BusinessObjects

{{Infobox company

| name = Business Objects SA

| logo =

| slogan =

| fate = Acquired by SAP ({{end date and age|2007}})

| foundation = {{start date and age|1990}}

| location = San Jose, California and Paris, France

| key_people = John G. Schwarz, CEO
Bernard Liautaud, Chairman and Founder

| num_employees =

| revenue =

| industry = Software

| products = {{nowrap|Business intelligence tools
Data visualization tools
Analytics tools
Data warehousing tools
ETL tools}}

| homepage = {{URL|https://www.sap.com/}}

}}

Business Objects (BO, BOBJ, or BObjects) was an enterprise software company, specializing in business intelligence (BI). Business Objects was acquired in 2007 by German company SAP AG. The company claimed more than 46,000 customers in its final earnings release prior to being acquired by SAP.{{cite web |url=http://www.sap.com/about/newsroom/businessobjects/20080129_006682.epx |title=Press and News | About SAP AG |publisher=SAP |access-date=2014-04-09 |archive-date=2010-08-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818041607/http://www.sap.com/about/newsroom/businessobjects/20080129_006682.epx |url-status=dead }} Its flagship product was BusinessObjects XI (or BOXI{{cite web | url=https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/it/services/boxi/access.aspx | title=How do I gain access to BOXI | publisher=University of Birmingham | access-date=2019-03-07}}), with components that provide performance management, planning, reporting, query and analysis, as well as enterprise information management. Business Objects also offered consulting and education services to help customers deploy its business intelligence projects. Other toolsets enabled universes (the Business Objects name for a semantic layer between the physical data store and the front-end reporting tool) and ready-written reports to be stored centrally and made selectively available to communities of the users.

History

{{Interlanguage link multi|Bernard Liautaud|fr}} co-founded Business Objects in 1990 together with {{Interlanguage link multi|Denis Payre|fr}}, and was chief executive until September 2005, when he became chairman and chief executive until January 2008.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}} The concept of Business Objects and its initial implementation came from Jean-Michel Cambot.{{Citation needed|date=March 2019}}

In 1990, the first customer, Coface, was signed. The company went public on NASDAQ in September 1994, making it the first European software company listed in the United States.{{Citation needed|date=September 2008}} In 2002, the company made Time magazine Europe's Digital Top 25 of 2002 and were BusinessWeek Europe Stars of Europe.

On 7 October 2007, SAP AG announced{{cite news | url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap_working/financialnews/D8S4K2580.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_top+story | title=SAP to buy BusinessObjects for $6.8B | agency=Associated Press | access-date=2007-10-07 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071012175940/http://businessweek.com/ap_working/financialnews/D8S4K2580.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_top+story |archive-date = 2007-10-12}} that it would acquire Business Objects for $6.8 billion. As of 22 January 2008, the corporation was fully operated by SAP; this was seen as part of a growing consolidation trend in the business software industry, with Oracle acquiring Hyperion in 2007 and IBM acquiring Cognos in 2008.

Business Objects had two headquarters in San Jose, California, and Paris, France, but their biggest office was in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.{{Citation needed|date=April 2019}} The company's stock was traded on both the Nasdaq and Euronext Paris (BOB) stock exchanges.

= Legal =

On April 2, 2007, a lawsuit from Informatica (inherited by Business Objects from the purchase of Acta Technologies in 2002) resulted in an award of $25 million in damages to Informatica for patent infringement. The lawsuit related to embedded data flows with one input and one output. Informatica asserted that the ActaWorks product (later sold by Business Objects as part of Data Integrator), infringed several Informatica patents including US Patent Nos. 6,014,670 and 6,339,775, both titled "Apparatus and Method for Performing Data Transformations in Data Warehousing." Business Objects subsequently released a new version of Data Integrator (11.7.2) which removed the infringing product capability.{{cite web|url=http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/press/newsroom/businessobjects/20070402_006417.epx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120726194901/http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/press/newsroom/businessobjects/20070402_006417.epx |archive-date=26 July 2012 |url-status=live |title=BusinessObjects Issues Statement on Informatica Lawsuit |publisher=BusinessObjects |access-date=2007-06-01 }}

