Independent Research Firm Ranks Business Objects Number One in Business Intelligence Return on Investment Scorecard

Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ) (Euronext Paris ISIN code:FR0004026250 - BOB), the world's leading provider of businessintelligence (BI) solutions, today announced that Nucleus Research, aglobal provider of IT research and advisory services, ranked BusinessObjects first in its BI Return on Investment (ROI) Scorecard. TheNucleus BI ROI Scorecard, which rates product suites from BI vendorson their ability to deliver ROI to customers, is based on fivecriteria: deployment time, adoption, support, business impact, andcustomer interaction with the vendor. BusinessObjects(TM) XI Release2, the newest version of the industry's most advanced and completebusiness intelligence platform, surpassed product suites from other BIvendors including Cognos, Microsoft, Hyperion, Microstrategy, and SAS.

The Nucleus BI ROI Scorecard rates vendor platforms by conductingin-depth analysis of customer deployments and measuring vendors'ability to provide positive ROI to customers within a reasonable timeframe. The study ranked BusinessObjects XI Release 2 number one foradoption rates based on innovations that ease adoption for businessusers who are new to BI tools. The report emphasized the importance ofBusinessObjects Intelligent Question(TM), a groundbreaking solutionthat allows anyone to intuitively ask business questions and receivethe correct answers, without the need to build a query or know theunderlying systems or data. The Nucleus BI ROI Scorecard alsohighlighted Business Objects' recent acquisition of Infommersion, aleading interactive visual analytics company. Based on thisacquisition, Business Objects now offers Crystal Xcelsius(TM), whichgives business users a unique way to easily turn ordinary Excelspreadsheets into interactive, dynamic presentations. Business Objectsreceived high marks for providing these unique solutions that make BIeasily accessible to a broader audience.

Customers polled by Nucleus Research also gave the BusinessObjects platform top scores for new capabilities that enable easiermanagement of the entire BI platform. For example, the report foundthat both new and existing customers benefit from new tools that speeddeployment and assist in the upgrade process. Additionally,enhancements to the platform that enable more centralized managementof BI deployments have lowered customers' IT support requirements andreduced costs for new BI projects.

"Customers continue to embrace Business Objects as their vendor ofchoice for business intelligence based on our innovation and vision,and most of all, because we help them improve their bottom line," saidRene Bonvanie, chief marketing officer at Business Objects. "We arepleased that the Nucleus study confirms that BusinessObjects XIRelease 2 leads the pack. Our success with BusinessObjects XI has beenfantastic across the board. Customers and partners have rapidlyadopted it and this study shows that our momentum continues with thelatest version of our industry-leading BI solution."

"Business Objects has made solid improvements to its product linethat has added to the business value of its offerings," said KathyQuirk, research manager at Nucleus Research. "The company was thefirst among its competitors to reach the $1 billion in annual revenuemark, which shows not only the strength of the BI and analyticsmarket, but also a very healthy license growth rate since its releaseof BusinessObjects XI. Nucleus anticipates that Business Objects'ranking will be stable over the coming year."

About Nucleus Research

Nucleus Research is a global provider of IT advisory and researchservices that provides CFOs, CIOs and their staffs with the real-worldinformation they need to maximize the business returns from theirtechnology investments. Its analysts blend financial analysis andcase-based investigations with comprehensive technology expertise todeliver factual return-on-investment (ROI) data to organizationsworldwide. The company uses an uncompromising set of processes andtools to evaluate the financial return on IT assets and is the onlyfirm to gain certification by the National Association of State Boardsof Accountancy. Nucleus Research has analyst experts across the entireenterprise software and hardware space and provides clients withongoing advice to help with both short-term technology decisions andlong-term strategic plans. For more information, visitwww.nucleusresearch.com.

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading business intelligence (BI)software company. With more than 30,000 customers worldwide, includingover 80 percent of the Fortune 500, Business Objects helpsorganizations gain better insight into their business, improvedecision making, and optimize enterprise performance. The company'sbusiness intelligence platform, BusinessObjects(TM) XI, offers the BIindustry's most advanced and complete platform for performancemanagement, planning, reporting, query and analysis, and dataintegration. BusinessObjects XI includes Crystal Reports(R), theindustry standard for enterprise reporting. Business Objects has alsobuilt the industry's strongest and most diverse partner community, andthe company offers consulting and education services to help customerseffectively deploy their business intelligence projects.

Business Objects has dual headquarters in San Jose, Calif., andParis, France. The company's stock is traded on both the Nasdaq (BOBJ)and Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0004026250 - BOB) stock exchanges. Moreinformation about Business Objects can be found atwww.businessobjects.com.

Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects,WebIntelligence, Crystal Reports, Crystal Enterprise, IntelligentQuestion, and Crystal Xcelsius are trademarks or registered trademarksof Business Objects S.A. or its affiliated companies in the UnitedStates and/or other countries. All other names mentioned herein may betrademarks of their respective owners.