SAP's Business Objects Group Unveils New BI Tools

Three weeks after upgrading two business-intelligence software offerings for the midmarket, SAP's Business Objects unit has unveiled a new tool that helps users jazz up their PowerPoint and PDF-based presentations with interactive Excel charts.BusinessObjects Xcelsius Present, priced at $195 per license, is part of SAP's push to get easy-to-use BI into the hands of more business users. The software, which lets users drag and drop Excel data into their presentations, comes with 10 templates geared toward specific business functions and areas, including human resources, sales, marketing, finance and accounting, government, and education.

Also new: Business Objects introduced a new enterprise performance management (EPM) tool called SAP Spend Analytics, which collects and analyzes procurement-related data from various sources, enabling users to monitor compliance and look for ways to save money. In addition, the company is offering a free version of its Crystal Reports software to users of its Business One application.InformationWeek, IT World