SAN JOSE, Calif., July 8, 2004--Business Objects (Nasdaq:BOBJ) (Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), today announced that it has been named the leader of the business intelligence (BI) tools market, according to the 2003 market share numbers issued last week by IDC. In addition to owning the top market share, Business Objects was recognized as one of the fastest growing business intelligence vendors, with a growth rate of nearly 17%.

The IDC report, "Worldwide Business Intelligence Tools Forecast and Analysis, 2003 - 2008," combines software license and maintenance revenue data from query, reporting, and analysis tools; data mining software; and packaged data mart and data warehouse products. In the report, IDC notes that in 2003, the BI market grew to $3.9 billion worldwide. Business Objects commanded the top market share with 16.5%, based on 2003 revenues of $639.4 million. In the largest segment of the BI tools market, end-user query, reporting, and analysis, Business Objects captured over 20% of the market. This represents a market share that is almost double that of the next largest competitor.

"Business Objects is clearly the largest business intelligence tools vendor in the market," said Dan Vesset, research director at IDC. "The BI market continues to show steady growth, and the breadth of products in the Business Objects portfolio should help it remain a dominant player in the market for the foreseeable future."

"Business Objects is the clear leader in the business intelligence market through innovation and product enhancements," said Chris Caren, vice president of corporate marketing. "With last week's launch of BusinessObjects 6.5, we continue to set the standard in business intelligence, delivering the industry's strongest product line with leading offerings in reporting, ad hoc query and analysis, enterprise performance management, data integration, and analytic applications."

About Business Objects

Business Objects is the world's leading business intelligence (BI) software company. Business intelligence enables organizations to track, understand, and manage enterprise performance. The company's solutions leverage the information that is stored in an array of corporate databases, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Popular uses of BI include enterprise reporting, management dashboards and scorecards, customer intelligence applications, financial reporting, and both customer and partner extranets. These solutions enable companies to gain visibility into their business, acquire and retain profitable customers, reduce costs, optimize the supply chain, increase productivity, and improve financial performance.

In December 2003, Business Objects completed the acquisition of Crystal Decisions, the leader in enterprise reporting. The combined product line includes software for reporting, query and analysis, performance management, analytic applications, and data integration. In addition, Business Objects offers consulting and education services to help customers effectively deploy their business intelligence projects.

Business Objects has more than 24,000 customers in over 80 countries. The company's stock is traded under the ticker symbols NASDAQ: BOBJ and Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0004026250 - BOB). It is included in the SBF 120 and IT CAC 50 French stock market indexes. Business Objects can be reached at 408-953-6000 and http://www.businessobjects.com.

Business Objects and the Business Objects logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. or its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries.

Business Objects
Peter Olson, 408-953-6320
peter.olson@businessobjects.com
or
Eastwick Communications
Katie Zack, 650-480-4041
katie@eastwick.com