SAP is to launch a full range of on-demand hosted
software for mid-size companies, building on the tentative steps it
made towards CRM on-demand solutions last year.
The firms intends offering the on-demand solution to enable
smaller firms to reduce the cost involved in adopting its suite of
ERP and CRM platforms.
The offering will be made in parallel to
SAP’s
existing mid-size ERP and CRM offering, which is now being heavily
promoted on TV and in the press.
SAP CEO Henning Kagermann said the on-demand software will be
offered under a new “try-run-adapt” model to allow firms to test
the software before buying it.
It will be sold via the web and over the phone, and will be
managed entirely remotely, from day-to-day operations to
upgrades.
The hosted product is beginning initial market validation, and
SAP plans to introduce more details about the product road map and
its associated components at an event later in the current quarter,
Kagermann said.
SAP is going after the likes of Salesforce.com: with its
on-demand platforms, a company that leads the field in on-demand
CRM.
On the financial side, SAP has posted healthy increases in sales
and profits for the full year, although it saw operating margins
dip slightly.
SAP widens support for mid-size firms
ERP implementations may fall short for hasty
SMBs
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