Business Objects expects to become the largest Danish Business Intelligence-software provider within five years. Initially Business Objects will build an organisation consisting of pre-sales consultants and telesales staff.

According to the Danish financial paper Boersen, Mette Petersen, the newly appointed managing director of Business Objects in Denmark, says that an estimated 25 people will be needed to sell more to existing customers and to gain new customers.

Until now Business Objects has had a discreet presence in Denmark through partners. Sean Farrington, Nordic manager at Business Objects, says that the company aims to be number 1 in Denmark as in the rest of world, reports Boersen. The Danish office will enable Business Objects to increase the competition with SAS Institute, Cognos and Hyperion.

Business intelligence (BI) enables organizations to track, understand, and manage enterprise performance. The company’s solutions leverage the information that is stored in an array of corporate databases, enterprise resource planning (ERP), and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

A report by IDC says that, in 2003, the BI market grew to $3.9 billion worldwide. Business Objects commanded the top market share with 16.5%, based on 2003 revenues of $639.4 million.

Founded in 1990, Business Objects employs 3,900 people and has more than 26,000 customers in over 80 countries. The company has headquarters in San Jose, California and Paris, France.

More information: Business Objects