FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - Agassis Weggang stand länger fest
SAP-Aufsichtsratschef Hasso Plattner hat Spekulationen zurückgewiesen, wonach der überraschende Rückzug von Technologievorstand Shai Agassi mit der Klage des Konkurrenten Oracle zusammenhängen könnte. Bereits zwei Tage vor Bekanntwerden der Klage habe Agassi sich entschieden, SAP zu verlassen.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Friday, March 30, 2007
FTD.de - Köpfe - Kopf des Tages - Leo Apotheker: Der neue Kronprinz
FTD.de - Köpfe - Kopf des Tages - Leo Apotheker: Der neue Kronprinz
Eigentlich zieht ihn nicht viel nach Walldorf, den Sitz der SAP-Zentrale, zwischen Spargelfeldern in der badischen Provinz gelegen. Léo Apotheker lebt seit mehr als 20 Jahren in Paris. Aus der Peripherie ist er vor einigen Jahren ins vornehme 17. Arrondissement im Zentrum gezogen, in eine "sehr komfortable Wohnung", die er zuvor aufwendig umgebaut hat.
Eigentlich zieht ihn nicht viel nach Walldorf, den Sitz der SAP-Zentrale, zwischen Spargelfeldern in der badischen Provinz gelegen. Léo Apotheker lebt seit mehr als 20 Jahren in Paris. Aus der Peripherie ist er vor einigen Jahren ins vornehme 17. Arrondissement im Zentrum gezogen, in eine "sehr komfortable Wohnung", die er zuvor aufwendig umgebaut hat.
FT.com / Companies / IT - SAP shares fall after research chief quits
FT.com / Companies / IT - SAP shares fall after research chief quits
SAP shares fall after research chief quits
By Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt
Published: March 29 2007 20:19 Last updated: March 29 2007 20:19
SAP shares fell to a near two-year low in the course of Thursday trading, after the world’s biggest maker of software for companies lost its star product developer and prepared for succession at the top of the group without him.
The departure of 38-year-old technology head Shai Agassi extended a run of bad news, which includes missed targets in two recent quarters, investor doubts about a new product and a lawsuit from rival Oracle alleging theft.
But the shares managed to make up early losses as investors seemed to realise the likely elevation of sales chief Léo Apotheker to sole chief executive in two years’ time might be no bad thing, given a vital new product launch.
SAP stock fell as much as 2 per cent to €32.83 per share, near a closing low of €32.80 recorded on May 23 2005, but they rallied to close only 0.5 per cent lower. However, SAP was still the loser among German blue chip stocks.
Hasso Plattner, SAP chairman, said Mr Agassi’s “personal career timeline” had jarred with SAP’s plan to make him and Mr Apotheker co-chief executives after the departure of Henning Kagermann in the spring of 2009.
People who know SAP said the US-based ex-software entrepreneur was not willing to spend years in tandem with Mr Apotheker, an SAP veteran fifteen years his senior, before someday – maybe – taking sole control.
Mr Agassi said he would concentrate on public policy issues such as the environment. But SAP will retain him as “special consultant” to Mr Plattner – a move clearly designed to stop Mr Agassi working for competitors.
His departure also led to a reorganisation of SAP’s top management, with Mr Apotheker being named deputy chief executive and Mr Kagermann taking over research from Mr Agassi, who will leave on April 1.
Although Mr Plattner refused to say whether Mr Apotheker would actually succeed Mr Kagermann, further organisational changes show the influence the new deputy chief executive will wield at SAP headquarters in Walldorf.
Half of a new 10-member executive council will report directly to Mr Apotheker. One of these, Hans-Peter Klaey, is in charge of SAP’s efforts to sell to small companies after coming to dominate the big company sector.
SAP says a key to success in this sector is a new internet service “hosted” on its computers but investors have balked at an investment of €400m ($534m) and worry about nimble rivals. Its shares have fallen 25 per cent in a year.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
SAP shares fall after research chief quits
By Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt
Published: March 29 2007 20:19 Last updated: March 29 2007 20:19
SAP shares fell to a near two-year low in the course of Thursday trading, after the world’s biggest maker of software for companies lost its star product developer and prepared for succession at the top of the group without him.
The departure of 38-year-old technology head Shai Agassi extended a run of bad news, which includes missed targets in two recent quarters, investor doubts about a new product and a lawsuit from rival Oracle alleging theft.
But the shares managed to make up early losses as investors seemed to realise the likely elevation of sales chief Léo Apotheker to sole chief executive in two years’ time might be no bad thing, given a vital new product launch.
SAP stock fell as much as 2 per cent to €32.83 per share, near a closing low of €32.80 recorded on May 23 2005, but they rallied to close only 0.5 per cent lower. However, SAP was still the loser among German blue chip stocks.
Hasso Plattner, SAP chairman, said Mr Agassi’s “personal career timeline” had jarred with SAP’s plan to make him and Mr Apotheker co-chief executives after the departure of Henning Kagermann in the spring of 2009.
People who know SAP said the US-based ex-software entrepreneur was not willing to spend years in tandem with Mr Apotheker, an SAP veteran fifteen years his senior, before someday – maybe – taking sole control.
Mr Agassi said he would concentrate on public policy issues such as the environment. But SAP will retain him as “special consultant” to Mr Plattner – a move clearly designed to stop Mr Agassi working for competitors.
His departure also led to a reorganisation of SAP’s top management, with Mr Apotheker being named deputy chief executive and Mr Kagermann taking over research from Mr Agassi, who will leave on April 1.
