Something Good Besides No More Stupid QuestionsSomething Good Besides No More Stupid Questions

Business Objects XI got a lot of attention late last year because of its Intelligent Question query interface. Now we're bringing you a more detailed look at the business intelligence system.Intelligent Question lets users assemble queries as plain text questions structured off a series of pull-downs. The point, Business Objects says, is to make BI easier for the non-IT crowd.

As Eric Rogge of Ventana Research explains in this new overview, XI has got a thing or two going for it besides that.

For one thing, the vendor has improved its Windows client. Also important -- especially for Business Objects itself -- is that the long road toward a full integration between the Business Objects and Crystal product lines seems to have reached its home stretch.

There are problems with XI, as Rogge points out. For one, its various modules present different editing environments. There are sure to be potential customers who won't let Business Objects slide on that one.

Every BI vendor is working hard to push the envelope -- each with its own particular interpretation of what it is, exactly, that users want most. For news on what one of those rivals -- Cognos -- debuted recently, check out that firm's stab at tackling the never-ending BI data quality problem.