SAP Targets Midmarket with On-Demand Business ByDesign

Arguably the most significant event of the past decade in enterprise software, SAP's launch of its on-demand Business ByDesign midmarket solution has virtually monopolized headlines across business and technology trade media for the past week. To help you cut through the clutter, separate hype from reality, and make sense of SAP's much anticipated, strikingly bold move, we've compiled a round up of the most insightful and informative SAP BBD news and analysis.

First, straight from the horse's mouth, why SAP BBD is a 'game-changing solution.'

Read SAP press release: SAP Business ByDesign Unveiled

What does SAP's midmarket push mean for consultants?

Read article by Sam Sliman, president for Optimal Solutions Integration, Inc: SAP Boom - The Midmarket Factor 

SAP's traditional big-company manufacturing market is saturated, and Kagermann must look down-market for growth.

Read CIO Today article: SAP Introduces Business ByDesign 

Industry analyst Josh Greenbaum hits the nail on the head with his astute assessment of SAP BBD's unique ability to help SMBs gain a competitive edge -- a capability, according to Greenbaum, utterly absent in existing SaaS solutions.

Read Greenbaum's ZDNet blog post: SAP BBD: Competitive Advantage and the Dynamics of Enterprise Software 

Forrester analyst Ray Wang offers up some quick yet provocative observations on the pros and cons of SAP's BBD strategy.

Read Wang's blog post: The Software Insider 

Forrester analyst Paul Hamerman points out the great benefits of SAP BBD's configuration tooling.

Read Forrester analyst Paul Hamerman's blog post: SAP Launches BBD

What does SAP BBD mean for SAP Channel Partners?

Read CRN article: SAP Set to Disclose A1S details, Role for Channel Partners  

Read eWeek article: SAP Reveals New Web Software, New Business Model 

Possible cannibalization of existing on-premise SAP products has emerged as one of the greatest challenges SAP must grapple with as part of  its rollout strategy for SAP BBD. In this candid Interview, SAP Deputy CEO Leo Apotheker addresses the 'C' question, and takes a shot at Oracle.

Read InformationWeek article: Five Questions for SAP Leo Apotheker  

Kagermand makes it clear that SAP BBD "is not a solution for larger enterprises [and] not a solution for midmarket companies who have high demand, deep demand for vertical solutions."

Reas InformationWeek article: Big Businesses Won't Be Interested in On-demand ERP

SAP will have to work hard to achieve its aggressive goals for SAP BBD.

Read Computerworld article: SAP Sets Improbable Goals for BBD 

Read InformationWeek article: SAP Will Have Tough Time Selling On-demand Software 

SaaS competitors dig in and speak out about SAP BBD.

Read Gavin Clarke blog post: Benioff Launches Pre-emptive A1S Strike  

Read eWeek article: Salesforce, SAP Battle for On-demand Supremacy

Read InternetNews article: Competitors Await SAP's On-demand Threat

Of course, Larry (the Klaxon) Ellison was quick to sound off, slamming SaaS in general and SAP's SaaS play in particular. Curiously, for all his bad-mouthing of SaaS, Ellison fails to mention, that Oracle paid big ($5.8B) for Siebel Systems, which had a significant on-demand offering, and that he personally owns about 41 percent of NetSuite, an on-demand ERP company that will compete directly with SAP's Business ByDesign suite.

Read eWeek article: SaaS Doesn't Pay  

Here's an additional selection of articles that provide a good overview of SAP BBD features and pricing:

Read Top Tech News article: SAP Unwraps Hosted Platform for SMBs 

Read eWeek article: SAP A1S Morphs into Business ByDesign

Read Reuters article: SAP Unveils Web Software, New Business Model

Read Bloomberg article: SAP Taps Smaller Customers with Web-based Software

Read InfoWorld article: SAP SaaS is not Just About Technology  

tags: sap business bydesign  sap midmarket  sap consulting  

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