Although Mr Plattner refused to say whether Mr Apotheker would actually succeed Mr Kagermann, further organisational changes show the influence the new deputy chief executive will wield at SAP headquarters in Walldorf.
Half of a new 10-member executive council will report directly to Mr Apotheker. One of these, Hans-Peter Klaey, is in charge of SAP’s efforts to sell to small companies after coming to dominate the big company sector.
SAP says a key to success in this sector is a new internet service “hosted” on its computers but investors have balked at an investment of €400m ($534m) and worry about nimble rivals. Its shares have fallen 25 per cent in a year.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Oracle to Acquire a Lead in Extreme Transaction Processing
Oracle to Acquire a Lead in Extreme Transaction Processing
The acquisition of Tangosol will make Oracle an even more credible player in the market for extreme transaction processing software. Its rivals will have to step up their plans if they don't want to fall further behind.
The acquisition of Tangosol will make Oracle an even more credible player in the market for extreme transaction processing software. Its rivals will have to step up their plans if they don't want to fall further behind.
Executive Changes at SAP Reflect Ongoing Changes in Strategy
Executive Changes at SAP Reflect Ongoing Changes in Strategy
Shai Agassi, who appeared to be next in line to become CEO of SAP, has left the company. This change in leadership of SAP reflects an ongoing change to a parallel, multiproduct strategy.
Shai Agassi, who appeared to be next in line to become CEO of SAP, has left the company. This change in leadership of SAP reflects an ongoing change to a parallel, multiproduct strategy.
Shai Agassi Out at SAP | AMR Research
Shai Agassi Out at SAP | AMR Research
The phone call came at 5:30 a.m. PST. Could I be available for an urgent call at 10:00 a.m. with Hasso Plattner, co-founder and former CEO of SAP AG? The only other question was “have you heard anything yet?” No other details were provided.
Needless to say, going back to sleep was not an option. My immediate thought was that SAP had either made a major acquisition or a management change. I discounted the acquisition figuring that SAP would make that announcement after the close of the market, not during the middle of the day. It also wouldn’t make sense to create any distractions during the last week of the quarter.
The fact that the call was with Dr. Plattner only added to the mystery. While his presence and influence still resonate throughout SAP offices worldwide, he had stepped down from active management four years ago. Why was the call with him and not with current CEO Henning Kagermann?
The irony was that Jim Shepherd and I had to leave a meeting at Oracle’s headquarters to take the call with Dr. Plattner. Shortly before excusing ourselves, I bet our hosts that the news would be that Shai Agassi, president of SAP’s Product and Technology Group, would be leaving the firm. Mr. Agassi had been Dr. Plattner’s protégé.
Plattner to Agassi: “You’re the heir apparent”
For the next 40 minutes or so, Jim Shepherd and I talked to Dr. Plattner about Mr. Agassi’s sudden departure. Mr. Agassi had joined SAP six years ago when the ERP giant acquired TopTier, a portal vendor, for $400M. At the time, the most amazing point of the acquisition was the price, 20 times trailing revenue. Since that time, Mr. Agassi had enjoyed a meteoric rise.
Dr. Plattner said he had told Mr. Agassi 15 months ago that he planned to make him co-CEO of SAP AG, and that he was the “heir apparent.” The plans went awry last month when SAP’s supervisory board extended Mr. Kagermann’s contract two more years to May 31, 2009.
Dr. Plattner talked to Mr. Agassi about the board’s decision and told him to think about his plans during a vacation. A few weeks later, Mr. Agassi told his very disappointed mentor that he wouldn’t wait for the top spot. Dr. Plattner then told us that they discussed Mr. Agassi’s resignation which was offered to and accepted by the supervisory board. The resignation is effective April 1. Noting the date, the co-founder assured us that “it’s not an April Fool’s joke.”
According to the press release, Mr. Agassi will remain as a “special consultant to the office of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board on technology, innovation, and competitive trends.” The release also said that he would be exploring new opportunities, including “alternative energy and environmental policy issues, as well as the future of Israel.” While I have not talked to Mr. Agassi since the news, I think there is a high likelihood that he ends up at a venture capital firm, at least in the near term. This would allow him to spend more time with his family. While at SAP, Mr. Agassi had maintained a grueling travel schedule.
Odd timing with 2.5 days left in the quarter
The phone call was on Wednesday—the middle of the last week of the first quarter. This is a crucial period for SAP, as it comes after Oracle had just posted strong growth in the applications business and claimed it was closing the gap with SAP.
Naturally, our first question was about the timing of the call. Dr. Plattner explained that the news was slowly leaking out and that SAP needed to make the announcement.
We followed that with a question about Mr. Agassi’s successor. Rather than name one person, Dr. Plattner said that the company was bringing back the Executive Council, which consists of five corporate officers reporting to Mr. Kagermann. The council will be responsible for synchronizing the branding, user interface, architecture and strategy, joint repository, and NetWeaver plans around SAP’s three product lines: SAP Business Suite (formerly mySAP), BusinessOne, and the much talked about A1S line that has not been officially launched.
Executive council members include Doug Merritt (responsible for the “development of software for the business user”), Klaus Kreplin (leads NetWeaver technology), Jim Hagemann Snabe (heads SAP Business Suite), Michael Kleinemeier (heads collaboration and takes over the industry development reins from Mr. Snabe), and Bob Stutz (leads CRM).
