Monday, May 21, 2007

Novell, SAP Offer Single Point of Contact for Linux Support

Novell, SAP Offer Single Point of Contact for Linux Support

Novell and SAP will jointly support customers running SAP applications on Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Combining and coordinating support guarantees customers a single point of contact and responsibility.

Friday, May 18, 2007

My SAPPHIRE Scorecard | AMR Research

My SAPPHIRE Scorecard | AMR Research

Inside the Oracle-Agile Deal | AMR Research

Inside the Oracle-Agile Deal | AMR Research

My first meeting with Agile Software was in the spring of 1999. Bryan Stolle, Agile’s founder and former CEO, used the time to preview the IPO road show pitch that he would be presenting later that afternoon to Charles Phillips, Morgan Stanley’s star analyst. As First Thing Monday readers know, Mr. Phillips is now the co-president of Oracle. On Tuesday, Oracle acquired the product lifecycle management (PLM) vendor for $495M in cash, or approximately $8.10 per share.

NetWeaver CE Enhances SAP's Composite Applications Vision

NetWeaver CE Enhances SAP's Composite Applications Vision

NetWeaver Composition Environment could speed up developing and deploying composite applications in a service-oriented architecture. It reinforces SAP's strategy in this area, though it still has to prove itself in use.

SAP Will Add Identity Management With MaXware Acquisition

SAP Will Add Identity Management With MaXware Acquisition

By acquiring MaXware, SAP seeks to improve its identity and access management capabilities, rather than to compete against established IAM suite vendors. This move underscores a new approach to a maturing IAM market.

Oracle's Planned Agile Software Buy a Good Fit

Oracle's Planned Agile Software Buy a Good Fit

Oracle's planned purchase of Agile Software will give Oracle customers richer product life cycle management functionality that deploys faster. Agile customers will get a parent company with greater long-term viability.

SAP Buys Wicom to Deliver Contact Center Intelligence

SAP Buys Wicom to Deliver Contact Center Intelligence

Through its purchase of Wicom, SAP is making a statement on the central role of communications in improving business interactions. SAP must take steps to preserve the thought leadership Wicom has already displayed.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Oracle Buys Product Lifecycle Management Leader Agile

Oracle Buys Product Lifecycle Management Leader Agile

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. 15-MAY-2007 02:15 PM Oracle announced today that it has agreed to acquire Agile Software Corporation (Nasdaq: AGIL), a leading provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software solutions, through a cash merger for $8.10 per share, or approximately $495 million.

Sapphire: SAP dementiert Probleme und feiert E-SOA - Knowledge-Center - Enterprise Resource Planning - computerwoche.de

Sapphire: SAP dementiert Probleme und feiert E-SOA - Knowledge-Center - Enterprise Resource Planning - computerwoche.de

Gerüchte um interne Spannungen bei SAP überschatteten den Auftakt zur Sapphire in Wien. Die Konzernführung ließ sich davon jedoch nicht beeindrucken: In Wien feierte SAP Abschluss der E-SOA-Roadmap und bekräftigte erneut die Ansprüche im Mittelstandsgeschäft.

Monday, May 14, 2007

OutlookSoft Acquisition Strengthens SAP's CPM Strategy

OutlookSoft Acquisition Strengthens SAP's CPM Strategy

SAP will extend its corporate performance management capabilities with the acquisition of OutlookSoft. This deal further consolidates the diminishing best-of-breed CPM market and focuses CPM in large application suites.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Invensys to Boost Enterprise Software Offering With Cimnet Buy

Invensys to Boost Enterprise Software Offering With Cimnet Buy

With its agreement to acquire Cimnet, Invensys advances its goal of providing a complete manufacturing operations management solution.

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

SAP Makes Performance Management Move, Acquires OutlookSoft To Bolster CPM Product Line | AMR Research

SAP Makes Performance Management Move, Acquires OutlookSoft To Bolster CPM Product Line | AMR Research

SAP was largely silent on its broader corporate performance management (CPM) messaging at SAPPHIRE last month. Sure, it reinforced the strategy management it acquired from Pilot Software and inked a profitability management software reselling relationship with Acorn Systems, an independent cost management vendor making traction in a wide range of industries. But SAP didn’t say a lot about the other two pillars of CPM: business planning and financial consolidations. We poked and prodded, and were eventually told that news would be coming. We expected to hear more at the European SAPPHIRE in Vienna in mid May.

