Business Objects and Adobe Form Technology Partnership

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ; Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), have agreed to jointly develop new technology to dramatically improve the productivity of information workers. Under the terms of the agreement, Adobe and Business Objects will undertake multiple initiatives to drive product interoperability and optimization, technology adoption, and product distribution.

One of the key initiatives is the development of a Business Objects Xcelsius® Connector to Adobe® LiveCycle® Data Services ES. LiveCycle Data Services, a component of Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite software, provides data remoting, messaging, and data management capabilities to help developers more efficiently integrate rich Internet applications (RIAs) with existing applications, back-end data, and J2EE infrastructure. The Connector will allow Xcelsius users to utilize LiveCycle Data Services to stream real-time data into Xcelsius interactive dashboards, animated charts and graphs, financial presentations, or business calculators, delivering meaningful information in a visually engaging way.

Additionally, exploration will begin in the development of a seamless integration between Adobe Flex™ and Business Objects Xcelsius to broaden the landscape of components that both Xcelsius and Flex developers can utilize to create richer, more engaging business intelligence applications in a shorter period of time. Adobe and Business Objects are also enhancing Xcelsius to allow it to export applications to Adobe® AIR™, a cross operating system application runtime that allows developers to use HTML/CSS, Ajax, Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex to extend RIAs to the desktop. With export to Adobe AIR, Xcelsius will open up Adobe AIR development to a new, non-developer audience with its unique capability to create interactive Adobe AIR applications without writing a single line of code.

By combining the power of business intelligence with the engaging experience of RIAs, Adobe and Business Objects are committed to bringing to market a new, user-defined work environment that easily facilitates real-time communication, collaboration, and the retrieval and exchange of intelligent data. “Today’s documents and applications can be described as islands of information where business data quickly becomes outdated or scattered,” said Hervé Couturier, senior vice president, Products, Business Objects. “Our collaboration with Adobe will combine technologies that will transform static applications and dashboards into intelligent and connected experiences that will be more relevant to information workers.”

“Present work environments are heavily tools-defined and do not address the differing needs of information workers,” said David Mendels, senior vice president, Business Productivity Business Unit, Adobe. “We are pleased to be working with Business Objects to help revolutionize the entire work experience by creating an intuitive and live work environment where collaboration, interactivity, and real-time data are a seamless part of every document and application.”

Demonstration
During MAX, Adobe and Business Objects will demonstrate the next-generation work environment built with joint technologies. The demonstration will represent a dramatically simpler, more engaging, and intelligent work environment where business data is no longer static, but real-time, annotated, and rated by the users. In addition, Business Objects will present a prototype of a RIA based on Adobe AIR from the Business Objects Labs. Business Objects will also present demonstrations of Adobe Flash and Adobe Flex integrated within Xcelsius and Crystal Reports, and Xcelsius and Adobe LiveCycle Data Services ES, to dramatically improve the access and navigation of business information for information workers. For more information on the partnership between Adobe and Business Objects, please visit Booth# 37 at Adobe MAX.

Availability
The first phase of the companies’ initiative will feature joint technology enablement and product distribution. Under the agreement, Adobe LiveCycle Data Services ES Connector for Xcelsius is expected to be available as a Business Objects bundled product in Q1 2008. The availability of further joint offerings from the two companies will be announced in the first half of 2008.