All of the members have extensive SAP and/or applications experience. While I don’t know Mr. Kleinemeier, he had been president of SAP EMEA Central and managing director of SAP Germany. Mr. Kreplin and Mr. Snabe have been with SAP for more than a decade. The others have been with SAP for less than two years. Mr. Merritt is a former PeopleSoft executive running the human capital management (HCM) business unit. Prior to joining SAP, Mr. Stutz’s responsibilities including managing Siebel’s 21 vertical product lines.
Who will take Shai’s place?
In terms of which council member succeeds Mr. Agassi, the answer seems to be all of them, and maybe Peter Zencke, too. If Mr. Snabe moved to the United States, it would be tempting to name him as the “new Shai.” Instead, the plans are for him to remain at SAP headquarters. Mr. Merritt appears to be the key executive in Palo Alto. He has a lot of the new application initiatives including the nascent GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) unit, the joint Duet effort with Microsoft, and analytics. He also heads all of the U.S. labs. In terms of head count, though, Mr. Kreplin runs the largest development group thanks to the continued expansion of the NetWeaver suite.
As for Dr. Zencke, he is a member of the executive board, a level above the executive council. I mention him because he is leading the A1S development team. Dr. Plattner noted that 2,500 of SAP’s engineers report in to Dr. Zencke, and that he has more than 50% of the NetWeaver team.
We asked Dr. Plattner if he would be taking a more active role at the company. He said that “I will talk at SAPPHIRE, but I won’t be designing the third generation,” a reference to the new A1S line. The first two generations were R/2 and the ever evolving R/3/mySAP/SAP Business Suite.
Leo Apotheker named Deputy CEO
In the same press release, SAP named Leo Apotheker as deputy CEO. While this is kind of an odd title for a high-tech company, it seems clear that he is now the No. 2 person at SAP. Mr. Apotheker had been president of customer solutions and operations, which encompasses all of SAP’s sales and marketing.
Bill McDermott also gains more responsibility. In addition to the Americas, he is now responsible for the Asia-Pacific and Japan regions. This news delighted at least one competitor who told us that Mr. McDermott was a formidable presence in U.S. deals. He figures that the SAP executive will be less of a threat now that he has added at least 12 more time zones to his territory.
What’s the impact of Shai’s departure on SAP?
On the flight back from California, Jim Shepherd and I talked about the implications of Mr. Agassi’s departure. While Mr. Agassi was SAP’s best public speaker and the face of its technology vision, the focus shifted too much from the applications.
Here’s Shep’s take:
“I think that Shai’s interest was always technology instead of applications. He never understood that SAP’s great strength has always been its focus on business problems and business processes. Shifting the debate from functionality to technical elegance was a critical error. It leveled the playing field and allowed Oracle and the infrastructure players back in the game.
SAP was always unique in its ability to talk to, and appeal to the senior executives in a company while everyone else was relegated to courting the IT department. Shai’s obsession with NetWeaver and service-oriented architectures (SOAs) was bound to alienate a development organization that had always been oriented to solving complex business and industry problems. Even Peter Zencke has always understood that the proper purpose of technology is to address a manufacturing scheduling dilemma or support a supply chain decision—not to create a cooler composite app development tool.
I think once it gets back to a situation where application development is king and technology development is a supporting role, the compatibility issues, both social and technical, will start to go away.”
Shep is being too kind. Reducing the politics and the internal tensions will take some time. As I write this, e-mails are coming in from customers and former SAP employees weighing in on the Mr. Agassi and his NetWeaver legacy. As one person described it, NetWeaver is a “collection of non-integrated technologies with separate release cycles and QA (quality assurance) processes.” The writer could have added that development is spread all over many of SAP’s 10 major labs, too, adding to the complexity of the release management and QA processes.
How did SAP do in Q1?
By the time you read this, SAP’s quarter will have ended. Will the news of the last two weeks have had any impact on deals that were expected to close? Or, do buyers not care? What do you think Shai Agassi’s legacy will be?
As always, I welcome your comments and ideas—brichardson@amrresearch.com.
The phone call came at 5:30 a.m. PST. Could I be available for an urgent call at 10:00 a.m. with Hasso Plattner, co-founder and former CEO of SAP AG? The only other question was “have you heard anything yet?” No other details were provided.
Needless to say, going back to sleep was not an option. My immediate thought was that SAP had either made a major acquisition or a management change. I discounted the acquisition figuring that SAP would make that announcement after the close of the market, not during the middle of the day. It also wouldn’t make sense to create any distractions during the last week of the quarter.
The fact that the call was with Dr. Plattner only added to the mystery. While his presence and influence still resonate throughout SAP offices worldwide, he had stepped down from active management four years ago. Why was the call with him and not with current CEO Henning Kagermann?
The irony was that Jim Shepherd and I had to leave a meeting at Oracle’s headquarters to take the call with Dr. Plattner. Shortly before excusing ourselves, I bet our hosts that the news would be that Shai Agassi, president of SAP’s Product and Technology Group, would be leaving the firm. Mr. Agassi had been Dr. Plattner’s protégé.
Plattner to Agassi: “You’re the heir apparent”
For the next 40 minutes or so, Jim Shepherd and I talked to Dr. Plattner about Mr. Agassi’s sudden departure. Mr. Agassi had joined SAP six years ago when the ERP giant acquired TopTier, a portal vendor, for $400M. At the time, the most amazing point of the acquisition was the price, 20 times trailing revenue. Since that time, Mr. Agassi had enjoyed a meteoric rise.
