Company executives will share business plans and performance with leading business and technology professionals; Global partners Intel and HP and regional partners BSG and MMT will also participate

Dubai - March 16th, 2005: Business Objects (Nasdaq: BOBJ; Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 - BOB), the world's leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, announced that its "Extreme Insight World Tour" will land in the Middle East beginning in Dubai on April 10th 2005. The 81-city world tour to introduce BusinessObjects XI, the industry's most integrated and advanced business intelligence platform begins on February 8th in Paris and zigzags its way across the globe, with dozens of stops in all parts of the world, including Amsterdam, Beijing, Birmingham, Dubai, Dublin, Edinburgh, Istanbul, Madrid, Milan, San Francisco, Sydney, and Toronto.

The international road show comes after the company announced record revenues for the fourth quarter of 2004, that reached US$266.7 million (Dirhams 978.79 million), or a growth rate of 45 percent year-over-year. For the full year 2004, the company reported total revenues of US$925.6 million (Dirhams 3,396.95 million), which grew 65 percent in comparison to the year 2003.

Revenues in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) totaled US$114.2 million (Dirhams 419.114 million) in 2004, up 11 percent year-over-year.

Leading Company international business executives will launch BusinessObjects XI, the most advanced and complete platform in BI. BusinessObjects XI is the first and only BI platform that delivers a complete set of market leading Business Intelligence capabilities: best in class reporting, query and analysis, performance management, and data integration.

"The need for business intelligence is growing exponentially as companies realize they need complete transparency - or extreme insight - so they can make the best decisions for their business every day. We have brought this product to the Middle East because we feel that IT professionals and businesspersons in the region are looking to get more out of their corporate data as businesses continue to grow in size and sophistication," said Eryk Markiewicz, Regional Marketing Manager for Business Objects EEMEA. "The road show is an opportunity to learn more about BusinessObjects XI and its proven, modern, service-oriented architecture that will put organizations on the right path for its BI needs. We encourage everyone who has a business intelligence deployment in place, or is planning one in the future, to join us for this landmark event and learn more about where the future of business intelligence is headed today."

Those who attend one of the designated events will receive an extensive overview of the product, as well as a demonstration of the new break-through capabilities that will redefine the way organizations capture, share, and use information.

"We are very proud to have our Platinum Business Partners in the Middle East - BSG and MMT as sponsors of the Extreme Insight World Tour in the Middle East. Our Partners are committed to delivering customers industry-leading solutions with BusinessObjects XI that enable increased levels of business agility and performance for managing information," said Trevor Caddy, Regional Manager for Business Object Middle East. "We encourage business users and IT professionals to take advantage of the Extreme Insight World Tour and learn how Business Objects and its partners are working together to provide solutions that meet their needs."

Speakers at the event will include top Sales, Alliances and Marketing Business Objects Executives including:

- Ren Bonvanie - Chief Marketing Officer, Business Objects

- Timo Elliott - Senior Director Strategic Marketing, Business Objects

- Jill Henry - European Alliances Director, Business Objects

- Trevor Caddy - Regional Manager, Business Objects Middle East

- Raheel Khan - Regional Presales Manager, Business Objects Middle East

- Thierry Nicault - Regional Director, Business Objects EEMEA

For more information about the BusinessObjects XI Launch Event in the Middle East and about Business Objects in the region, visit www.me.businessobjects.com.

-Ends-

About Business Objects:
Business Objects is the world's leading business intelligence (BI) software company. With more than 30,000 customers worldwide, including over 80 percent of the Fortune 500, Business Objects helps organizations gain better insight into their business, improve decision making, and optimize enterprise performance. The company's business intelligence platform, BusinessObjects XI, offers the BI industry's most advanced and complete platform for reporting, query and analysis, performance management, and data integration. BusinessObjects XI includes Crystal Reports, the industry standard for enterprise reporting. Business Objects has also built the industry's strongest and most diverse partner community, with more than 3,000 partners worldwide. In addition, the company offers consulting and education services to help customers effectively deploy their business intelligence projects.

Business Objects has dual headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and Paris, France. The company's stock is traded on both the Nasdaq (BOBJ) and Euronext Paris (ISIN: FR0004026250 - BOB) stock exchanges. More information about Business Objects can be found at www.businessobjects.com.

Business Objects and the Business Objects logo, BusinessObjects, Web Intelligence, Crystal Reports, Crystal Enterprise, Crystal Analysis, RapidMarts and BusinessQuery are trademarks or registered trademarks of Business Objects S.A. or its affiliated companies in the United States and/or other countries. All other names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information, please contact:
Business Objects Middle East
Trevor Caddy
Regional Manager,
Business Objects Middle East
Address: Regus Union House,
5th Floor, PO Box 43659,
Dubai,
UAE
Tel: +97142115188
FAX: +97142115101
E-mail: Trevor.Caddy@businessobjects.com
Website: www.me.businessobjects.com

Press Contacts:
Eryk Markiewicz
BUSINESS OBJECTS
+33 (0)1 4125 2457
eryk.markiewicz@businessobjects.com

Antoine Billon
RUMEUR PUBLIQUE
+33 (0)1 5574 5205
antoine@rp-net.com

For media requests, please contact:
Layth Dajani
The CONTENT Factory
P.O. Box 29764,
Dubai
United Arab Emirates
Tel: +97143341880
Tel 2: +97143676534
Fax: +97184480574
Mobile: +971507145640
E-mail: layth@tcf-me.com

© Press Release 2005