SAP Touts New BI Software
SAP unveiled nine new software packages that allow the monitoring and response to business information from any format or application. Three of the nine new offerings are targeted to the SMB market space. This all stems from SAP’s purchase of Business Objects (see post 12/21/07 in this Blog SAP Merges with Business Objects). SAP’s CEO, Henning Kagermann, stated:
Our key competitive differentiator is that we're building a portfolio on the most open platform. We are the only one that can offer business performance optimization in a closed loop. At the end of the day, you have to take immediate action. Our business suite and business intelligence close the loop. You have faster and better insights and you can transform it immediately into actions.
Is this rollout all in response to the current activity now taking place in the industry? As I alluded to in my post of 1/9/08 What’s Next for ERP in 2008, Larry Ellison has not and will not sit on the sidelines as these mergers and new products are rolled out to the customer base. Just this week Reuter’s reports that Oracle has finally succeeded in its bid for BEA.
Kagermann addressed the issue of growth and competition in the industry stating:
You never in life should exclude an opportunity in business. The question is where is your priority. Growing through organic growth is No. 1 for SAP. If there's a unique opportunity to expand our opportunities, we will do it. These are things you can't plan ahead and sometimes you have the opportunity and must take advantage of it.
SAP plans to integrate functionality from Business Objects into its Saas offering, Business ByDesign. SAP’s 2007 operating margins were down by .8% due mainly to its approximate half a billion dollar investment in getting Business ByDesign to market.
