Business Objects Provides Integrated Reporting for IBM Rational Application Developer

Business Wire, Jan 4, 2005

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Business Objects Extends Its Reach Into the Java Developer Community With Crystal Reports for IBM Rational Application Developer

Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ)(Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, today announced that Crystal Reports(R) is embedded in the latest release of IBM Rational Application Developer. Crystal Reports, the industry standard in reporting from Business Objects, is the only default reporting solution in the Rational environment. This is the first important milestone from a worldwide OEM and reseller agreement signed earlier this year by IBM and Business Objects.

Crystal Reports for IBM Rational Application Developer provides developers with numerous options to easily integrate Crystal Reports within their Java applications. Using the Crystal Reports embedded report designer, developers can design interactive, formatted reports from multiple data sources without leaving the Rational workspace. An intuitive drag-and-drop interface, object-oriented explorers, and optional wizards allow developers to design reports without any hand-coding. In addition, JavaServer Faces components can be added to create powerful J2EE applications built against the Crystal Enterprise(TM) framework.

"Embedding Crystal Reports into the IBM Rational Application Developer provides additional value to our customers by enabling them to easily add reporting functionality to their applications," said David Abelow, director of business partner marketing and business development for IBM Rational Software. "The addition of Crystal Reports to our solution enables customers to focus on building business logic into their applications, not on hand coding reports. This is just another example of how two leading companies can team together to help organizations lower their total cost of ownership and improve performance."

IBM and Business Objects have a partnership that is focused on helping joint customers maximize the return on investments. The development teams from the two companies have worked closely to ensure tight integration between the Business Objects and IBM Rational solutions, resulting in a seamless experience for companies choosing to use the Crystal functionality when building their Java applications.

"The Java developer community is an important area of focus for Business Objects," said Chris Caren, vice president of corporate marketing at Business Objects. "Crystal Reports has been, and will continue to be, the industry standard for enterprise reporting in the Java developer community. Having Crystal Reports embedded in the IBM Rational Application Developer will bring this leading reporting product to even more customers worldwide."

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 29,000 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, BusinessObjects, Crystal Reports, and Crystal Enterprise are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. or its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries. IBM, WebSphere, and Rational are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.