Business Objects Enhances On-Demand BI Service

Business Objects is expanding its on-demand business intelligence software with new data warehouse development capabilities and improved links to Salesforce.com, enhancements the vendor said will aid solution providers working with the hosted service.

BusinessObjects BI OnDemand, which debuted last year, is a software-as-a-service suite of business intelligence tools including reporting, analysis and data warehouse software. Business Objects is the business intelligence software unit of SAP.

The new release of the BusinessObjects BI OnDemand service, which is available immediately, includes hosted development tools that channel partners can use to assemble a data warehouse for customers without having to deploy on-premise development tools. That allows solution providers to "focus on the areas where they bring the most value," such as developing content and expertise for specific industries, said Carl Dubler, senior product manager of Business Objects' on-demand business.

"We want them to get these solutions to market faster," Dubler said.

The new development features also help solution providers build reusable components, such as reports and interactive dashboards, which run on top of BI OnDemand, Dubler said. Those templates can then be reused in other customer deployments.

The new Salesforce.com Accelerator built into BusinessObjects BI OnDemand helps channel partners assemble data warehouse systems on top of Saleforce.com's on-demand CRM application more quickly than before. Dubler said that makes it easier for solution providers to develop proof-of-concept data warehouse systems for potential clients.