The Dozen 2002Business Objects SASan Jose, Calif.We have entered the "Age of Analytics," Bernard Liautaud, CEO of Business Objects, said in a recent interview. Database infrastructures are in place; enterprise applications have ironed out business processes. What's next is a period of intense focus on deriving value out of the vast and varied information businesses have within their reach. Visibility into data generated by transaction systems and business processes will lead to more informed decisions and — closing the loop — more efficient operations. Customers will be happier. Business partners will engage in deeper relationships. Mathematicians will never go hungry. Aye, there's the rub. "Analytics," to many people, means hiring a fleet of Ph.D.s to develop data mining algorithms and statistical models for things like fraud detection, customer segmentation, and currency trading. Big companies do that. "Business intelligence" at least sounds like something any business would engage in. You notice that the market down the street is selling bananas for 20 cents less a pound, which appears to be why your bananas aren't selling. That's intelligence. Magnify that problem by 150 regional stores, 20 different suppliers around the world, and a few weird variables involving customer taste, and you need software that can crunch the numbers and keep key people informed. "We're at the very beginning," Liautaud says: but in fact, the modern BI industry, emerging with client/ server systems and expanding with the Internet, has had a tremendous run. The BI industry we've known is maturing; and while some competitors are stumbling, Business Objects is becoming a leader — an enterprise standard that no one would lose sleep over selecting. How could the course of events be any different in the Age of Analytics? ANALYTICS FOR THE MASSESThe difference is that a much larger critical mass is forming, driven by the Internet and less expensive computing power. In some respects, the Age of Analytics will simply mean "extreme" BI: that is, more users banging on the software at all times, from a variety of computing devices. XML will test existing BI schemas. Portals will create demand for new ways of visualizing the data, including through realtime performance metrics. Deeper analytics, associated with the user's role, will be the secret sauce. If any vendor can carry this load into the market, it's Business Objects. Most analytic applications will reach business users as a package of value-added features for ERP, CRM, and other enterprise systems; Business Objects is a major partner with the key providers. However, the heat on analytics is inviting new competitors. Business Objects will be tested: but the company has what it takes to stay ahead of the pack. MAJOR MOVES IN 2001· Released the Business Objects Application Foundation, a suite of packaged analytic applications · Launched InfoView Mobile 4.0, a BI module for mobile applications CLASSIC CUSTOMERS· The American Red Cross uses Business Objects products to manage blood availability, the manufacturing of blood products, and information access for regional centers · Sumitomo Corp. has standardized on Business Objects for enterprise reporting; it uses the tools to create a corporate portal that gives subsidiaries immediate access to performance metrics
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