Business Objects set to nab BI market leadership?
Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 12/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
Business Objects wants to be the world's leading supplier of business intelligence software by 2005. Bernard Liautaud, chairman and CEO, made that declaration at the annual Business Objects user conference held in Phoenix in early November.
He then outlined why Business Objects is equipped to challenge current market leader SAS, which recorded $1.18 billion in revenues in 2002, for the top spot in the BI space. First, he said, BI is now "the sweet spot of the enterprise software market" as companies look to wring more value out of existing business applications rather than purchase new ones.
BI was one of the few software categories to show sales growth during the recent technology slowdown. And Liautaud believes the pending acquisition of Crystal Decisions, and its business reporting tools, will allow Business Objects to build on the 18-percent sales increase it reported in its most recent fiscal quarter. If nothing else, the deal will immediately make Business Objects an $800-million company, putting it close to its $1-billion goal.