Dr. Plattner said he had told Mr. Agassi 15 months ago that he planned to make him co-CEO of SAP AG, and that he was the “heir apparent.” The plans went awry last month when SAP’s supervisory board extended Mr. Kagermann’s contract two more years to May 31, 2009.
Dr. Plattner talked to Mr. Agassi about the board’s decision and told him to think about his plans during a vacation. A few weeks later, Mr. Agassi told his very disappointed mentor that he wouldn’t wait for the top spot. Dr. Plattner then told us that they discussed Mr. Agassi’s resignation which was offered to and accepted by the supervisory board. The resignation is effective April 1. Noting the date, the co-founder assured us that “it’s not an April Fool’s joke.”
According to the press release, Mr. Agassi will remain as a “special consultant to the office of the Chairman of the Supervisory Board on technology, innovation, and competitive trends.” The release also said that he would be exploring new opportunities, including “alternative energy and environmental policy issues, as well as the future of Israel.” While I have not talked to Mr. Agassi since the news, I think there is a high likelihood that he ends up at a venture capital firm, at least in the near term. This would allow him to spend more time with his family. While at SAP, Mr. Agassi had maintained a grueling travel schedule.
Odd timing with 2.5 days left in the quarter
The phone call was on Wednesday—the middle of the last week of the first quarter. This is a crucial period for SAP, as it comes after Oracle had just posted strong growth in the applications business and claimed it was closing the gap with SAP.
Naturally, our first question was about the timing of the call. Dr. Plattner explained that the news was slowly leaking out and that SAP needed to make the announcement.
We followed that with a question about Mr. Agassi’s successor. Rather than name one person, Dr. Plattner said that the company was bringing back the Executive Council, which consists of five corporate officers reporting to Mr. Kagermann. The council will be responsible for synchronizing the branding, user interface, architecture and strategy, joint repository, and NetWeaver plans around SAP’s three product lines: SAP Business Suite (formerly mySAP), BusinessOne, and the much talked about A1S line that has not been officially launched.
Executive council members include Doug Merritt (responsible for the “development of software for the business user”), Klaus Kreplin (leads NetWeaver technology), Jim Hagemann Snabe (heads SAP Business Suite), Michael Kleinemeier (heads collaboration and takes over the industry development reins from Mr. Snabe), and Bob Stutz (leads CRM).
All of the members have extensive SAP and/or applications experience. While I don’t know Mr. Kleinemeier, he had been president of SAP EMEA Central and managing director of SAP Germany. Mr. Kreplin and Mr. Snabe have been with SAP for more than a decade. The others have been with SAP for less than two years. Mr. Merritt is a former PeopleSoft executive running the human capital management (HCM) business unit. Prior to joining SAP, Mr. Stutz’s responsibilities including managing Siebel’s 21 vertical product lines.
Who will take Shai’s place?
In terms of which council member succeeds Mr. Agassi, the answer seems to be all of them, and maybe Peter Zencke, too. If Mr. Snabe moved to the United States, it would be tempting to name him as the “new Shai.” Instead, the plans are for him to remain at SAP headquarters. Mr. Merritt appears to be the key executive in Palo Alto. He has a lot of the new application initiatives including the nascent GRC (governance, risk, and compliance) unit, the joint Duet effort with Microsoft, and analytics. He also heads all of the U.S. labs. In terms of head count, though, Mr. Kreplin runs the largest development group thanks to the continued expansion of the NetWeaver suite.
As for Dr. Zencke, he is a member of the executive board, a level above the executive council. I mention him because he is leading the A1S development team. Dr. Plattner noted that 2,500 of SAP’s engineers report in to Dr. Zencke, and that he has more than 50% of the NetWeaver team.
We asked Dr. Plattner if he would be taking a more active role at the company. He said that “I will talk at SAPPHIRE, but I won’t be designing the third generation,” a reference to the new A1S line. The first two generations were R/2 and the ever evolving R/3/mySAP/SAP Business Suite.
Leo Apotheker named Deputy CEO
In the same press release, SAP named Leo Apotheker as deputy CEO. While this is kind of an odd title for a high-tech company, it seems clear that he is now the No. 2 person at SAP. Mr. Apotheker had been president of customer solutions and operations, which encompasses all of SAP’s sales and marketing.
Bill McDermott also gains more responsibility. In addition to the Americas, he is now responsible for the Asia-Pacific and Japan regions. This news delighted at least one competitor who told us that Mr. McDermott was a formidable presence in U.S. deals. He figures that the SAP executive will be less of a threat now that he has added at least 12 more time zones to his territory.
What’s the impact of Shai’s departure on SAP?
On the flight back from California, Jim Shepherd and I talked about the implications of Mr. Agassi’s departure. While Mr. Agassi was SAP’s best public speaker and the face of its technology vision, the focus shifted too much from the applications.
Here’s Shep’s take:
“I think that Shai’s interest was always technology instead of applications. He never understood that SAP’s great strength has always been its focus on business problems and business processes. Shifting the debate from functionality to technical elegance was a critical error. It leveled the playing field and allowed Oracle and the infrastructure players back in the game.
SAP was always unique in its ability to talk to, and appeal to the senior executives in a company while everyone else was relegated to courting the IT department. Shai’s obsession with NetWeaver and service-oriented architectures (SOAs) was bound to alienate a development organization that had always been oriented to solving complex business and industry problems. Even Peter Zencke has always understood that the proper purpose of technology is to address a manufacturing scheduling dilemma or support a supply chain decision—not to create a cooler composite app development tool.
