This gives us an even larger opportunity than before. What we're seeing now is that Oracle is going to be very busy internally. Oracle has a lot of work to do to digest PeopleSoft and now Siebel. That's an opportunity for us.

France needs to find something that makes it stand out. It's not enough for it to do almost as well as its neighbors.

We have the means to boost our customers and the financial resources to make the necessary acquisitions.

I believe Business Objects is on the cusp of becoming a multi-billion-dollar sales company. There is tremendous growth potential for business intelligence.

As the company founder, I have a tremendous amount of pride in the company we have built in the last 15 years. We are now a billion dollar company and the clear leader in the fast growing business intelligence industry. Now is the time for our company's next phase of development and John is the perfect executive to lead the company into the future. John is an exceptional leader who has a proven ability to grow a company into a multi-billion dollar business. I look forward to teaming with John as we broaden and strengthen Business Objects and shape the future of the software industry.

France needs to find something that makes it stand out. It's not enough for it to do almost as well as its neighbors.