SAP has signed up several German customers for Business One, its
business software designed for small companies and subsidiaries of
large corporations. It also launched a channel network to serve
this sector.
SAP is keen to tap the SME sector, as the company's traditional
customers - large companies and organisations - make fewer and
smaller software purchases.
Osram Light Consulting, a subsidiary of the German lighting company
Osram, is the first of several companies testing Business One to
license the product.
Localised versions of the software, adapted to conduct business
with local currency and business regulations, will be available in
a phased rollout worldwide. Austria, Denmark, Finland, the
Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland will receive localised versions
later this year, with versions for the Americas planned for early
next year.
SAP Business One is based on the former TopManage Pro software,
which SAP acquired in March from TopManage.
SAP is targeting companies with between five and 150 employees. The
product will be priced at around $2,000 (£1,277) per user without a
group discount.
Another product offered at larger medium-sized business, mySAP
All-in-One, offers additional features. Both products, in turn,
offer migration options to the higher-end mySAP.com family of
e-business software.
SAP Business One's new channel network will consist of select
partners with a regional, national or global presence, as well as
companies focusing on specific industry needs.
On Wednesday, SAP announced a far-reaching alliance with
Hewlett-Packard, which will deliver SAP Business One software
through its distribution channel in more than 30 countries across
Europe.