I think once it gets back to a situation where application development is king and technology development is a supporting role, the compatibility issues, both social and technical, will start to go away.”
Shep is being too kind. Reducing the politics and the internal tensions will take some time. As I write this, e-mails are coming in from customers and former SAP employees weighing in on the Mr. Agassi and his NetWeaver legacy. As one person described it, NetWeaver is a “collection of non-integrated technologies with separate release cycles and QA (quality assurance) processes.” The writer could have added that development is spread all over many of SAP’s 10 major labs, too, adding to the complexity of the release management and QA processes.
How did SAP do in Q1?
By the time you read this, SAP’s quarter will have ended. Will the news of the last two weeks have had any impact on deals that were expected to close? Or, do buyers not care? What do you think Shai Agassi’s legacy will be?
As always, I welcome your comments and ideas—brichardson@amrresearch.com.
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - Agassis Weggang stand länger fest
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - Agassis Weggang stand länger fest
SAP-Aufsichtsratschef Hasso Plattner hat Spekulationen zurückgewiesen, wonach der überraschende Rückzug von Technologievorstand Shai Agassi mit der Klage des Konkurrenten Oracle zusammenhängen könnte. Bereits zwei Tage vor Bekanntwerden der Klage habe Agassi sich entschieden, SAP zu verlassen.
SAP-Aufsichtsratschef Hasso Plattner hat Spekulationen zurückgewiesen, wonach der überraschende Rückzug von Technologievorstand Shai Agassi mit der Klage des Konkurrenten Oracle zusammenhängen könnte. Bereits zwei Tage vor Bekanntwerden der Klage habe Agassi sich entschieden, SAP zu verlassen.
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - Agassis Weggang stand länger fest
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - Agassis Weggang stand länger fest
SAP-Aufsichtsratschef Hasso Plattner hat Spekulationen zurückgewiesen, wonach der überraschende Rückzug von Technologievorstand Shai Agassi mit der Klage des Konkurrenten Oracle zusammenhängen könnte. Bereits zwei Tage vor Bekanntwerden der Klage habe Agassi sich entschieden, SAP zu verlassen.
SAP-Aufsichtsratschef Hasso Plattner hat Spekulationen zurückgewiesen, wonach der überraschende Rückzug von Technologievorstand Shai Agassi mit der Klage des Konkurrenten Oracle zusammenhängen könnte. Bereits zwei Tage vor Bekanntwerden der Klage habe Agassi sich entschieden, SAP zu verlassen.
FTD.de - Das Kapital - Das Kapital - SAP entgeht einer Nachfolgeproblematik
FTD.de - Das Kapital - Das Kapital - SAP entgeht einer Nachfolgeproblematik
Am meisten ärgern wird man sich im SAP- Vorstand wohl über das suboptimale Timing von Shai Agassi, um seinen Rücktritt bekannt zu geben. Weiteres Thema in diesem Kapital: Unternehmenskredite.
Am meisten ärgern wird man sich im SAP- Vorstand wohl über das suboptimale Timing von Shai Agassi, um seinen Rücktritt bekannt zu geben. Weiteres Thema in diesem Kapital: Unternehmenskredite.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
The Nine (Plus) Lives of Ariba and i2 Technologies | AMR Research
The Nine (Plus) Lives of Ariba and i2 Technologies | AMR Research
Ariba and i2 find new life
Two years ago Ariba and i2 Technologies had bleak outlooks. But the companies have renewed vigor now, having distinguished themselves as resilient software companies that are positioned to maintain or take share as competition increases. As companies continue to strive for more revenue, higher margins, and lower costs, Ariba and i2 move front and center on the competitive landscape.
For its part, Ariba should continue to be a major player in sourcing and procurement, gaining more traction in direct materials, with demand for its Low Cost Country Sourcing (LCCS) and Commodity Services products. Overall development of the sourcing and procurement market is providing a tailwind for Ariba, as the sourcing and procurement market continues to grow 9% to10% in the next couple of years, following at least 9% expansion in 2006. At the company-specific level, continued execution on the successful transition to an on-demand model could generate even higher-than-forecast growth. Current AMR Research sourcing and procurement revenue numbers have Ariba second to SAP. While SAP’s numbers showed an increase in 2006 with the acquisition, we expect Ariba to grow by at least 5% based on its successful transition to software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology and the resulting increased revenue opportunities.
Meanwhile, i2 is deriving more growth in sourcing and procurement with its direct materials support and product lifecycle management (PLM) partnership with Dassault Systemes. i2 is hitting on almost all cylinders since its reorganization, and continues to deliver innovative products into a increasingly receptive client base despite a more competitive landscape. i2 is also taking advantage of partnerships to extend its ecosystem, making inroads where it had lost mindshare to SAP. Also, many companies are less likely to be using end-to-end packaged suites and are instead making use of a set of well-integrated tools targeting distinct business problems, bolstered by a focus on strong business processes. i2 currently ranks third in supply chain management (SCM) revenue behind SAP and Oracle by 6% to 8%.
Details on Agile and i2’s recoveries and market factors involved in future success can be found in “The Nine (Plus) Lives of Ariba and i2 Technologies.”
Ariba and i2 find new life
Two years ago Ariba and i2 Technologies had bleak outlooks. But the companies have renewed vigor now, having distinguished themselves as resilient software companies that are positioned to maintain or take share as competition increases. As companies continue to strive for more revenue, higher margins, and lower costs, Ariba and i2 move front and center on the competitive landscape.
