SAP AG has announced next steps in the acquisition of Business Objects. SAP and Business Objects also announced an initial slate of joint product offerings to improve business performance for customers in multiple industries worldwide.

"With the distinct combination of best-in-class software for performance management and analytical insight, we believe that SAP and Business Objects have the clearest vision and the strongest products to lead this market into the next wave of innovation with business performance optimisation," said Henning Kagermann, CEO of SAP. "With our delivery of SAP Business Suite on an industry-first business process platform and the introduction of SAP Business ByDesign to drive new volume business in the midmarket, we have achieved two of three major milestones in our growth strategy. SAP is now seizing a significant opportunity to pursue the third component of our strategy: leading the market for business user solutions. For SAP, this is the right partner, right timing and right market segment to acquire market-leading innovation that enhances business value for our customers."

"SAP and Business Objects share a common vision for the future of business intelligence," said John Schwarz, CEO of Business Objects. "We see a world where people, processes and information are connected in a seamless, fluid, interactive, collaborative and insightful way. By joining forces with SAP, we gain considerable momentum to transform this vision into a near-term reality. As we lead the way in the evolving market for business performance optimisation, our overall commitment will be to protect our customers’ investments and enable their growth and evolution in the face of ever changing market and business dynamics."

Among the initial packages announced for large enterprises are Financial Performance Management; Governance, Risk and Compliance; Visualisation and Reporting; Enterprise Query, Reporting and Analysis; Master Data Services; and Data Integration and Data Quality Management. For small businesses and midsize companies, packages are BusinessObjects Edge Series; SAP Business All-in-One with BusinessObjects Edge Standard; and Crystal Reports Server.

"Our initial combined software packages enable new customers to experience the business value gained by the thousands of customers that are successfully running applications from the SAP and Business Objects solution portfolios," said Léo Apotheker, deputy CEO and president of Customer Solutions and Operations, SAP. "These initial offerings underline the already strong synergies in both our product and sales organisations, and foreshadow how quickly we will bring our two companies together. We fully intend to build upon these offerings and provide our customers with the innovative, market-leading solutions they’ve come to expect from SAP and Business Objects. United by a shared vision to transform the way the world works by connecting people, information and businesses, this is the first demonstration of how we will protect and expand our customers’ IT investments, while helping them to further optimise business performance."

"The SAP ecosystem brings together SAP, thousands of customers, partners, communities of developers, and business process experts to co-innovate industry-leading solutions, access resources, and share best practices," said Janet Wood, senior vice president, Global Partnerships, Business Objects. "We are excited about the opportunities for collaboration around performance optimization and business analytics, and look forward to expanding the dialog with this thriving community."