Business Objects Previews New Information OnDemand Solution

Business Objects Previews New Information OnDemand Solution

Business Objects previewed a new Information OnDemand offering today at its European User Conference in Berlin, Germany. This landmark solution makes external market information available to customers in BI-ready format, directly from within their business intelligence solution. This announcement continues the company’s momentum in the on demand BI market, where the company has established itself as the clear leader, with nearly 45,000 on demand subscribers.

For the first time, relevant external commercial data will be available in a familiar, easy to use BI format that is instantly ready to be analyzed, understood, and acted upon. The solution is expected to initially include financial and market data, available in pre-built analytics including Crystal reports and Crystal Xcelsius dashboards. Over time, the data available is planned to expand into dozens of other sources including industry data, such as retail and manufacturing information. Customers will be able to find and purchase the offerings from an online store, and then immediately make use of pre-built analytics and incorporate them into their existing BI system. The Business Objects Information OnDemand offering will enable customers to gain a more holistic view of their business and lead to more informed business decisions.

“Today’s business managers require more than just their own company data to make insightful decisions,” said Steve Lucas, vice president of the on demand business at Business Objects. “Companies need to leverage accurate and up-to-date external data to quickly perform market research, sales planning, financial, and competitive analyses. However, manually collecting, cutting, and pasting that data for analysis is time-consuming, tedious, and error-prone. Our new solution will revolutionize the way companies use external financial and market data in their reports and dashboards, by putting relevant third party information directly at their fingertips. Our customers will have the external information they need, in the format they want, just a click away.”

The Business Objects Information OnDemand offering will enable customers to quickly identify and purchase only the information that is relevant and important to them, without having to sign up for a full data service. Much the same way the iTunes Store allows iTunes users to purchase an individual song from within a full album, the Information OnDemand solution will allow Business Objects customers to purchase individual reports and analytics pre-populated with content from the available data providers. This information will be delivered in a format that is already configured for use – as stand alone views and within their Business Objects solution – saving significant time and effort, and reducing user entry errors that often occur with traditional methods of including external data sources in BI analyses.

For example, a business manager trying to create a benchmark comparison of company performance with key competitors would typically have to gather information from SEC filings and multiple other sources, compile the data into a spreadsheet, and then load the information into their business intelligence system. With Information OnDemand, the business manager will be able to simply access the Business Objects Information OnDemand store and select the required market data. Since it is pre-formatted for easy use, the data will be ready to view or use in their reports and dashboards for comparison.

This new solution will also open up new opportunities for Business Objects partners. Business Objects Solution Provider Partners will be able to utilize the Business Objects OnDemand infrastructure to access the available external data sources and create their own specialized BI content for resale from the Business Objects store.

“Business Objects continues to demonstrate its leadership in the on demand BI space with this market-leading innovation,” said Rene Bonvanie, senior vice president and general manager of AppExchange and Developer Relations at salesforce.com. “The ability to give customers access to valuable third party financial and market data in a BI-ready format makes great sense. This new software-as-a-service offering will provide customers with the flexibility and agility they need to help run their businesses. Through our partnership, Salesforce.com and Business Objects enable companies worldwide to successfully share, manage, and analyze their business information on demand.”

Business Objects plans to deliver a beta version of this new offering by the end of this quarter, and general availability is expected in Q3 of 2007.