SAP, Microsoft draw battle lines

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Inside information?

"to say [SAP] aren't worried about MS moving into their market is either an over active ego or a state of cluelessness beyond all reason"

Maybe, but no one said it. The relevant quote is:

"Likewise, SAP says Microsoft poses no major threat. 'The market for software applications, even in this challenging business environment, is big enough for all of us,' SAP representative Herbert Heitmann said."

I'd call that public reassurance. I could just as easily characterise Microsoft's "we won't enter the enterprise market" statements as bare faced lies, but that'd just be dismissed as flame bait, wouldn't it? And don't forget the qid pro quo - SAP is attacking the market MS was hoping to sell Great Plains and Navision into. That's gotta worry MS too.

Over 60% of SAP's existing customers do not run Windows, so MS has to first convert these to Windows then to MS business applications. Linux is making inroads into the enterprise space, MS has no product to offer these potential customers. Linux is also making inroads into small business - again, MS is out in the cold unless they can convert these users to Windows.

Certainly a challenge and not a foregone conclusion.

But hey, competition is good. Maybe SAP will become more customer-friendly and cheaper; maybe MS will gain a better understanding of enterprise computing and finally build a secure platform. Maybe I'm dreaming (on both counts).

Posted by: Fred Fredrickson   Posted on: 12/10/03 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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