Business Objects Announces Crystal Enterprise 10 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Business Wire, June 7, 2004

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2004

New Platform Release Jointly Developed with IBM as Part of

Multi-Year Agreement to Drive Linux Adoption

Business Objects, (Nasdaq:BOBJ) (Euronext Paris ISIN code FR0004026250-BOB), a leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced the availability of Crystal Enterprise 10 on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform. IBM supported Business Objects in the development of Crystal Enterprise 10 on the Linux platform as part of a joint agreement to drive business intelligence adoption in the Linux community. In addition, Business Objects and IBM will collaborate on marketing activities including a webinar series and trade shows.

"At IBM, we view Linux as a strategic and important market for our customers," said Karen Parrish, Vice President, Business Intelligence Solutions at IBM. "Linux is now a mainstream platform, and customers are increasingly looking for leading software vendors to develop applications that support Linux. The combination of enterprise-class reporting tools from Business Objects with data warehouse software from IBM provides customers with an integrated Linux platform that enables customers to develop rich end-to-end solutions to meet industry specific needs."

Crystal Enterprise 10 is fully certified and compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, enabling IT managers to integrate reporting functionality into their Linux applications. In addition, Business Objects and IBM have delivered Crystal Enterprise 10 on Linux to run on IBM's xSeries servers for Linux.

"As our organization becomes increasingly committed to Linux, we are excited that Business Objects allows us to add business intelligence to our Linux platform," said Michael Carver, Project Manager of Fairfax County Public Schools. "With Crystal Enterprise on Linux, we can easily meet any reporting requirement. The product integrates easily with our applications and maximizes our existing investments in Linux."

"As a leader in the BI market, Business Objects is committed to helping our customers maximize their technology investments, regardless of platform, application, or operating system," said Chris Caren, vice president of corporate marketing at Business Objects. "We recognize that Linux is a strategic platform and we look forward to working together with IBM to promote business intelligence deployments built on open platforms and standards such as Linux and Java."

Availability

Crystal Enterprise 10 certified on Red Hat Enterprise Linux is available now.

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading business intelligence (BI) software company. Business intelligence 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 http://www.businessobjects.com.

Business Objects, the Business Objects logo, and BusinessObjects are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects SA or its affiliated companies in the United States and other countries.