Business Objects Offers Apps For Linux

On Tuesday, the business intelligence vendor said its BusinessObjects XI server software now supports Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

"Linux has primarily been deployed for infrastructure and databases, and we think the deployments have been minimal because there haven't been enough enterprise-class applications for it," James Thomas, Business Objects' director of product marketing, said at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in San Francisco. "We think that having a product like [BusinessObjects] XI will make Linux more credible. We think this will help drive Linux adoption."

Based in San Jose, Calif., and Paris, Business Objects said it now offers its full business-intelligence platform, including Crystal Reports Server XI, for the two leading Linux distributions. Aimed at the midmarket, the Crystal Reports server provides a single-server platform for distributing and managing reports written in the industry-leading reporting software.

Business Objects paid more than $800 million for Crystal Reports' developer, Crystal Decisions, more than two years ago. Earlier this year, the company released BusinessObjects XI, the first version of its software to integrate the service-oriented architecture framework of Crystal Enterprise 10 with the query and analysis strengths of Business Objects.

"Because our code is cross-platform, you can deploy some parts on Windows, some on Linux and some on Unix," Thomas said. "Both products [BusinessObjects XI and Crystal Reports Server] can be installed on Linux in less than an hour, and we've provided guided installations. There's a fear sometimes that Linux is hard and complicated. We've made so you can get the same ease and use of installation found on other platforms."

Thomas said Business Objects will offer the same levels of customer support across all operating-system platforms. Pricing remains the same.