SAP APJ customers can also take advantage of intuitive data navigation tools and increased support for smaller IT environments by using SAP BusinessObjects enterprise performance management (EPM) solutions, which helps create better business strategies, as well as assisting with planning, budgeting and accounts consolidation.

"Midsize companies continue to purchase BI tools for a wide array of users who need to access and analyze data from sources across their organizations," said Brian McDonough, Research Manager—Business Analytics, IDC. "With this announcement, SAP is taking further steps to meet midsize organizational requirements for BI technologies."

Designed for users without any prior IT expertise, this BI tool allows users to search, explore and retrieve business information from any data source through simple keyword searches with SAP BusinessObjects Polestar. Users are able to retrieve specific data, like sales by region, by simply clicking on the report, data set or dashboard.

According to Abhishek Peraka, Head—Sales and Delivery, InfoStep India, BI is the strategic way forward for small and medium size organizations. "We have been advising customers on SAP BusinessObjects solutions in the US, Europe, Australia, Asia Pacific and Japan. The BI layer provides a rich user interface for business users and gives the flexibility to perform adhoc analysis. With the SAP BusinessObjects Edge BI series, it is possible to achieve an integrated view of the data from various sources," he said.

Specially engineered, packaged and priced for small and midsize companies, this complete set of BI and EPM solutions will help these firms move from simply reacting to economic challenges to positioning themselves for future success.

"SAP BusinessObjects Edge BI solutions provide customers with unprecedented transparency so employees throughout the organization can make better decisions more quickly," said Simon Dale, Senior VP and Head—Business User Organization, SAP Asia Pacific and Japan. "With this knowledge, every business user can help to build a leaner, more efficient organization—the key to survival in today's climate."