Cognos has bundled Scenario into a suite with its query and reporting and OLAP tools and clearly is targeting it as general business users. Scenario fits the PowerPoint profile. No one buys Microsoft Office for PowerPoint. Business Objects Business Objects also reports confidence in its combined analysis strategy. Our main strength is that we integrate functionality from other areas into our product.
Integration is key.
It is no secret that, two years ago, people had a lot higher expectations. Business Objects data mining customers tend to be larger companies seeking complete analysis solution. Specific users tend to be power OLAP people who also want to do some data mining, Lamb said. The bulk of Business Objects' customers are query and reporting tool users. Approximately 30 percent use the OLAP tools, and 10 percent are interested in, or actually involved in, data mining, Lamb roughly estimates.