Excerpted from the oct. 14, 2002 issue of Time Europe Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/2002/1014/timedigital/15-11.html
Despite the worldwide tech slump, Paris-based Business Objects enjoyed growth of 10% globally in the second quarter. But then again, Liautaud, who cofounded the company in 1990 with Denis Payre (see No. 21), is accustomed to performing under pressure. At 15, Liautaud won the ball boy tournament at the 1977 French Open. Twenty-five years later, he's still on center court. Few would have believed that his French software company, which pioneered business intelligence software to help companies analyze corporate data, would become a global powerhouse. Today, Business Objects does more than 80% of its business outside France and has annual revenues of more than €425 million. Liautaud attributes the company's success in the downturn to a decision to move away from simply selling reporting and analysis tools. Instead, its new focus is to help customers share data better internally as well as with their customers, partners and suppliers. DaimlerChrysler, for example, uses Business Objects software to speed up car production. The company has made seven acquisitions recently to strengthen its offerings in this area, including the $65 million purchase of data integration specialists Acta Technologies, which supplies software to help business customers gather and interpret information. With a global company to run and a fifth child on the way, Liautaud has less time to participate in the sports he loves: paragliding in the French Alps, windsurfing in Hawaii and trekking in Nepal. But he continues to find time for lobbying governments to make life easier for tech entrepreneurs in Europe.
The Vision Thing: "It's all about helping companies make the best decision by getting data into the hands of the right people at the right time."
Forward Spin: At a time of low spending on technology, businesses could well be willing to invest in software that helps them make better use of the data they collect about their customers, suppliers and competitors.