For its part, Ariba should continue to be a major player in sourcing and procurement, gaining more traction in direct materials, with demand for its Low Cost Country Sourcing (LCCS) and Commodity Services products. Overall development of the sourcing and procurement market is providing a tailwind for Ariba, as the sourcing and procurement market continues to grow 9% to10% in the next couple of years, following at least 9% expansion in 2006. At the company-specific level, continued execution on the successful transition to an on-demand model could generate even higher-than-forecast growth. Current AMR Research sourcing and procurement revenue numbers have Ariba second to SAP. While SAP’s numbers showed an increase in 2006 with the acquisition, we expect Ariba to grow by at least 5% based on its successful transition to software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology and the resulting increased revenue opportunities.
Meanwhile, i2 is deriving more growth in sourcing and procurement with its direct materials support and product lifecycle management (PLM) partnership with Dassault Systemes. i2 is hitting on almost all cylinders since its reorganization, and continues to deliver innovative products into a increasingly receptive client base despite a more competitive landscape. i2 is also taking advantage of partnerships to extend its ecosystem, making inroads where it had lost mindshare to SAP. Also, many companies are less likely to be using end-to-end packaged suites and are instead making use of a set of well-integrated tools targeting distinct business problems, bolstered by a focus on strong business processes. i2 currently ranks third in supply chain management (SCM) revenue behind SAP and Oracle by 6% to 8%.
Details on Agile and i2’s recoveries and market factors involved in future success can be found in “The Nine (Plus) Lives of Ariba and i2 Technologies.”
FTD.de - Medien+Internet - Nachrichten - SAP-Technologievorstand Agassi will nicht warten - und geht
FTD.de - Medien+Internet - Nachrichten - SAP-Technologievorstand Agassi will nicht warten - und geht
Shai Agassi kehrt dem deutschen Softwarekonzern SAP den Rücken. Der Produktvorstand galt als Top-Kandidat für die Ära nach dem amtierenden Konzernchef Henning Kagermann. Doch Agassis Geduld reichte nicht aus.
Shai Agassi kehrt dem deutschen Softwarekonzern SAP den Rücken. Der Produktvorstand galt als Top-Kandidat für die Ära nach dem amtierenden Konzernchef Henning Kagermann. Doch Agassis Geduld reichte nicht aus.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
FT.com / Companies / IT - SAP hit by loss of research chief
FT.com / Companies / IT - SAP hit by loss of research chief
SAP hit by loss of research chief
By Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt
Published: March 28 2007 20:05 | Last updated: March 28 2007 20:05
Germany’s SAP, the world’s biggest maker of business software, took another hit on Wednesday night with the departure of research and development head Shai Agassi, long tipped as the group’s future chief executive.
People close to SAP said Mr Agassi’s decision led to the appointment of marketing head Léo Apotheker to the new post of deputy chief executive, formalising his status as the heir apparent to Henning Kagermann.
These people said Mr Agassi seemed to have lost hope of speedy promotion or did not like the prospect of becoming co-CEO with Mr Apotheker. He did not appear to be switching to a rival software company, they stressed,
The loss of Mr Agassi, 39, a former software entrepreneur, could further worry investors beset by doubts that SAP can appeal to smaller businesses after coming to dominate sales to big companies.
Mr Agassi’s move comes only weeks after chief executive Henning Kagermann, 60, extended his contract by only one year – a clear sign he was preparing to hand over the reins of the company soon.
Though seen as a successor to the cerebral Mr Kagermann, Mr Agassi’s youth and his base in California always made him more contentious among SAP’s German staff than Mr Apotheker.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
SAP hit by loss of research chief
By Gerrit Wiesmann in Frankfurt
Published: March 28 2007 20:05 | Last updated: March 28 2007 20:05
Germany’s SAP, the world’s biggest maker of business software, took another hit on Wednesday night with the departure of research and development head Shai Agassi, long tipped as the group’s future chief executive.
People close to SAP said Mr Agassi’s decision led to the appointment of marketing head Léo Apotheker to the new post of deputy chief executive, formalising his status as the heir apparent to Henning Kagermann.
These people said Mr Agassi seemed to have lost hope of speedy promotion or did not like the prospect of becoming co-CEO with Mr Apotheker. He did not appear to be switching to a rival software company, they stressed,
The loss of Mr Agassi, 39, a former software entrepreneur, could further worry investors beset by doubts that SAP can appeal to smaller businesses after coming to dominate sales to big companies.
Mr Agassi’s move comes only weeks after chief executive Henning Kagermann, 60, extended his contract by only one year – a clear sign he was preparing to hand over the reins of the company soon.
Though seen as a successor to the cerebral Mr Kagermann, Mr Agassi’s youth and his base in California always made him more contentious among SAP’s German staff than Mr Apotheker.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
FT.com / Technology - Valley view: Will twittering be big business?
FT.com / Technology - Valley view: Will twittering be big business?
Valley view: Will twittering be big business?
Chris Nuttall
Published: March 28 2007 10:21 | Last updated: March 28 2007 10:21
Spring has sprung, the birds are singing and San Francisco is hearts a-flutter over a Web 2.0 service called Twitter.
I encountered it first in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Tekkies were using it to track events and each other’s movements around the vast show. It has been growing exponentially ever since.
Twitter essentially allows you to broadcast SMS-type messages to friends and the public about what you’re up to, with an archive of your one-sentence twitterings available on the twitter.com website.
