Strategies : A probable path for SAP's niche

This post is in succession with my previous post : $7.4 billion deal.

This space is completely dedicated to SAP where I am going to discuss few strategies SAP may take to nullify the hostile environmental affect.

Although the SAP Netweaver stack consists of ABAP and JAVA but the comparative success of Java in SAP space may be commendable but mostly insignificant. This definitely comes as a consolation for most of the think tanks as the migration from Java or reduction of Java in further initiatives would not take huge effort or money.

Now we are talking about SUN Solaris, an age tested probably the fastest OS in server space and no doubt it is still lucrative for SAP to use Solaris platform for their massive ERP instances. Let’s look for some close alternatives to substitute the Solaris effect with equally comparable and stable OS, NO we are not talking about Windows 2003. Any Linux or Unix flavor would give an ultimate real-time performance with comparable runtime statistics, provided it is a server version. Sun Microsystem and HP were SAP's one of the biggest strategic partner with their huge commitments for Open source contribution till date and of course this also motivated SAP to make their DB floating in open space. This makes HP a potential blade server and OS vendor for SAP. With a stable and agile system probably they could unleash new potential for SAP ERP by tweaking their systems for better performance.

Do they have to live without a strong programming language like Java? When it comes to Java, the answer could be YES. Microsoft technology may not be as flexible and widely acceptable as Java but the Windows Company is evolving fast in this space. SAP has already partnership with Microsoft in various development and integration project, like DUET. The ambitious "People Ready" business is nowhere close to SAP and to get a share in ERP market Microsoft has been quite aggressive in this space. There were also speculations that Microsoft may buy out some of the bigger ERP vendor in market and this makes Microsoft a friend of SAP with converging goals.

I am not denying another chance of Merger or Acquisition here ;)

NOTE: This note is merely an opinion not a deliberate behest and not intended to be biased towards any party.

SUN buy out : Obvious but Fitful !

With the recent news of Oracle buying SUN has definitely propelled lot of thought process among concerned community.

As Larry has pointed out that they are trying to provide an end-to-end offering rather than stand alone solutions for their customer, we can also see some obvious advantage Oracle sweeping over IBM and SAP.

Until recently Oracle was mainly concerned about their Database rather than any business application and after its well known venture into ERP and CRM space they started using Java extensively which made them to buy SUN to retain the full control on their product life cycle. The open source Java and its mode of licensing in the future may remain a matter of contention and speculation but definitely this move brings the competitive edge of Solaris and Sun servers to Oracle's pocket. Historically Sun Server and Solaris OS are admired for its performance and dependability.

What I could see is the SAP getting impacted more due to this movement which could also be a deciding or may be a considerable factor behind this buyout where SUN server, Solaris and Java can make any ERP offering more lucrative than its peers. Till date SAP has a huge domination in ERP and CRM area and IBM Microsoft and Oracle are in their process to capture the high end space.

SAP had a paradigm shift a decade ago when they thought of migrating to an integrated platform and promoted Java in their Netweaver engine. ABAP stacks were replaced or moved to maintenance phase in many areas of SAP space. They have also changed their stand towards the use of Oracle Database as the back-end of their R/3 stack. But this acquisition keeps us guessing how they future of Java would be and how this is going to impact the web services and SOWA space or SAP.

No doubt this is a smart move from Oracle investing in a excellent technological firm in right time, the buying price is phenomenally low and all the odds seems to be in Oracle’s favor. But the main point is integration! As the offerings of SUN are totally diverse but still remain in different space from Oracle’s offerings. The integration and success is always a QUESTION MARK for any company. Let the TIME tell its story.

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