This report surfaced today: <<SAP AG yesterday launched a hosted customer relationship management service, finally following its traditional rivals and upstarts like salesforce.com Inc into the software-as-service space. Advertisement
Blandly titled "The SAP CRM On-Demand Solution", it is aimed at any sales organization with over 100 account representatives. That equates to large enterprises and the upper end of midsize business. The service, which will be hosted by IBM Corp on banks of virtualized pSeries and xSeries servers, will initially focus on the obvious starting point: contact management. Other functions in the initial release will cover activity management, opportunity and pipeline management, calendar and task management, as well as sales analytics. Like its highly vocal rival salesforce.com, SAP will issue new releases quarterly. Next on the roadmap is marketing, which will cover promotion and campaign management; followed by service, which will encompass setting up dedicated call centers and web-based self service. Not surprisingly, SAP used yesterday's announcement to trt to show why its approach is different and better than salesforce.com and Oracle. "We're going after different market with a different twist," said Rolf Von Sosen, vice president of solution marketing for SAP CRM. "We're not looking to deliver the next $29.99 per-month offering for a handful of sales reps. We're going after a much broader enterprise." Noting service interruptions that have recently plagued salesforce.com, SAP said its on-demand offering would follow a different hosting model. With Oracle's need to integrate its array of acquisitions, SAP claimed that it will be far better positioned to respond to customer demand. And SAP claims that it can get customers up and running in a day. The new service will follow what SAP calls an "isolated tenancy" model, which is supposed to be a blend of the single-tenant model employed by first generation ASPs like Corio, and the multi-tenant model utilized by salesforce.com. Specifically, that means that there will be the same kind of master software model used in multi-tenancy hosting, but separate customer databases that are more along the line of the single-tenant model. SAP claimed that this model provides the economies of scale of the multi-tenant model, minus the peak-period slowdowns and service interruptions, plus the security of the single-tenant model. Not surprisingly, given that SAP has the largest conventional back-office system installed base, the company is also promoting the integration of on-demand services with on-premises CRM installations.>> You can read the full article at: http://www.cbronline.com/article_news.asp?guid=9EA06A64-66E7-4217-AD06-46672536355B It is interesting to read that SAP are, unsurprisingly, targeting their traditional customer base. Murray, how would you compare SAP's offering to salesforce.com's in a SOA context? BTW, do you work for SAP? Gervas --- In [email protected], "Spork, Murray" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > AFAICT you cannot expose a aggregated application in Salesforce as a > service in its own right - IOW it is not a true composition platform. > Can anyone confirm this? > > ________________________________ > > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > Teresa Jones > Sent: Friday, 03 February 2006 11:32 AM > To: '[email protected]' > Subject: RE: [service-orientated-architecture] Wolfe on thinking smaller > > > > I think that what Salesforce.com is doing is interesting here - > with its AppExchange platform. This allows smaller software vendors to > create applications (services?) that can then be deployed on the > salesforce.com servers - no software on premise - and the end customer > can select the applications that they'd like to use (and integrate with) > their existing salesforce.com deployment. This certainly opens up > SOA-like capablity to small businesses, and the fees are more manageable > for the SME. > Teresa > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gervas Douglas [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: 03 February 2006 10:01 > To: [email protected] > Subject: [service-orientated-architecture] Wolfe on > thinking smaller > > > Here is an interesting e-mail that I have just received > by e-mail: > > > ======================================================================== > =================================Think Smaller > > The day is coming when big SOA providers-Oracle, BEA, > SAP, IBM and > others-are going to have to stop behaving as if the > enterprise is all > that matters. > > The latest announcements this past month illuminate this > point: > Numerous announcements of SOA deployments with big > companies: large > insurance firms, big chemical companies, transportation > powerhouses, > and, more recently, government. > > By way of footnote, BEA recently underwrote a strategy > piece by the > Center for Digital Government, which looks at how SOA > can make > governments more "collaborative" in reducing redundant > infrastructure, > and helping them serve citizens better. Well and good. > Efficient > government has long been a sell point, regardless of who > is in the > Oval Office. > > The obsession with big clients for SOA deployments is > understandable, > even forgivable. It's easier for firms like Oracle, IBM, > BEA, SAP, and > others to go after their old clients with a new product. > People in > sales don't need to branch out too much, and the IT > budgets of big > players are rightly considered to be low-hanging fruit. > > That's fine for now, but here's the catch: IT spending > is growing > faster in the small to mid-size business (SMB) sector, > and has been > for years. Forrester Research pointed out that US IT > spending by small > and medium-size businesses hit $320 billion in 2004, or > about 48 > percent of total spending. It hopped another 8 percent > in 2005. IT > spending in the same year for the enterprise class > jumped 6 percent. > So, small, nimble companies aren't spending as much, > yet, as big > companies and governments, but the day is coming when > they will. More > importantly, it's a faster growing segment, and the > company or > companies that can make the small to mid-side business > pitch is going > to grab territory. > > Let's take that to the back of the envelope. According > to the Gartner > Group, the worldwide market opportunity-that's world, > mind you-of SOA > could hit $143 billion by 2008, or a little less than > half of what the > U.S. spent on IT services in 2004. > > It's reasonable to assume, if the success of firms