Opinions are divided on whether to love or hate Twitter and whether it is full of useless minutiae or useful information. Photo blogger Thomas Hawk finds it as addictive as Flickr and says: “It is the micro blogging platform du jour, allows me to stay in contact with over 400 people, serves as a great daily record of what I’ve been up to for archive purposes, and is fun as hell.”
Others might say this is taking Web 2.0’s interactive tools and blogging into the realms of the absurd.
Just looking at the current twitterings on the public page, there are some interesting comments but also entries such as “same thing I was doing eight hours ago”, “uploading a new image”, “getting dinner on my way home” and commercial messages including the BBC posting what is up next on the World Service.
These may tell us little about the zeitgeist but there is no doubt that Twitter itself is very much of the moment – the Hitwise research team says its traffic has risen 55 per cent in the space of a week, and although still niche, it is already spawning related sites such as Twittersearch, Twitterholic, which ranks “twits” by postings, and Twittermaps and Twittervision, mash-ups that mix Google maps of the world with the latest twitterings and their locations.
What is also interesting about Twitter is what it says about Web 2.0 and Silicon Valley’s culture. Valley companies have a habit of working on one idea until a better one comes along. This is not a world of carefully hatched business plans leading to world domination, it is one of happenstance and serendipity, quick adaptations and imaginative improvisations on existing themes.
In Twitter’s case, Evan Williams is behind the service, an entrepreneur and developer who founded Blogger, the blogging service bought by Google in 2003. He went on to create Odeo, a podcasting technology that has made little impression, but one of his engineers came up with Twitter as a project and this has now changed the course of the business.
But what is the business? Williams doesn’t know and doesn’t seem to care. Build a great user experience and the business model will follow, he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
I have heard this more than once in recent weeks from Web 2.0 companies, including Izimi, a British company that is following other foreign start-ups in setting up in San Francisco, the heart of the movement.
This seems part of a new confidence and independence that Web 2.0 fosters. The code-sharing that goes on, the coffee-shop offices and the cheap technology now available means these small companies can survive for long periods without the need to seek venture capital or go to the markets.
It’s a refreshing change from the 1999 bubble of MBAs with carefully prepared business plans designed to attract venture capital. There were too many me-too ideas and everyone had the same SASSy proposals for making money, as in Subscriptions, Advertising, selling Services or earning Sponsorship. All the while, they had sweet FA – as in Flotation or Acquisition – in the back of their minds as the best way to cash in.
So in contrast, the Web 2.0 crowd seem happy to, and can afford to, go with the flow of where their users take their services. Look at Google, they point out, it went four years before finding a business model, and a pretty spectacular one at that.
This is all very well, but there is only one Google, and MySpace and YouTube have achieved similar dominance in social networking and online video. The future could be big for Twitter or it could end up as a passing fad – already many people are learning to turn down or turn off the constant messaging to their phones.
Instead of understanding their market in advance with focus groups, Web 2.0 companies are doing it on the fly by observing user behaviour. They are user-driven in every sense and will live or die by those users and their attention spans.
The best outcome for most would be an acquisition by a larger company, in the way that Google and Yahoo! have picked up Web 2.0 services such as Del.icio.us, Flickr, JotSpot, Keyhole, Konfabulator, Oddpost, Upcoming and Writely.
The rest need to partner and club together, according to a new Forrester Research survey, if they want to address enterprises with their services. Businesses made clear they wanted to buy suites of Web 2.0 applications not stand-alone services.
And mass-market consumers may prefer integrated offerings rather than idle twitterings as well.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Valley view: Will twittering be big business?
Chris Nuttall
Published: March 28 2007 10:21 | Last updated: March 28 2007 10:21
Spring has sprung, the birds are singing and San Francisco is hearts a-flutter over a Web 2.0 service called Twitter.
I encountered it first in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Tekkies were using it to track events and each other’s movements around the vast show. It has been growing exponentially ever since.
Twitter essentially allows you to broadcast SMS-type messages to friends and the public about what you’re up to, with an archive of your one-sentence twitterings available on the twitter.com website.
Opinions are divided on whether to love or hate Twitter and whether it is full of useless minutiae or useful information. Photo blogger Thomas Hawk finds it as addictive as Flickr and says: “It is the micro blogging platform du jour, allows me to stay in contact with over 400 people, serves as a great daily record of what I’ve been up to for archive purposes, and is fun as hell.”
Others might say this is taking Web 2.0’s interactive tools and blogging into the realms of the absurd.
Just looking at the current twitterings on the public page, there are some interesting comments but also entries such as “same thing I was doing eight hours ago”, “uploading a new image”, “getting dinner on my way home” and commercial messages including the BBC posting what is up next on the World Service.
These may tell us little about the zeitgeist but there is no doubt that Twitter itself is very much of the moment – the Hitwise research team says its traffic has risen 55 per cent in the space of a week, and although still niche, it is already spawning related sites such as Twittersearch, Twitterholic, which ranks “twits” by postings, and Twittermaps and Twittervision, mash-ups that mix Google maps of the world with the latest twitterings and their locations.
What is also interesting about Twitter is what it says about Web 2.0 and Silicon Valley’s culture. Valley companies have a habit of working on one idea until a better one comes along. This is not a world of carefully hatched business plans leading to world domination, it is one of happenstance and serendipity, quick adaptations and imaginative improvisations on existing themes.
