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SAP: Article

SAP Borrows Microsoft’s Software-Plus-Services Approach

SAP has a new on-demand plan

SAP has a new on-demand plan.

First of all it’s for the large enterprise, its existing customers, not the mid-market it’s been lackadaisically offering its never-completely-released isolated-tenancy on-demand ERP widgetry, ByDesign.

Second, on-demand is suddenly “the next big evolution” in IT, soliciting the company’s “full commitment.”

According to SAP EVP, large enterprise on-demand John Wookey, the ex-head of Oracle’s application development hired in November, it’s supposed to consist of function-specific applications, available for a presumably low-margin subscription, that plug into the customer’s SAP Business Suite ERP or SCM software and inherit its policy settings.

The multi-tenant architecture, a software-plus-services approach like Microsoft’s, is supposed to avoid the data sharing and integration issues that pop up when dealing with disparate best-of-breed SaaS applications.

Wookey said the widgetry would be powered by the Java-based Frictionless platform SAP got when it bought Florida’s Frictionless Commerce three years ago.

SAP’s already got CRM on-demand, e-sourcing on-demand and cap-and-trade software through its acquisition of Clear Standards last month.

It expects to launch expense management software the middle of next year; the e-sourcing widgetry will be turned into a plug-in and the CRM stuff needs to go multi-tenant.

It’s also got SkyData, a shiny new mobile social CRM acquisition, and a BusinessObjects on-demand portfolio to grow on.

It may make other acquisition to further its goals. It’s proposing that third-party developers eventually develop for the system

More Stories By Maureen O'Gara

Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025.

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