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SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)—October 24, 2005—A recent research study by Ventana Research, the leading Performance Management research and advisory services firm, finds use of business intelligence (BI) systems to analyze data is expected to grow relative to the use of Microsoft® Office in the next 12 months.  The research surveyed over 1100 organizations and was conducted through partnership with CMP United Business Media; Intelligent Enterprise; Source Media; DM Review; datawarehouse.com; TechTarget; and BusinessIntelligence.com.

The study showed the current primary tools for creating BI documents are Microsoft® Excel, followed by Microsoft® PowerPoint and then dedicated BI software. The study, Integrating Business Intelligence and Microsoft Office, sponsored by Cognos, Infommersion and SAP, quantified that over the next 12 months almost 50% of the respondents surveyed expected to be using BI systems more frequently and Microsoft Office less frequently to create their BI documents.

“While we’ve all benefited from the desktop computing revolution, knowledge workers now see benefits from centrally served and managed technology such as business intelligence.” said Eric Rogge, VP and Research Director for Business Intelligence at Ventana Research. “BI systems have the potential to automate many manual tasks currently done to create documents and users find this automation attractive as it frees them from manual tasks to do other more productive work.”

Key feedback from professionals who support BI document creation technologies and processes, includes:

• 37% of the respondents identified data files extracted from databases as their most often used source of data for BI documents.

• 37% of the respondents cited ad-hoc query and analysis software as their most frequent source of data for BI documents they authored.

• Authors of BI documents indicated they would prefer to have the document creation process automated (35%) and that they considered BI systems as a preferred alternative for automation (27%).

• 59% of the respondents indicated that integration improvements are more important than any other BI or Microsoft Office initiative within their organizations.

• Respondents stated that they are inclined to question the comprehensiveness (26%), accuracy (15%) and sources of the data (17%) they see in BI documents they use.

“This trend in integrating BI and Microsoft Office will likely continue as organizations seek to streamline repetitive tasks that require significant manual work, comply with regulatory requirements for transparency, and continue efforts to improve operational performance,” said Mark Smith, CEO and SVP Research of Ventana Research. “Clearly, Microsoft Office will continue to provide a useful set of capabilities for business execution and as a front end tool to the enterprise.  However, its role will likely be more limited to specific activities rather than day to day enterprise level BI.”

Ventana Research helps organizations address the challenge of integrating BI and Microsoft Office along with building a strategy and plan to leverage BI through educational workshops and assessment services. For more information, go to the Business Intelligence research page at www.ventanaresearch.com/bi.

To get a copy of the Integrating Business Intelligence and Microsoft Office research study Executive Summary, just register at www.ventanaresearch.com/bioffice.

Additional recent research studies published by Ventana Research on business intelligence market trends and best practices include:

Business Intelligence for Operational Performance

Key Success Factors for Operational Business Intelligence

BI Standardization

Successful Standardization of BI Solutions

TCO Benchmark Study

Total Cost of Ownership for Business Intelligence

About Ventana Research

Ventana Research is the leading Performance Management research and advisory services firm.  By providing expert insight and detailed guidance, Ventana Research helps clients operate their companies more efficiently and effectively. These business improvements are delivered through a top-down approach that connects people, process, information and technology.  What makes Ventana Research different from other analyst firms is a focus on Performance Management for finance, operations and IT. This focus, plus research as a foundation and reach into a community of over two million corporate executives through extensive media partnerships, allows Ventana Research to deliver a high-value, low-risk method for achieving optimal business performance.  To learn how Ventana Research Performance Management workshops, assessments and advisory services can impact your bottom line, visit www.ventanaresearch.com.

Media Contact: Marisela Reynoso  

(925) 242-2579 marketing@ventanaresearch.com