SAP and Intel Prepackaged Solution for the Small and Mid-Market
SAP took the opportunity at CeBIT 2008, the world leading technology fair, to announce its latest partnership which builds upon SAP’s Business All-in-One solution. SAP has teamed with Intel and will be offering a landmark product on Intel Xeon-based systems via original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and hardware system providers based on SUSE Linux Enterprise from Novell and the database SAP MaxDB. Hardware offerings pre-installed with SAP software is landmark to say the least. The intended benefit for the SME market is a reduction in the Total Cost of Ownership of their IT systems. SAP stated in its announcement:
“The offering targets midsize companies in the manufacturing, service and trade industries and directly addresses the demands in these market segments for quick and easy implementation, and tailored yet scalable solutions at predictable costs."
Ray Boggs, VP of small and medium business research IDC, noted that having the alignment of hardware and software will give customers what they have been looking to do, “reconcile the somewhat contradictory goals of a solution designed to meet their individual needs but in an almost pre-configured fashion to minimize time and cost." SAP plans to continue with this strategy of partnering with hardware vendors to directly address the needs for TCO for its SME customers. For a more comprehensive description of this announcement see SAP and Intel Collaborate to Offer Pre-Installed Business Solutions for Midsize Companies Optimized for Quad Core Intel(R) Xeon(R) Processors.
Of course on the surface this hardware with pre-installed SAP software approach seems to be a winner. Even below the surface it is hard to find fault with this methodology. But I am a simple man. When I see the words “Xeon Processor”, “SUSE Linux”, and “database” in the same sentence my eyes begin to glaze over. I might have a talent for spotting an ambiguous phrase or two in a software license or consulting agreement and perhaps the ability to offer a revision to it to bring the language to a more equitable point of view. However, I wonder if it is reasonable to ponder this new approach from SAP from a slightly different perspective. I almost get the feeling as the Portuguese explorers must have had during their successive voyages down the coast of Africa in search of the riches that lay ahead in the Far East. These aren’t entirely unchartered waters, but one cannot be quite sure what lies ahead. Others, such as Microsoft, have gone down this course before. I have to wonder what obstacles may present themselves in the future. The usual suspects are ubiquitous, (confidentiality, ownership, infringement, anti-trust). I am sure that the right people at SAP and Intel have considered these issues and more and are fully prepared. The cost of doing business is a fascinating journey.
