gartner BI Summit — Chicago — March 14, 2007 — Business Objects (Nasdaq: BOBJ; Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), the world’s leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, and Netezza Corporation, a leading provider of data warehouse appliances, today announced the availability of an integrated mid-market BI solution. This BI appliance combines Business Objects Crystal Decisions®, the new mid-market BI platform from Business Objects, and Netezza’s smaller data warehouse appliance in one product. The integrated solution delivers a complete BI and data warehouse solution with ease-of-deployment and lower price point characteristics that are appealing to mid-sized companies.
The combination of the high-performance Netezza Performance Server® (NPS®) system and the Business Objects business intelligence platform results in a powerful BI foundation that delivers the full spectrum of BI capabilities while minimizing data management and administrative complexity. The integrated solution, which is available in one and three terabyte configurations, enables customers to match the BI capabilities of high-performance, enterprise-class organizations with just a fraction of the resources. This solution is architected to enable rapid deployment and deliver compelling query performance against large amounts of detailed data at a lower cost of ownership.
Initially, this solution will be offered through select third-party system integration and solution provider partners who are working closely with both companies today. These channel partners can also provide implementation and other value added services to customers as appropriate.
“We are very excited about this offering,” said John Morrissey, managing director at Data Management Group, a Business Objects Platinum Partner. “Historically, mid-market companies in data-intensive industries have struggled because of the significant amount of expertise and resources required to maintain and administer high-performance BI environments. This solution challenges traditional assumptions of what can be achieved within mid-market budgets, and we see tremendous potential in this.”
“At the upper end of the mid-market, there are thousands of companies
who have substantial data volumes, and who are struggling to use this data in
ways that lets them transform their business to achieve greater market success,”
said Todd Rowe, vice president and general manager of worldwide mid-market business
at Business Objects. “This new BI appliance eliminates most of the obstacles
that have prevented these companies from deploying or deriving the full value
from BI. This is about helping companies achieve ten to one hundred times the
typical BI performance in a way that doesn’t put a strain on their budget
or their IT resources.”
Business Objects and Netezza are also working closely to develop a targeted
appliance that specifically addresses the BI needs of organizations using SAP
solutions. This appliance will extend the reach of the recently announced joint
SAP solution. The integrated solution will allow customers to quickly move data
from their SAP application environment to the Netezza data warehouse appliance
to analyze and report against this information using Business Objects applications.
“Netezza’s enterprise customers are leveraging our data warehouse appliance with great success today,” said Vishal Daga, Director of Partner Marketing at Netezza Corp. “We are excited to continue our tradition of innovation and extend the ease-of-use and performance benefits of the appliance to a broader set of customers. The integrated solution offers a compelling value proposition and enables mid-market companies to more efficiently leverage BI and outmaneuver their larger competitors.”
Availability
The mid-market Business Objects and Netezza BI appliance is available today.
About Business Objects
Business Objects is the world’s leading business intelligence (BI) software
company, with more than 42,000 customers worldwide, including over 80 percent
of the Fortune 500. Business Objects helps organizations of all sizes create
a trusted foundation for decision making, gain better insight into their business,
and optimize performance. The company’s innovative business intelligence
suite, BusinessObjects™ XI, offers the BI industry’s most advanced
and complete solution for performance management, planning, reporting, query
and analysis, and enterprise information management. BusinessObjects XI includes
the award-winning Crystal line of reporting and data visualization software.
Business Objects has also built the industry’s strongest and most diverse
partner community, and 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.
About Netezza Corporation
Netezza is a leading provider of data warehouse appliances. The Netezza Performance
Server data warehouse appliance integrates database, server and storage platforms
in a purpose-built system to perform detailed queries and analyses on large
volumes of stored data. Recognizing the limitations of traditional data warehouse
solutions, Netezza designed its NPS family of data warehouse appliances specifically
for analysis of terabytes of data at higher performance levels, a lower total
cost of ownership and with greater ease of use than can be achieved via traditional
solutions. Based in Framingham, Mass., Netezza has offices in Washington, DC,
the United Kingdom and Asia Pacific. The Company is backed by leading venture
capital firms, including Matrix Partners, Charles River Ventures, Battery Ventures,
Orange, Sequoia Capital and Meritech Capital Partners. For more information
about Netezza, please visit www.netezza.com.
Safe Harbor for Forward Looking Statements
Certain sections of this press release contain forward-looking statements that
are based on assumptions regarding Business Objects’ product release date.
However, these statements are not guarantees of the date of availability, which
may be delayed or cancelled or cancelled, or of the availability of the features
mentioned, which may be changed or removed prior to release. Statements such
as “expected” denote forward-looking statements, and the word “launch”
refers to pre-release marketing activities and does not denote general availability.
Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. More information
about potential factors that could affect Business Objects' business is included
in Business Objects' Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006 and Form
10-Q for the quarter ended December 31, 2006, each of which is on file with
the SEC and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. All forward looking
statements speak only as of the date of this press release. Business Objects
is not obligated to undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking
statements to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after
the date of this press release.
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Follow this link for more information on Netezza data warehouses.