Looking to speed up its growth in 2006, Business Objects plans to expand its professional services group and develop more products tailored to specific vertical industries. To effect the changes, the business intelligence (BI) vendor has appointed a former Ernst & Young partner, Mark doll, as its new vice president of professional services, it said. He'll be based in San Jose, California, and report to Chief Executive Officer John Schwarz.

Business Objects has said it expects annual revenue to pass $1 billion for the first time in its fiscal year to Dec. 31. It's due to report the figures at the start of next month. In October it reported third-quarter revenue of $261.4 million, up 19% year over year, with services revenue accounting for more than half that sum.

Source: 1, 2Prashanth RaiTag(s):BI