SAP is finally unveiling its new SME software, A1S. This long awaited product launch is so secretive, they kicked us out of our NYC office today in preparation. A1S is an entirely new SOA-enabled platform entirely architected for small businesses. It's about time there's a real competitive ERP offering for this market. I think if SAP plays its cards right, it can freeze Oracle out of this opportunity. The real competition will come from the likes of Salesforce.com and Microsoft of course.
Having been with the company for even just two years, one can see that SAP does not shift in strategies lightly. I think SAP is betting on the right horse even if Wall Street is obsessed with Oracle's much sexier M&A moves. Long-term, SME market dominance will be critical, but that's not to say other important categories like middleware or industries isn't. I for one, would love to see some more SAP marketing around how we're kicking competitors butts in utilties and retail or how Netweaver is a natively integrated platform. But right now, the prize is SME and all eyes will be on it tomorrow when A1S makes its debut.
2 comments:
9/19/07
"...one can see that SAP does not shift in strategies lightly."
This is true and is SAP's biggest risk going into this new market. Without considering other offerings, Salesforce.com alone will prove to be far more agile than SAP. SAP will certainly be the last to adapt to changes in this developing market space.
Of course, Salesforce.com is the leader in this space and are still trying to figure out how to make a profit. Does SAP have that figured out already? I doubt it. This could be a long, hard road.
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