I spent the weekend talking to all the top cops in the country – Robert Mueller at the FBI, Ed Davis in Boston, Andy Sipowicz in the 15^th Precinct – and no one knows the whereabouts of the BusinessObjects brand.

I worry that BusinessObjects may have been kidnapped.

A short while back, an SAP announcement offered the first clue: The BusinessObjects name was removed from EIM, EPM, and GRC, instead replaced by the generic-sounding “SAP Solutions for GRC.” But I didn’t think the situation to be dire.

However, things took a suspicious turn at the SAP Sapphire Now show in Orlando last week. I fully expected to run into BusinessObjects at some point, either in the keynote theater or on the exhibit floor. But no one had seen BusinessObjects.

I sat through six hours of SAP and ASUG keynote sessions and heard nary a mention of BusinessObjects. At the 2011 Sapphire conference, BusinessObjects 4.0 almost stole the show. A year later, the software had all but vanished from Sapphire.

Other folks were looking for BusinessObjects, too. One fella talked to me about Xcelsius’ role in mobile apps. Another person wondered how BusinessObjects fits into the SAP HANA world.

But when I looked through my notes from the event, I saw scribbles that said HANA, cloud, Van Halen, HANA, cloud – but not BOBJ.

Is this a 911 call to authorities? Should I bring in a private investigator? How about a militia of ASUG members armed with flashlights?

I’m worried. There’s been no cry of demands from the kidnappers, and no ransom note has been left at the doorsteps of SAP. I sure hope BusinessObjects is all right.

Follow Scott on Twitter @BObjExpert

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Comments

1. BusinessObjects Is Alive and Well!

   Posted by James Fisher, VP Marketing, Analytics, SAP on May 25, 2012

   Scott, I can happily report that the BusinessObjects brand is alive and well, and was indeed making the rounds at SAPPHIRE NOW this past week. As you mention, we recently announced branding changes for our analytics solutions (http://bit.ly/Lk1tce), refocusing our “hall-of fame” BusinessObjects brand on business intelligence solutions. While BusinessObjects may not have been the “big man on campus,” as it was at SAPPHIRE NOW 2011, it was still featured prominently in the Analytics campus this year. We had a total of 60 SAP BusinessObjects business intelligence sessions last week, including the very popular “Explore Current and Future Functionality in SAP BusinessObjects Dashboards”. To watch replays of many of the sessions, visit SAPPHIRE NOW online and register (http://bit.ly/MBN5g1). It’s free. BusinessObjects remains a very important brand for SAP, specifically in the area of business intelligence where it represents excellence and innovation as it has for 22 years. In fact, we just updated our website with new content about our SAP BusinessObjects business intelligence solutions (http://bit.ly/Kn3NyN). I do apologize for the scare, but rest assured, no one has kidnapped the BusinessObjects brand. SAP remains fully committed to the BusinessObjects brand, the solutions, and customers who have invested in it.

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