But big news can’t wait. SAP is acquiring OutlookSoft, an independent provider of planning and financial reporting for Global-2000-class enterprises based in Stamford, Connecticut. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. SAP expects it to close within the next 30 days, pending regulatory approval. OutlookSoft employees are expected to be incorporated into SAP’s infrastructure upon completion of the deal.

OutlookSoft is the future of both planning and financial consolidations

When thinking of OutlookSoft, we picture an image of a solid, highly usable, prediction-focused planning, budgeting, and forecasting (PBF) system. Customers, many of which are divisions of larger organizations, have built very responsive and flexible planning systems with the product. The consolidation tool is decent, but used more for budgeting and forecasting rollups and less for complex enterprise consolidations, which is what SAP customers will need and expect. Yet SAP has indicated this acquisition will be positioned as the go-forward products for both functional components.

SAP also clearly understands its existing financial consolidations product, BCS, will be a necessary part of its ongoing portfolio for highly complex, geographic-specific requirements. However, it’s banking a large swath of its target customers will consider the OutlookSoft consolidation tool for straightforward rollups and consolidations.

The existing product for planning, SAP’s Business Intelligence Integrated Planning (BIIP), will remain the modeling infrastructure for the future planning system, and OutlookSoft will be the new user interface for that product. An integration effort will need to happen between the two, with SAP needing to communicate integration plans across the complementary products.

Office of the CFO—it’s more than traditional CPM

Expect SAP to aggressively position its strong governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) assets as part of its move to surround the CFO and distinguish it from other competitors. When Oracle acquired Hyperion (see “Oracle Buys Hyperion for $3.3B: BI/PM Market Consolidation Begins”), SAP clearly realized it had to act quickly to shore up its credentials for CPM. Lagging meant risking even more customers to the Hyperion/Oracle juggernaut or other best-in-class competitors that deliver specific products for the CFO. In fact, GRC and the office of the CFO were a major focus of SAP executives at SAPPHIRE, with hints about this deal and other developments in the works.

Reworking OutlookSoft for the SAP architecture

OutlookSoft’s products had been tied at the hip with Microsoft’s SQL Server architecture, specifically SQL Server Analysis Services’ (SSAS) multidimensional data store. But in its latest release, it expanded its options to Oracle. As this is integrated into the SAP stack, it will be tailored for the SAP BI architecture, including SAP Business Warehouse and eventually its high-performance appliance, Business Intelligence Accelerator (BIA). Whether these products maintain a heterogeneous backbone approach remains to be seen, but customers with existing tech stacks will likely be supported.

More analysis as the details emerge

At first take, the news is positive. SAP customers have been very vocal about the limited usability of its BI/PM products, and this acquisition is a move in the right direction. But the details of what will be available when and the detailed integration plans still need to be clarified. One thing is clear—the BI/PM race is on, with winning the office of the CFO a major objective.




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FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - Software AG eifert SAP nach

FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - Software AG eifert SAP nach

Die Software AG (SAG) will so profitabel werden wie SAP: In den kommenden fünf Jahren sei eine operative Rendite von 27 Prozent zu schaffen, sagte Karl-Heinz Streibich, Chef des nach SAP zweitgrößten deutschen Softwareanbieters, im FTD-Interview.

FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - SAP kauft US-Finanzsoftwarehersteller

FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - SAP kauft US-Finanzsoftwarehersteller

Der Softwarehersteller SAP übernimmt Outlook Soft, einen amerikanischen Produzenten von Finanzplanungsprogrammen. Bislang kursieren nur inoffizielle Angaben über den Kaufpreis.

Monday, May 07, 2007

Ins Zentrum gerückt: Integration der Technischen Redaktion in SAP

Ins Zentrum gerückt: Integration der Technischen Redaktion in SAP

Aufgrund erneut hoher Nachfrage bieten SCHEMA und SEAL Systems den Informationstag "Ins Zentrum gerückt - Die Integration der Technischen Redaktion in SAP" am 12. Juni 2007 bereits als zweiten Wiederholungstermin an. Zentrales Thema der Veranstaltung ist die Einbindung der Technischen Dokumentation in die kaufmännischen Geschäftsprozesse. Als Referenten eingeladen sind Experten aus den Bereichen Business Process Management, SAP, Outputmanagement und Dokumentationserstellung, u.a. Prof. Dr. Thomas Allweyer von der Fachhochschule Kaiserslautern und Dr. Christoph Rzehorz von SAP Deutschland.