= Timeline =

1990: Business Objects launches Skipper SQL 2.0.x.
1994: Launches BusinessObjects v3.0 and goes public on the NASDAQ in September — the first French software company listed in the United States.{{cite web |url=http://www.mysql.com/news-and-events/generate-article.php?id=2004_30 |title=Bernard Liautaud Joins MySQL Board of Directors |work=MySQL |access-date=October 18, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204200028/http://www.mysql.com/news-and-events/generate-article.php?id=2004_30 |archive-date=December 4, 2010 }}
1996: Enters the OLAP market and launches BusinessObjects v4.0. Bernard Liautaud named one of BusinessWeek's "Hottest Entrepreneurs of the Year."
1997: Introduces WebIntelligence thin client, which enables shared information across an extranet.Howson, Cindi. BusinessObjects: the complete reference. RR Donnelley, 2003.
1999: General Electric (GE) begins working with the company.{{Citation needed|date=October 2010}} Business Objects goes public in France on the Premier Marché. Acquires Next Action Technologies.
2000: Acquires OLAP@Work for approximately $15 million{{cite web |url=http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/database-development/business-objects-acquires-olap-work.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130209095616/http://www.windowsitpro.com/article/database-development/business-objects-acquires-olap-work.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 9, 2013 |title=BusinessObjects Acquires OLAP@Work |date=May 9, 2000 }} and announces MDX Connect from this acquisition.{{cite web |url=http://www.information-management.com/news/2391-1.html |title=BusinessObjects Announces BusinessObjects MDX Connect, First Product in Enhanced OLAP Strategy |date=June 27, 2000 |work=Information Management Online}}
2001: SAP signs an OEM and reseller agreement to bundle Crystal Reports. Acquires Blue Edge Software.
2001: Signs up its single largest global software licensing transaction with Three, formerly known as Hutchison 3G.
2002: Acquires Acta Technologies.{{cite web |url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/enterpriseapps/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=6502780 |title=BusinessObjects To Buy Acta In Analysis Software Deal |last=Whiting |first=Rick |date=July 15, 2002 |work=InformationWeek}} Bernard Liautaud named to Business Week's "Stars of Europe," and the company is named one of the "100 Fastest Growing Tech Companies" by Business 2.0.{{cite web|url=https://data-flair.training/blogs/sap-businessobjects-reporting-tools/|title=SAP BusinessObjects Reporting Tools|date=18 April 2019 }} Informatica files a lawsuit against Acta, claiming patent rights infringement.
2003: Acquires Crystal Decisions for $820 million.{{cite web |url=http://www.infoworld.com/d/applications/business-objects-acquire-crystal-decisions-689 |title=BusinessObjects to acquire Crystal Decisions |date=July 18, 2003 |work=InfoWorld |last=Evers |first=Joris}} Business Objects releases Dashboard Manager, BusinessObjects Enterprise 6, and BusinessObjects Performance Manager.
2004: Debuts new combined company with the slogan, "Our Future is Clear, Crystal Clear." Launches Crystal v10 and BusinessObjects v6.5.
2005: Launches BusinessObjects XI. Acquires SRC Software, Infommersion, and Medience. Launches BusinessObjects Enterprise XI Release 2.
2006: Business Objects acquires Firstlogic, Inc and Nsite Software, Inc.{{cite web|last=Kirk |first=Jeremy |url=http://www.infoworld.com/t/business/business-objects-acquires-saas-firm-nsite-208 |title=BusinessObjects acquires SaaS firm Nsite | Business |publisher=InfoWorld |date=2006-12-01 |access-date=2014-04-09}}{{cite web |url=http://www.sap.com/about/press/businessobjects/20061130_005913.epx |title=Press and News | About SAP AG |publisher=SAP |access-date=2014-04-09 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
2006: Acquires ALG Software (formerly Armstrong Laing Group).{{Cite web|last=Preimesberger|first=Chris|date=2006-09-13|title=Business Objects Acquires ALG Software for $56M|url=https://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/business-objects-acquires-alg-software-for-56m/|access-date=2021-04-13|website=eWEEK|language=en-US}} Launches Crystal Xcelsius, which allows users to transform Microsoft Excel spreadsheet data into interactive Flash media files.
2007: Continuing its string of acquisitions, Business Objects acquires Cartesis{{cite web |url=http://www.crn.com/news/applications-os/199200495/business-objects-to-acquire-cartesis.htm;jsessionid=-XGs2LgE-630uscU42EZkg**.ecappj01 |title=BusinessObjects To Acquire Cartesis |work=CRN |last=Whiting |first=Rick |date=Apr 23, 2007 |access-date=October 18, 2010 |archive-date=June 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200606061113/https://www.crn.com/news/applications-os/199200495/business-objects-to-acquire-cartesis.htm;jsessionid=-XGs2LgE-630uscU42EZkg**.ecappj01 |url-status=dead }} and Inxight.
2007: In October, SAP AG's Chief Executive Henning Kagermann announced a $6.8 billion deal to acquire Business Objects.{{Cite web|last=Ferranti|first=Peter Sayer and Marc|date=2007-10-07|title=Update: SAP to buy Business Objects in $6.8B deal|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2539248/update--sap-to-buy-business-objects-in--6-8b-deal.html|access-date=2021-04-13|website=Computerworld|language=en}}
2008: In January, SAP absorbs all of Business Objects' offices, and renames the entity "Business Objects, an SAP company". Following the acquisition of Business Objects by SAP, the founder and CEO of Business Objects, Bernard Liautaud, announces his resignation.{{cite web |url=http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9060200/Business_Objects_founder_resigns_after_SAP_acquisition |work=Computer World |title=BusinessObjects founder resigns after SAP acquisition |last=Havenstein |first=Heather |date=January 30, 2008}}
2009: Business Objects becomes a division of SAP instead of a separate company. The portfolio brand "SAP BusinessObjects" was created. Some former Business Objects employees now officially work for SAP.{{Cite web|date=2016-06-20|title=SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence|url=https://www.element61.be/en/competence/sap-businessobjects-business-intelligence|access-date=2021-03-04|website=element61|language=en}}