FSN: Business Objects unveils BusinessObjects XI 3.0

Business Objects unveils BusinessObjects XI 3.0

18th February 2008
Business Objects, a specialist in business performance management and now an SAP company has announced the release of BusinessObjects XI 3.0. It says the new release breaks the barriers of traditional business intelligence (BI), helping to ensure that all people connected with an organisation can have access to the information they need to make a difference. Notable features include support for text and integration of ‘BI ready' external data sources such as Thomson Financial.

According to Business Objects, BI solutions have traditionally focused on the most easily obtainable data: process-centric ‘structured' information – numbers and text stored in internal databases – analysed by a select group of data analysts and shared among slices of isolated user communities. In fact a recent survey of 154 global C-level executives conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and commissioned by Business Objects, says that less than one in 10 corporate executives believe they have the right information needed to make critical business decisions. The aim of BusinessObjects XI 3.0, is that all information will be accessible to people throughout the organisation and their extended business network.

A key feature of the new BI platform is that it supports integrated text analysis, allowing the thoughts and opinions of customers and other people found in unstructured sources such as the Web, notes fields and emails to be easily incorporated into business intelligence and decision making. BusinessObjects XI 3.0 also provides what it describes as “BI-ready” external information on demand, from sources such as Thomson Financial and Dun & Bradstreet, so that organisations can compare and track key performance metrics against their direct competitors and the overall market.

Increased accessibility is another key feature. Business Objects says it has developed the next-generation user experience, including search and exploration, mobile BI and desktop-based metrics, to dramatically extend the power and freedom of BI to a far wider community.

Other key developments include, Web Intelligence, a query, reporting and analysis tool for SAP and non-SAP environments, now for the first time providing users with both online and offline access and BI Widgets, a new capability that puts personalised metrics directly on people's desktop, so they can monitor key performance indicators and access the most up-to-date information available.

Also, following the SAP acquisition BusinessObjects XI 3.0, provides enhanced support for SAP users including improved performance, increased support for SAP metadata and broader integration for SAP applications. BusinessObjects XI 3.0 is currently planned to be generally available in Q1, 2008, though certain components such as BusinessObjects XI 3.0 Mobile and BusinessObjects XI 3.0 Polestar are currently planned to be generally available later in 2008.

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