Die ersten beiden Veranstaltungen stießen auf so große Resonanz, dass ein Teil der Anmeldungen nicht mehr berücksichtigt werden konnte. Über 50 Teilnehmer, Technische Redakteure und SAP-Spezialisten renommierter Unternehmen aus unterschiedlichsten Branchen, wie Maschinen-, Geräte- und Anlagenbau und der Life Science Industrie nahmen jeweils daran teil.

Die nächste eintägige Veranstaltung findet am 12. Juni 2007 im Sheraton Frankfurt- Flughafen, in Frankfurt am Main statt und kostet 119,- Euro pro Teilnehmer.

Friday, May 04, 2007

With IBM in St. Louis; Shai Agassi’s Blog | AMR Research

With IBM in St. Louis; Shai Agassi’s Blog | AMR Research

The St. Louis Chamber of Commerce wasn’t likely pleased to have its hometown crowned “America’s Most Dangerous City” by City Crime Rankings. With that as a backdrop, we expected to hear the “Bad Boys, Bad Boys” theme song from COPS as we de-planed. The closest we came to danger, though, was when a taxi nearly ran a red light as our own taxi was going through the intersection. If the other driver hadn’t jammed on his brakes, he would have hit us broadside and knocked our vehicle into another galaxy.

Instead of danger hovering on every street corner, St. Louis was eerily quiet. We arrived early on Sunday with plans to attend the Cardinals-Cubs baseball game, an event that was postponed due to the unfortunate death of Josh Hancock, a relief pitcher for St. Louis. As we walked through the city on our quest to find somewhere televising the Red Sox-Yankees game, we all commented at how empty the streets and parks were despite blue skies and the 85-degree temperature.

When the work week began, there was a slight increase in traffic, though there weren’t a lot of pedestrians milling about along the route that took us from Fourth Street to Washington Street and the convention center. It was as though the entire city had packed and moved to the suburbs, leaving only the buildings behind.

We were in town to attend PartnerWorld 2007, IBM’s annual conference for business partners. The event drew more than 5,000 attendees who came to hear a packed agenda of speakers ranging from Sam Palmisano, IBM’s chairman, president, and CEO, and other top IBM executives, to race car legend Mario Andretti and Dr. Laura D’Andrea Tyson, senior advisor to the McKinsey Global Institute and former national economic advisor to President Clinton.

After the completion of the morning’s general session, we met with Murray Mitchell to talk about some of the new Global Business Services’ initiatives for small and midsize businesses (SMBs). The first item on our agenda was to discuss the joint IBM-SAP press release from SAPPHIRE announcing IBM would be reselling All-in-One in 12 countries. The reseller relationship began last June in the United States. Since then, it has been extended to Europe and Asia.

SAP: “Significant SMB opportunity”

We talked about SAP’s plan to reach 100,000 customers by the end of the decade. While I have written that I think it’s too ambitious a target if done organically (no acquisitions), Mr. Mitchell said that SAP represented a significant part of the SMB opportunity. The challenge remains the same, though, namely building a volume indirect channel.

IBM has been recruiting resellers to market a bundle of All-in-One as well as IBM hardware, software, and services. It looks like there are three types of arrangements today. These include referrals (a partner receives a fee for passing a deal to IBM), teaming (IBM helps to close the deal), and one where the reseller does everything from identifying the lead to staffing the engagement).

It appears to be going well. While we knew better than to ask about revenue or installations, Mr. Mitchell did say that that GBS’ SMB business was enjoying “double-digit growth.” Most of the applications growth is coming from ERP, though the CRM business is growing thanks to some Siebel engagements and call center projects. IBM is also doing quite a bit of web and portal development engagements, too.

Mr. Mitchell also said that IBM has developed a new IT strategy initiative for smaller businesses. Basically, the company has condensed a typical 8-to-12 week engagement down to 2-to-3 weeks and is making it available for a flat $50K fee. The primary targets are companies with new CIOs.