In Twitter’s case, Evan Williams is behind the service, an entrepreneur and developer who founded Blogger, the blogging service bought by Google in 2003. He went on to create Odeo, a podcasting technology that has made little impression, but one of his engineers came up with Twitter as a project and this has now changed the course of the business.
But what is the business? Williams doesn’t know and doesn’t seem to care. Build a great user experience and the business model will follow, he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
I have heard this more than once in recent weeks from Web 2.0 companies, including Izimi, a British company that is following other foreign start-ups in setting up in San Francisco, the heart of the movement.
This seems part of a new confidence and independence that Web 2.0 fosters. The code-sharing that goes on, the coffee-shop offices and the cheap technology now available means these small companies can survive for long periods without the need to seek venture capital or go to the markets.
It’s a refreshing change from the 1999 bubble of MBAs with carefully prepared business plans designed to attract venture capital. There were too many me-too ideas and everyone had the same SASSy proposals for making money, as in Subscriptions, Advertising, selling Services or earning Sponsorship. All the while, they had sweet FA – as in Flotation or Acquisition – in the back of their minds as the best way to cash in.
So in contrast, the Web 2.0 crowd seem happy to, and can afford to, go with the flow of where their users take their services. Look at Google, they point out, it went four years before finding a business model, and a pretty spectacular one at that.
This is all very well, but there is only one Google, and MySpace and YouTube have achieved similar dominance in social networking and online video. The future could be big for Twitter or it could end up as a passing fad – already many people are learning to turn down or turn off the constant messaging to their phones.
Instead of understanding their market in advance with focus groups, Web 2.0 companies are doing it on the fly by observing user behaviour. They are user-driven in every sense and will live or die by those users and their attention spans.
The best outcome for most would be an acquisition by a larger company, in the way that Google and Yahoo! have picked up Web 2.0 services such as Del.icio.us, Flickr, JotSpot, Keyhole, Konfabulator, Oddpost, Upcoming and Writely.
The rest need to partner and club together, according to a new Forrester Research survey, if they want to address enterprises with their services. Businesses made clear they wanted to buy suites of Web 2.0 applications not stand-alone services.
And mass-market consumers may prefer integrated offerings rather than idle twitterings as well.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Oracle/SAP Suit Highlights Care Required in Using Third-Party Support
Oracle/SAP Suit Highlights Care Required in Using Third-Party Support
Oracle has filed suit against SAP, alleging theft of intellectual property by SAP's TomorrowNow subsidiary. Customers using third-party support vendors should evaluate their contracts while monitoring the legal action's progress.
Oracle has filed suit against SAP, alleging theft of intellectual property by SAP's TomorrowNow subsidiary. Customers using third-party support vendors should evaluate their contracts while monitoring the legal action's progress.
Friday, March 23, 2007
FTD.de - Kommentare - Kommentar - SAP braucht härtere Bandagen
FTD.de - Kommentare - Kommentar - SAP braucht härtere Bandagen
Larry Ellison lässt nicht locker. Mit der Klage gegen SAP hat der Oracle-Chef dem Rivalen aus Walldorf einen weiteren Schlag versetzt. Von SAP-Computern sollen US-Mitarbeiter mit fremden Passwörtern in großem Stil Software und weitere Angebote des Konkurrenten heruntergeladen haben.
Larry Ellison lässt nicht locker. Mit der Klage gegen SAP hat der Oracle-Chef dem Rivalen aus Walldorf einen weiteren Schlag versetzt. Von SAP-Computern sollen US-Mitarbeiter mit fremden Passwörtern in großem Stil Software und weitere Angebote des Konkurrenten heruntergeladen haben.
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - SAP geht aggressiv gegen Oracle vor
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - SAP geht aggressiv gegen Oracle vor
Deutschlands größter Softwarekonzern hat angekündigt, sich aggressiv gegen die von seinem US-Konkurrenten Oracle erhobene Diebstahl-Klage zu wehren. Ins Detail geht SAP allerdings nicht.
Deutschlands größter Softwarekonzern hat angekündigt, sich aggressiv gegen die von seinem US-Konkurrenten Oracle erhobene Diebstahl-Klage zu wehren. Ins Detail geht SAP allerdings nicht.
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - Oracle verklagt SAP wegen Diebstahls
FTD.de - IT+Telekommunikation - Nachrichten - Oracle verklagt SAP wegen Diebstahls
Der erbitterte Konkurrenzkampf zwischen dem US-Softwarekonzern Oracle und dem deutschen Rivalen SAP hat eine neue Dimension erreicht: Oracle verklagte den Dax-Konzern in San Francisco.
Der erbitterte Konkurrenzkampf zwischen dem US-Softwarekonzern Oracle und dem deutschen Rivalen SAP hat eine neue Dimension erreicht: Oracle verklagte den Dax-Konzern in San Francisco.
Oracle’s Strong Quarter and the Case of the Purloined Passwords | AMR Research
Oracle’s Strong Quarter and the Case of the Purloined Passwords | AMR Research
My initial plan for this week’s First Thing Monday was to analyze Oracle’s 3Q07 results. While the third-quarter performance was the strongest in more than five years, the financial news was overshadowed by the company’s news that it is suing archrival SAP, alleging “corporate theft on a grand scale.” Here’s our analysis of both.
My initial plan for this week’s First Thing Monday was to analyze Oracle’s 3Q07 results. While the third-quarter performance was the strongest in more than five years, the financial news was overshadowed by the company’s news that it is suing archrival SAP, alleging “corporate theft on a grand scale.” Here’s our analysis of both.
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