IBM and Business Objects Extend Strategic Relationship

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Business Objects (NASDAQ: BOBJ) (Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB) today announced a new agreement to develop and distribute pre- integrated data warehousing and business intelligence solutions to help customers harness information and make better business decisions.

“Customers are seeking ways to innovate and derive greater business value from their information,” said Ambuj Goyal, General Manager IBM Information Management, “To help meet this challenge, we are extending our partnership with Business Objects to accelerate the introduction of new Information on Demand solutions.”

Under the terms of the agreement IBM will include a starter edition of Business Objects business intelligence solutions with IBM DB2 and IBM DB2 Warehouse. In addition, Business Objects will distribute and resell IBM’s DB2 Warehouse with its Business Objects XI solutions and CFO Performance Management applications.

“Today, Business Objects and IBM -- two of the leaders in BI, performance management and data warehousing -- are coming together to help customers of all sizes capitalize on their corporate data to gain better business insight,” said John Schwarz, CEO of Business Objects, “This agreement will deliver significant value and choice to our mutual customers and partners by providing market-leading business intelligence on a proven and reliable information infrastructure.”

Geisinger Health System is one of the many companies already benefiting from joint IBM and Business Objects solutions. “Business intelligence is critical to helping us transform our extensive clinical information into improved patient care,” said Dr. Ronald A. Paulus, chief technology and innovation officer, Geisinger Health System. “When making decisions that could ultimately influence the care for over 2 million patients, we must be able to trust both the data and technology behind our BI. This agreement enhances our confidence in the partnership between these companies and their ability to fulfill our information management needs, both today and into the future.”