Deals Will Combine Business Intelligence ToolsDeals Will Combine Business Intelligence Tools

The Essbase online analytical-processing server and Crystal Decisions' query and reporting applications are two of the most widely used business intelligence tools on the planet. On Wednesday, the developers of those products will reveal joint-development and reseller deals that combine the two software lines into a single offering.

Hyperion Solutions Corp. will integrate Essbase with Crystal Decisions' reporting, analysis, and information-delivery applications, including Crystal Reports and Crystal Enterprise, and resell them as an integrated business-intelligence system, says John Kopcke, Hyperion chief technology officer. "The missing component was a pervasive query and reporting capability," Kopcke says of Essbase and the rest of Hyperion's data-analysis platform.

The bundled products are expected to be available within the next 30 days. Essbase supports about 50 third-party data access, query, and reporting tools and Kopcke says that support will continue. IDC analyst Dan Vesset doesn't believe there is any danger of the Hyperion-Crystal Decisions relationship locking out other business-intelligence tools from working with Essbase.

The two vendors will also engage in joint development projects, although details weren't disclosed. Vesset speculated that Hyperion might embed Crystal Decisions' technology within its growing line of analytical applications.

On Tuesday, Hyperion unveiled a new release of its Financial Management software for financial consolidation and reporting tasks. Version 2.0 adds full European statutory reporting capabilities, a graphical-rules builder, Web data-entry forms, enhanced security, and improved process-management features. The product is available now. Pricing for a 10-user license, software only, starts at $200,000 and can increase to $1 million based on the size of the implementation and the amount of consulting services.