Business Objects buys its way to the top
$820m bid for Crystal Decisions could benefit the channel
Business Objects has put in a $820m bid for reporting software specialist Crystal Decisions and has claimed the deal could benefit the channel.
Steve Broughton, UK managing director of Business Objects, said the acquisition will make the firm the largest player in the business intelligence (BI) market, ahead of Cognos.
The deal is expected to be finalised in October or November. "The BI marketplace has been growing, but there was always going to be some consolidation," he said.
According to analyst IDC, the market for BI tools reached $1.2bn in 2002, a growth of 1.9 per cent, compared with 1.8 per cent in 2001.
Broughton said the Crystal Decisions brand will remain, but the firm will be called Business Objects.
"We have always done 45 per cent of our business through the channel and Crystal Decisions is a channel-orientated firm," he said.
"We will not get much reseller overlap because we have always operated at different ends of the market, but the acquisition means our partners will get a wider portfolio of products to take to their customers."
James Thompson, director at VAR Intelligent Solutions, said: "Both vendors have broad coverage of the BI market, but their products will enhance each other's functionality. This will allow us to be more efficient in supplying customers."
Graham Walter, vice-president of Cognos, was surprised by the move. "I can't understand why two of our leading competitors felt the need to join forces to keep up with us," he said.
"They are now number one in the market, but that won't be the case for very long. We prefer to grow our position through product innovation rather than acquisition."