Kalido and Business Objects have joined forces to offer
companies reduced maintenance costs for datawarehousing and data
analysis.
Kalido, which was spun out of oil company Shell's IT department
this summer, provides datawarehousing products that can be easily
upgraded by users in response to operational changes in the
business.
Kalido is now marketing its products alongside data mining tools
from Business Objects. The company said closer integration between
the two product sets would lead to customers paying less for the
maintenance of their systems.
The two companies are already collaborating on projects with Shell,
HBOS, BP and satellite company Intelsat. Under the new agreement,
the companies plan to focus on the financial services, energy and
retail sectors.
Chris Worsley, vice-president of strategic alliances at Kalido,
said, "About 60% of our existing customers already use Business
Objects analysis tools, so the joint marketing alliance and closer
product integration is a natural step for us."
Worsley could not put a figure on the reduction in maintenance
costs for users of a joint package from the two companies, but
promised customers would see a difference to their bottom line. He
also maintained that the alliance would lead to much faster system
implementations.
He said the central and local government markets were a new target
for Kalido systems via the alliance with Business Objects, as was
the telecoms industry. Business Objects is already active in these
areas.