Resell Oracle, too?

We did ask about Oracle. To date, IBM’s only other ERP reseller agreement is with Lawson Software. IBM has yet to sign a reseller agreement with its database and tools rival, despite the large IBM base that Oracle inherited through its various acquisitions (particularly JD Edwards). It will be more challenging to bring the Oracle relationship anywhere close to the level of the SAP partnership. IBM obviously wants to retain its database, middleware, and hardware customers, while Oracle reps want to replace the DB2 and WebSphere products with its own software. But IBM also has a lot invested in Oracle’s JD Edwards customers and says it is committed to them for the long run.

There may be a huge opportunity for IBM though as the arbiter for the growing number of joint SAP-Oracle customers. As we said last week, when Oracle completes the Hyperion acquisition, it will add 4,000 to 4,500 SAP customers to its base. Many SAP customers still have their Siebel and PeopleSoft applications, too. As SAP and Oracle battle for account control, CIOs may turn to IBM for help sorting it out. IBM will happily supply the software and services needed to link the warring parties via a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

IBM to roll out SIF to other industries

Speaking of SOA, we also met with Jan Jackman to talk about IBM’s Store Integration Framework (SIF). Built on IBM WebSphere, the framework is designed to integrate data and business processes among enterprise applications. It’s aimed at lowering total cost of ownership and streamlining customer interactions. The framework has been adopted by more than 30 retailers for deployment in close to 36,000 stores. Circuit City and Giant Eagle are among those using it.

In addition to a wide range of IBM software products, SIF has attracted 67 validated business partners offering software for order management, point of sale support, loss prevention, RFID tracking, workforce and task management, deli management, and dozens of other uses.

As Ms. Jackman described it, IBM is now looking to roll SIF to other industries—“anything with distribution outlets that are customer facing.” First on the list appears to be branch banking. Retailers often use SIF to link POS systems to kiosks, handheld devices, and the like. Banks could use it to market tailored products and services to customers through automated teller machines. Other potential verticals include automobile dealers, cell phone stores, and healthcare facilities.

If it’s an IBM event, Axentis must be nearby

We last saw Axentis CEO Bob Hoyt at IBM’s fall symposium for the venture community. Sure enough, he was in St. Louis for PartnerWorld. He was there to pick up a Beacon Award for his company’s achievements, one of several IBM awarded to its top business partners.

Axentis provides software to manage governance, risk, and compliance (GRC), and makes it available in on premise and on demand modes. In the past four months, the company has brought 70,000 users live, bringing the total customer base to 740,000 seats. Implementations can be completed in 2 to 6 weeks.

The GRC market is heating up, attracting entrants from the large ERP vendors, like SAP and Oracle, to content providers and content management firms. Look for more GRC coverage in an upcoming First Thing Monday and in our upcoming book, Risk! Navigating an Uncertain World.

Shai surfaces in digital media

Last week at SAPPHIRE we joined the multitudes asking SAPers, “What is Shai going to do next?” Shai Agassi, former president of SAP’s Products and Technology Group, resigned on March 28. According to friends, Mr. Agassi plans to take 100 days off before deciding what to do next. He will not be lacking for opportunities.

In the meantime, he’s started a blog, “The Long Tailpipe,” which can be found on http://shaiagassi.typepad.com. The title is part homage to “The Long Tail” by Chris Anderson. In an early posting, Mr. Agassi refers to “long tail business processes” enabled by NetWeaver and the Business Process Platform. The title also references the future electric car market and the connection of the “virtual tailpipe” to electric power.

Readers hoping to get the “what really happened” inside story will be disappointed. He does offer good insights on enterprise software and alternative energy, though.

Next stop: Austin and Boston

The week starts with a quick flight back from Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby, and quickly shifts back to business. First stop is a Wipro conference in Austin, TX. Last stop is a Tata Consultancy Services briefing in Boston. I wonder if they will have Mint Juleps, too.

In the meantime, what do you think? Can IBM and Oracle be partners in the field? Is there a role for IBM in joint SAP-Oracle accounts? What will Shai do next? Please let me know—brichardson@amrresearch.com.




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