Business Objects and Netezza Introduce Turnkey Business Intelligence Appliance for the Mid-Market

Business Wire, March 14, 2007

Integrated Solution Speeds Deployment of BI and Data Warehousing Technology, Offers Significant Ease-of-Use Benefits, and Enterprise-Class Capabilities at an Affordable Price

CHICAGO -- 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[R], 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[R] (NPS[R]) 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 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.

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[TM] 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.