What a weekend for business intelligence. ERP and enterprise software giant SAP has announced it will be acquiring BI leader Business Objects in a $6.78 billion deal.
According to a report in ComputerWorld, acquiring Business Objects will allow SAP to move into the BI market in a big way. SAP CEO Henning Kagermann said that the acquisition will enable SAP to offer integrated software, versus solutions arising from a partnership between the two companies. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.
Enterprise systems and business intelligence tools have been moving closer in alignment in recent years. The thrust of the BI industry into corporate performance management draws directly from a enterprise/ERP foundation, so the synergy has been ripe.
In addition, over the years, one of the biggest complaints about ERP software has been its less-than-stellar reporting features. Adding a robust BI capability to the mix may help change that perception. Of course, many leading BI vendors have made a living off filling the reporting gap in ERP systems. It remains to be seen if having Business Objects built into these systems will pose a competitive threat to the bread and butter of BI industry competitors. Plus, since many organizations manage multiple ERP systems, the challenge of consolidating reporting into single views still remains a challenge.
Will Business Objects remain "Business Objects," or be absorbed into the SAP mega-machine? According to Business Objects CEO John Schwarz, B.O. will continue to operate separately from its new parent, as "a stand-alone entity within the SAP Group." Ultimately, however, B.O. software will be more tightly aligned with SAP products.
The move is also seen as a counter-move to Oracle's recent acquisition of Hyperion.
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