like > Salesforce.com > are any indication, that the company that will reach the > small to > mid-size business with an SOA pitch will be a service > provider with > many clients. But why should the big players cede ground > to an upstart? > > Think about the sales stories we've been hearing over > the past year > for SOA. The enterprise needs to start small, do one > thing well, maybe > make a portal as an initial play. Or perhaps revamp some > portion of > their logistics management. That's a great story for a > big enterprise > getting its feet wet in the SOA pool. But it's equally > great at the > SMB level too. Who wouldn't want to kick the tires > before they go > whole hog, after all? > > The problem for the Oracles of the world is that SMBs > don't generally > have millions in the bank, can't wait as long for a > return, and don't > like big total costs of ownership. > > If the SOA story-that companies can save millions, and > don't have to > wait for years and years to see black ink-is to prove > credible, then > that means there's gold sitting untouched in the SMB > market. It's more > spread out, and the sales teams will have to work the > phones a little > harder, but it's there for the company or companies that > can take the > time to go out and pick up the business. > > However tempting it may be to stand on their past > strengths as big > iron, or big database companies, SOA players cannot > ignore the growing > purchasing power of the small to mid-size business. SMBs > want business > agility. They want reusability. They don't generally > have in-house IT > departments, and they can't afford large numbers of > decision-makers or > a lengthy approval cycle. Sell the CEO on it, and you're > done. > > The company that cedes half the market opportunity > because their sales > force doesn't know how to work a particular market > should probably > take a breath, look within, and focus on their own > adaptability. It's > what thriving companies do best. > > Sean Wolfe > Editor, SOA Pipeline > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > www.SOA-Pipeline.com > > > ======================================================================== > ========================================================= > A lot of this is certainly true. Most salespeople > instinctively think > it is better to target major accounts. Apart from > anything else it > enhances their sense of achievement, self-importance and > marketability. And by "salespeople" I include the > companies that > employ them. If you work for the likes of Oracle and > IBM it is easy > to forget that companies like Microsoft have also made > bucketfuls of > revenue selling to small businesses and the domestic > market. > > Where does this fit in with SOA? By its very nature > there exists an > implicit assumption that SOA is applicable to > enterprise-scale > applications. This after all is its most obvious > application area. I > have in the past questioned why only the application > layer could > benefit from a SOA approach. Perhaps we should also > look at how smaller users/apps could benefit. Does it for instance make > sense to have a web of apps sitting on your desktop or LAN in a SOA > structure if you are a SoHo or small company user (using XML as a common > data/metadata format perhaps)? > > There has been talk of using WS to provide reusable > services not just > across an intranet, but across the Internet as well. > This could be > either in an EDI context or an ASP app-on demand > context. Where do > any of you see this going if at all? > > Gervas > > > > > > > > > > > ********************************************************************* > > IMPORTANT NOTICE > > > > > > The contents of this e-mail are privileged and > confidential and > > intended for the addressee at the specified e-mail > address only. > > Its contents may not be copied or disclosed to anyone > other than > > the intended recipient. If this e-mail is received in > error, > > please contact Butler Direct Limited immediately on > > +44 (0)1482 586149 with details of the sender and > addressee and > > delete the e-mail. > > > > > > No responsibility is accepted by Butler Direct Limited > in the event > > that the onward transmission, opening or use of this > message and/or > > any attachments adversely affect the recipient's systems > or data. > > It is your responsibility to carry out such virus and > other checks > > as you consider appropriate. > > > > > > www.butlergroup.com > > > > > > > ********************************************************************* > > > > > ________________________________ > > YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS > > > > * Visit your group > "service-orientated-architecture > <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/service-orientated-architecture> " on the > web. > > * To unsubscribe from this group, send an email > to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > ect=Unsubscribe> > > * Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the > Yahoo! Terms of Service <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> . > > > ________________________________ > > > ------_=_NextPart_001_01C628AD.0AFAF530---- > "----_=_NextPart_001_01C628AD.0AFAF530-- tent-Type: text/plain; > charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I think that what > Salesforce.com is doing is interesting here - with its AppExchange > platform. This allows smaller software vendors to create applications > (services?) that can then be deployed on the salesforce.com servers - no > software on premise - and the end customer can select the applications > that they'd like to use (and integrate with) their existing > salesforce.com deployment. This certainly opens up SOA-like capablity to > small businesses, and the fees are more manageable for the SME. Teresa > -----Original Message----- From: Gervas Douglas > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: 03 February 2006 10:01 To: > [email protected] Subject: > [service-orientated-architecture] Wolfe on thinking smaller Here is an > interesting e-mail that I have just received by e-mail: > ======================================================================== > ==== =============================Think Smaller The day is coming when > big SOA providers-Oracle, BEA, SAP, IBM and others-are going to have to > stop behaving as if the enterprise is all that matters. The latest > announcements this past month illuminate this point: Numerous > announcements of SOA deployments with big companies: large insurance > firms, big chemical companies, transportation powerhouses, and, more > recently, government. By way of footnote, BEA recently underwrote a > strategy piece by the Center for Digital Government, which looks at how > SOA can make governments more "collaborative" in reducing redundant > infrastructure, and helping them serve citizens better. Well and good. > Efficient government has long been a sell point, regardless of who is in > the Oval Office. The obsession with big clients for SOA deployments is > understandable, even forgivable. It's easier for firms like Oracle, IBM, > BEA, SAP, and others to go after their old clients with a new product. > People in sales don't need to branch out too much, and the IT budgets of > big players are rightly considered to be low-hanging fruit. That's fine > for now, but here's the catch: IT spending is growing faster in the > small to mid-size business (SMB) sector, and has been for years. > Forrester Research pointed out that US IT spending by small and > medium-size businesses hit $320 billion in 2004, or about 48 percent of > total spending. It hopped another 8 percent in 2005. IT spending in the > same year for the enterprise class jumped 6 percent. So, small, nimble > companies aren't spending as much, yet, as big companies and > governments, but the day is coming when they will. More importantly, > it's a faster growing segment, and the company or companies that can > make the small to mid-side business pitch is going to grab territory. > Let's take that to the back of the envelope. According to the Gartner > Group, the worldwide market opportunity-that's world, mind you-of SOA > could hit $143 billion by 2008, or a little less than half of what the > U.S. spent on IT services in 2004. It's reasonable to assume, if the > success of firms like Salesforce.com are any indication, that the > company that will reach the small to mid-size business with an SOA pitch > will be a service provider with many clients. But why should the big > players cede ground to an upstart? Think about the sales stories we've > been hearing over the past year for SOA. The enterprise needs to start > small, do one thing well, maybe make a portal as an initial play. Or > perhaps revamp some portion of their logistics management. That's a > great story for a big enterprise getting its feet wet in the SOA pool. > But it's equally great at the SMB level too. Who wouldn't want to kick > the tires before they go whole hog, after all? The problem for the > Oracles of the world is that SMBs don't generally have millions in the > bank, can't wait as long for a return, and don't like big total costs of > ownership. If the SOA story-that companies can save millions, and don't > have to wait for years and years to see black ink-is to prove credible, > then that means there's gold sitting untouched in the SMB market. It's > more spread out, and the sales teams will have to work the phones a > little harder, but it's there for the company or companies that can take > the time to go out and pick up the business. However tempting it may be > to stand on their past strengths as big iron, or big database companies, > SOA players cannot ignore the growing purchasing power of the small to > mid-size business. SMBs want business agility. They want reusability. > They don't generally have in-house IT departments, and they can't afford > large numbers of decision-makers or a lengthy approval cycle. Sell the > CEO on it, and you're done. The company that cedes half the market > opportunity because their sales force doesn't know how to work a > particular market should probably take a breath, look within, and focus > on their own adaptability. It's what thriving companies do best. Sean > Wolfe Editor, SOA Pipeline [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.SOA-Pipeline.com > ======================================================================== > ==== ===================================================== A lot of this > is certainly true. Most salespeople instinctively think it is better to > target major accounts. Apart from anything else it enhances their sense > of achievement, self-importance and marketability. And by "salespeople" > I include the companies that employ them. If you work for the likes of > Oracle and IBM it is easy to forget that companies like Microsoft have > also made bucketfuls of revenue selling to small businesses and the > domestic market. Where does this fit in with SOA? By its very nature > there exists an implicit assumption that SOA is applicable to > enterprise-scale applications. This after all is its most obvious > application area. I have in the past questioned why only the application > layer could benefit from a SOA approach. Perhaps we should also look at > how smaller users/apps could benefit. Does it for instance make sense to > have a web of apps sitting on your desktop or LAN in a SOA structure if > you are a SoHo or small company user (using XML as a common > data/metadata format perhaps)? There has been talk of using WS to > provide reusable services not just across an intranet, but across the > Internet as well. This could be either in an EDI context or an ASP > app-on demand context. Where do any of you see this going if at all? > Gervas SPONSORED LINKS Service-oriented architecture Computer monitoring > software Free computer monitoring software _____ YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS * > Visit your group " service-orientated-architecture " on the web. * To > unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] * Your use > of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service . _____ > ********************************************************************* > IMPORTANT NOTICE The contents of this e-mail are privileged and > confidential and intended for the addressee at the specified e-mail > address only. Its contents may not be copied or disclosed to anyone > other than the intended recipient. If this e-mail is received in error, > please contact Butler Direct Limited immediately on +44 (0)1482 586149 > with details of the sender and addressee and delete the e-mail. No > responsibility is accepted by Butler Direct Limited in the event that > the onward transmission, opening or use of this message and/or any > attachments adversely affect the recipient's systems or data. It is your > responsibility to carry out such virus and other checks as you consider > appropriate. www.butlergroup.com > ********************************************************************* > Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/service-orientated-architecture/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
