Business Objects, the provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, has announced it has acquired Nsite Software, a Sunnyvale, California-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider. The acquisition gives Business Objects access to Nsite’s on-demand application platform; engineering talent experienced in building and managing SaaS offerings; and approximately 27,000 current Nsite subscribers. The acquisition will greatly accelerate and expand the ability for Business Objects to deliver on-demand business intelligence solutions, building upon the success of crystalreports.com. Terms of the transaction, completed today, were not disclosed.

“As a specialist in software as a service, Nsite has developed a large customer base and considerable expertise in developing a platform for using and building on-demand applications,” said Steven Lucas, vice president of strategic markets at Business Objects. “SaaS is changing the software market and the acquisition of Nsite is a big step forward for Business Objects in opening up this important new market to business intelligence. Adding Nsite’s experience and technology to our organization will enable us to extend our leadership in the growing market for on-demand business intelligence solutions, and complements our strategy to use on-demand solutions to make business intelligence more accessible and more affordable to all companies.”

The On-demand Platform

Nsite’s application platform enables users to quickly and easily build, customize, and deploy on-demand solutions that deliver the performance of enterprise applications through a browser. Nsite provides drag-and-drop functionality and uses asynchronous Java Script and XML (AJAX) technology for maximum usability and performance. The platform is integrated with salesforce.com customer relationship management solutions, and includes a wizard for building easy point-and-click web services integrations to other applications.

Business Objects will use the platform to build and offer customizable on-demand BI applications that integrate multiple data sources, such as information from ERP, CRM, and other information systems. With no need for capital investments or ongoing IT support, Business Objects customers will be able to reap the benefits of faster time-to-value and lower total cost of ownership that on-demand solutions provide.

Supporting the Growing Number of On-demand Subscribers

With the acquisition, Business Objects has expanded its staff devoted to developing its on-demand offering and supporting its growing number of customers. Business Objects launched its first on-demand solution, crystalreports.com, in April 2006, and already has more than 7,000 subscribers. Following the Nsite acquisition, Business Objects has now increased its on-demand subscriber base to more than 34,000.

Utilizing the Nsite platform, Business Objects expects to introduce additional on-demand BI solutions in 2007. Business Objects will continue to offer and support current Nsite applications and will extend on-demand business intelligence to Nsite users.

“Since its inception, Nsite has committed to delivering flexible, low cost on-demand solutions to our customers,” said Bob Jandro, president and CEO of Nsite. “Over the years, we have invested significant resources into the development of our on-demand platform and accumulated considerable expertise in this market. Together, Business Objects and Nsite will be able to bring the advantages of our platform to Business Objects customers and extend the reach and accessibility of on-demand business intelligence.”